College of Health Sciences

Physician Assistant Studies

The Physician Assistant Studies Program at UK was initiated in 1973 and is one of two Physician Assistant programs in the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

We are fully accredited by the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA), which is recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA). The Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies degree is conferred by the UK Graduate School for students at the UK Lexington campus and at the rural campus located on the campus of Morehead State University. Graduates are eligible to take the Physician Assistant National Certifying Examination. After successful completion of the examination, they are eligible for state certification and licensure to practice as certified physician assistants.

In 1996, the program was extended to include instruction at Morehead State University. Now, 10 dedicated faculty members, two based at Morehead State University, and eight based in Lexington, provide instruction. Each year, an average of 40 students are admitted to the Lexington campus, and 16 to Morehead State site.

The PA program also offers international opportunities for its students including some who choose to do their clerkship rotations in various countries including Kenya, Swaziland and England. There are also other opportunities within the college to travel internationally on short-term trips to Ecuador and Mexico, with other partnerships developing as well.


Dual Degree Program

Additionally, the College of Pharmacy and the Division of Physician Assistant Studies offers a dual degree program which allows enrolled students to distinguish themselves while completing the Doctor of Pharmacy degree. The dual degree program requires additional formal application, admissions and course work. Students are eligible to apply for the Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies (MSPAS) following the second semester of the second professional year in Pharmacy with a minimum pharmacy GPA of 3.0., 1000 direct patient care contact hours, 50 PA shadowing hours, and additional pre-requisite courses. Two courses in the Pharmacy program provide 320 hours toward the direct patient care hours needed for application. Students who maintain a 3.0 cumulative pharmacy/PAS GPA and satisfy all requirements of both programs will be awarded the Doctor of Pharmacy and the MSPAS degree simultaneously. To learn more about the program please visit the website.


News

The Pre-PA Club meets the first Monday of each month at 5:30 p.m. in the C.T. Wethington Building Room 405. Stop by to learn about the Pre-PA club and listen to a short presentation from an emergency room PA. If you have any questions please contact Shelby Mesch at ukppassa@yahoo.com.
Click here to view the UK Pre-PA Student Association's website. Also join our Facebook group if you haven't already


Upcoming speakers at the UK Pre-PA Meeting

  • Admissions - Prof. Collett, November 5th
  • Student Affairs Office/Scholarship opportunities - Dr. Remer, Corrie Scott, December 3rd
  • Program Overview, Program Director - Prof. Brad Schwarz, January 7th
  • KAPA/Student Involvement at State/National level/Faculty Mentoring/Student Organizations
  • Professors Valentin and Bennett, Julia Flannery and student representatives - February 4th
  • Graduate Studies/Didactic Curriculum Overview - Dr. Gairola, Dr. Wyant, Professors Schuer and Valentin - March 4th
  • Clinical Year Overview/ International connection - Professors Fahringer, Fiscella and Powdrill - April 1st

General Information Sessions

Information sessions are informal, consisting largely of a question and answer period. No reservations are required, and all regular sessions are held in the College of Health Sciences Building (CTW), 900 S. Limestone, Lexington, KY 40536. (see Campus Map).

Upcoming Lexington PAS Information Sessions

Monday, March 25, 2013 at 3p.m. EST., UHS Bldg. room 130
Monday, April 22, 2013 at 3p.m. EST., CTW Bldg. room 127

For more information please contact Corrie Scott or
Wayne Centers.

Morehead Campus Information Sessions

These special two-hour sessions will be at Morehead State University in the newly-constructed Center for Health Education and Research (CHER), Room 102E-G (see map of MSU campus).

Please contact Julia Flannery at julia.flannery@uky.edu or (606) 783-2558 to RSVP or for more information.

Upcoming Morehead PAS Information Session

Friday, March 29, 2013 at 3:00p.m. EST., CHER Bldg. room 312

 


Physician Assistant Program
College of Health Sciences
900 S. Limestone
Lexington, KY 40536-0200
859-323-1100, Ext. 80492



facebook.com/ukpas
facebook.com/UKPAAlumni


Download a printable
UK PA program
brochure here (pdf).