New Master of Physician Assistant Studies Program


05/08/2012

On Tuesday, May 8, St. Ambrose University announced a new Master of Physician Assistant degree program, the first program of its kind offered in the Quad Cities and western Illinois region.

With a strong history and regional reputation for excellence in the training of health care professionals, St. Ambrose is in a unique position to prepare students for a growing profession that offers excellent career opportunities and answers local and regional needs for primary care services. The program plans to accept its first class in June of 2014.

"The new St. Ambrose University MPA program will be an outstanding addition to the university's offerings-and important to the future of health care in the region," said Davenport cardiologist Michael Giudici, MD, who also serves as a St. Ambrose Board of Trustees member. "St. Ambrose has always been an institution that prides itself on being a part of the community and this is just another example of how the university looked at a regional need and responded."

The American Association of Medical College Center (AAMC) for Workforce Studies reports the demand for physician services is increasing rapidly as the nation's population continues to age, grow, live longer and have more chronic illnesses that require increased medical attention. Physician assistants are part of the solution to help alleviate shortages in states where the distribution of physician providers is problematic.

The St. Ambrose MPA program builds upon an existing strength and an area of strategic focus at St. Ambrose. More than 525 students are currently enrolled in the university's accredited health sciences programs in nursing, physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech-language pathology and social work.

"The new graduate program, Master of Physician Assistant, is an excellent addition to an already exceptional set of offerings in the health sciences field at St. Ambrose," said St. Ambrose President Joan Lescinski, CSJ. "At a time of economic challenge, St. Ambrose offers students the opportunity to prepare for well-paying careers with myriad employment opportunities."

St. Ambrose Board of Trustee member Dan Broderick '82, MD, said the addition of the MPA program to the other health science offerings will allow St. Ambrose to cultivate a team approach to patient care that soon will become common in the health care industry.

"The modern health care team really is a team," he said. "It's not just physicians and nurses. PAs are really an integral member of that modern health care team."

In 2011 Forbes Magazine gave the physician assistant graduate degree a first-place ranking for the "best long-term opportunity" master's degree based on salary and employment outlook, citing, in part, the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics projection of a 39.7 percent increase in positions for PAs by 2018. According to a 2009 American Academy of Physician Assistants job survey, the mean salary for PAs working at least 32 hours per week was $93,100.

At the news conference, the university also announced the appointment of Clare Kennedy as MPA program director. A native of Omaha, Neb., Kennedy has been a physician assistant since 1996 and served as assistant professor in the University of Nebraska Medical Center Physician Assistant program, where she also served as faculty mentor of the student-run clinic for the underserved. Earlier in her career Kennedy directed the Rosebud Reservation Cancer Center in Rosebud, S.D., and was the telemedicine coordinator at the Rosebud Indian Health Service Hospital.

"The new MPA program answers a regional need for primary care service providers and provides the opportunity to prepare for a very fulfilling career," said Kennedy. "I'm excited to have been chosen as founding director of St. Ambrose's newest degree program in the health sciences field and look forward to educating the next generation of physician assistants."

Entry into the 27-month St. Ambrose MPA program will be a competitive process. Applicants must have earned their undergraduate degree; successfully completed specific prerequisite courses; and gained at least 500 hours of health care experience. Thirty-member cohorts will begin with classroom and laboratory studies including anatomy, pathology, physical examination and clinical medicine during the first 15 months, followed by 12 months of clinical rotations under the supervision of physicians and other specialists in required and elective practice areas of clinical specialization. Based on projected needs in rural states, the program will emphasize primary care. Graduates will be eligible to seek licensure to practice in one or more of the 50 states.

Physician assistant practice includes all elements of patient care including taking medical histories, completing examinations, ordering diagnostic tests and providing medical care including the prescription of medications. PAs attend to a wide variety of patients, assist in surgery, or specialize in one of a wide variety of practice areas in conjunction with their supervising physician.

The St. Ambrose MPA is seeking provisional accreditation from the Accreditation Review Council for Physician Assistants (ARC-PA). The first cohort is scheduled to graduate in December 2016.

news

News


The following appeared in the Summer 2012 issues of Scene Magazine:

Board of Trustee member Daniel Broderick '82, MD, said his message to future students in the new St. Ambrose Master of Physician Assistant Studies degree program will be a hearty "Welcome to the team."

Quite literally, he stressed.

"The modern healthcare team really is a team," he said. "It's not just physicians and nurses. PAs are integral members."

So, he said, are physical therapists. And occupational therapists. And speech-language pathologists. And nursing administrators.

Each of the above already are among St. Ambrose's health science offerings, which are sure to be strengthened by the MPAS program that was announced to the public on May 8.

"This new graduate program is an excellent addition to an already exceptional set of offerings in the health sciences field at St. Ambrose," said Sister Joan Lescinski, CSJ, president of St. Ambrose University.

Sandra Cassady, PhD, dean of the College of Health and Human Services, has been laying the foundation for the program since June 2010.

Cassady and newly hired program Director Clare Kennedy, MPAS, PA-C, will spend the next year hiring faculty and staff members, developing the program's curriculum, and setting up clinical rotation sites around the country.

The program has applied for provisional accreditation from the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA). Pending completion of this initial accreditation process, St. Ambrose anticipates matriculating its first class of 30 students in June 2014 and graduating that cohort in December 2016.

The program will debut at a time when a growing shortage of doctors, particularly general practitioners in rural settings such as Iowa, is expected to collide with a larger demand for healthcare from the aging baby boomer generation.

It is a void that physician assistants can fill quite ably, and in Iowa, only the University of Iowa and Des Moines University currently offer MPA degrees.

There will be no shortage of quality applicants for the SAU program. DMU had 659 applicants for 50 spots in 2010, and applicant pools generally far exceed openings nationwide.

Students seeking entry into the first St. Ambrose cohort will need at least 500 hours of healthcare experience. The 27-month program will begin with classroom and laboratory work, followed by 12 months of clinical rotations under the supervision of a nationwide network of physicians and healthcare specialists.

With more than 525 students enrolled in existing SAU health science programs, Broderick is excited that the physician assistant candidates will get a healthy exposure to the team approach that is becoming an integral part of modern patient care.

"Certainly, a lot of people currently in medicine were not trained with that model," said the certified neuroradiologist, who currently practices in Florida. "If you can have trainees understand that holistic approach, that's really going to be very critical."

Cassady said St. Ambrose healthcare students already work and learn within that team-oriented framework, sharing occasional classes and patient cases.

"One of the things we are very excited about is to be able to build on the inter-professional educational experiences we have," she said. "All of these individuals are team members who help take care of patients together. The more our students can learn about each other's fields, the better healthcare providers they will be."­

-Craig DeVrieze

News
news

Addy Nelson ’23 was born with an entrepreneur’s spirit. With her parents owning the bowling alley in her hometown of Gregory, South Dakota—the same place she perfected her game to earn a scholarship to St. Ambrose University—she learned early to be innovative, customer-focused and business-minded.

Read More About Innovative App-lication...

News
Maggie (Verdun) Bohnert '15, '16 MOT
News
news

At SAU, hard work = recognition. Here is a list of full-time students who were named to the St. Ambrose University Dean's List for the Fall 2023 term. These students earned a GPA of 3.5 or higher (on a 4.0 scale).

Read More About Fall 2023...

So, what's next?

Are you ready to take the next step? Click on the visit button below to learn more about our virtual and in-person visit options.