PROGRAM OVERVIEW
Accreditation
The Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA) has granted Continued Accreditation to the Physician Assistant Program sponsored by Augsburg College. Continued accreditation is an accreditation status granted when a currently accredited program is in compliance with the ARC-PA Standards.
Continued Accreditation remains in effect until the program closes or withdraws from the accreditation process or until accreditation is withdrawn for failure to comply with the Standards. The approximate date for the next comprehensive review of the program by ARC-PA will be September 2018.
Mission of the Program
The mission of the Augsburg College Physician Assistant Studies Program is based on a foundation of respect and sensitivity to persons of all cultures and backgrounds and oriented towards providing care to underserved populations. Students are well educated in current medical theory and practice, and graduates are encouraged to work in primary care settings. The program promotes dedication to excellence in performance, with the highest standards of ethics and integrity, and commitment to lifelong personal and professional development.
General Goals of the Program
The Augsburg College Physician Assistant Program will educate students to:
- Work in primary care (defined by AAPA as family medicine, general internal medicine, geriatrics, pediatrics and women's medicine,
- Work with diverse populations
- Practice with a high degree of professionalism and
- Provide competent patient care
We demonstrate achievement of our goals by compiling data* from our graduating students specific to our goals:
- 58% of graduates responding work in primary care.
- 81% of our respondents work in an urban setting and 19% in a rural setting.
- Graduates are employed within an average of four months post graduation. We have one of our graduates on staff as a full-time faculty member. 15% of our graduates support the program by lecturing or becoming clinical instructors.
- The Program is not aware of any graduate who has been reprimanded by a state licensing board.
*Data obtained from surveying graduates from the classes of 2006-2010.
Program Information
The Department of Physician Assistant Studies is the sole Physician Assistant Program in the state of Minnesota. The Program's mission is to educate generalist physician assistants oriented toward service to underserved populations, both in the rural setting and urban areas. The Physician Assistant Program at Augsburg is 36 months long with studies beginning each year in the summer semester (late May).
The first 19 months of study is didactic, or classroom work, including courses in human gross anatomy, pathophysiology, clinical medicine, pharmacotherapy, history and physical exam skills, research, and professional issues in medicine. The academic phase of the program also includes development of practical skills through the use of case studies, simulated patients, and technical skills workshops (i.e. suturing, phlebotomy).
The clinical phase is 17 months in length. Each student is required to successfully complete clinical rotations in family medicine, pediatrics, women's health, psychiatry, emergency medicine, internal medicine, surgery and an elective rotation by choosing from various specialties. The clinical phase will culminate with a 12-week preceptorship. This preceptorship is designed to solidify the students primary care skills. Clinical instructors include Physicians, Physician Assistants and other health care providers.
A student may be required to spend a significant portion of the clinical phase or the entire clinical phase at site(s) determined by the Program to provide the student with the best educational experience. Those sites will be located throughout the state of MN and possibly bordering cities in WI and ND.
PANCE Results for the Augsburg PA Program
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