Pre-Physician Assistant

Consult the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA) for requirements, admission statistics, and information for 190+ U.S.-based programs.

Four-year plan with prerequisite courses to meet requirements for regional PA programs:

Physician Assistant: Four Year Plan

Four-year plans for common majors of physician assistant students at Gustavus:

• Biology: Four-Year Plan Physician Assistant
• Exercise Physiology: Four-Year Plan Physician Assistant

Any undergraduate major is acceptable, as long as you fulfill the physician assistant program's prerequisite requirements.

A physician assistant (PA) is a health care professional, who is licensed to practice medicine with physician supervision. A PA conducts physical exams, diagnoses and treats illnesses, orders and interprets tests, counsels on preventive health care, assists in surgery, and can write prescriptions in most states. PAs are trained in intensive education programs accredited by the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA). Physician assistants receive a broad education in medicine.

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Because of the close working relationship the PAs have with physicians, PAs are educated in the medical model designed to complement physician training. The relationship between a PA and the supervising physician is one of mutual trust and respect. The physician assistant is a representative of the physician, treating the patient in the style and manner developed and directed by the supervising physician. The physician and PA practice as members of a medical team.

PAs work in all areas of medicine, not just primary care. General rotations in PA school include family medicine, internal medicine, general surgery, pediatrics, women’s health, emergency medicine, psychiatry, and electives. PAs can work in any area of medicine including neurology and dermatology. 

The scope of the PA's practice corresponds to the supervising physician's practice. In general, a physician assistant will see many of the same types of patients as the physician. The cases handled by physicians are generally more complicated medical cases or cases that require care outside of a PA's scope of work.

PAs are educated in the "medical model." In some schools, a PA will attend many of the same classes as medical students. One of the main differences between a PA's education and a physician’s education is not the core content of the curriculum but the amount of time spent in formal education. In addition to time in school, physicians are required to do an internship; the majority of physicians also complete a residency in a specialty following an internship. PAs do not have to undertake an internship or residency. A physician has complete responsibility for the care of the patient, while PAs share that responsibility with the supervising physicians.

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