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, 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.

Student Presents Poster at National Meeting

Caitlin Richardson, UK Physician Assistant (class of 2012) student, was selected for poster presentation at the 2011 American Academy of Physician Assistant’s annual conference held in Las Vegas, Nevada, May 30th thru June 4th.

Caitlin’s poster titled “Assessing Primary Care Clinician's Knowledge, Attitudes and Motivating Factors Influencing Guideline Based Care in Diabetes Mellitus” was accepted by the AAPA for presentation Friday June 3rd, 2011.

As part of her research project, Caitlin developed and implemented a novel survey instrument which was used to collect general information on a small group of primary care physicians in UK’s outpatient Internal Medicine Group. The data obtained from her research may eventually help to better understand issues around guideline-based care during chronic disease management.

“The research study was an opportunity for me to understand better how guidelines are used during patient care, as well as think of different ways this could be improved in clinical practice.”

Caitlin was one of four UKPAS students who attended the conference this year in Las Vegas. The students were also accompanied by four current UKPAS faculty members.

News

• The PA program will be moving towards rolling admission in April of 2012*** Please see admissions page for details

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).

Click here to RSVP for an upcoming session.
(RSVP’s are not required, but are appreciated.)

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 208 (see map of MSU campus).

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

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