1000 South Fremont Avenue
Unit 7
Building A6, Room 6429
Alhambra, CA 91803
(626) 457-4240
FAX: (626) 457-4245
www.usc.edu/medicine/pa

Program Director: Theresa A. Woehrle, M.D.

Medical Director: Ignacio DeArtola, M.D.

Ricardo Hahn, M.D. Chair and Professor

Assistant Professors of Clinical Family Medicine: M. Blesofsky; R. Byous; I. DeArtola; L. Landry-Taylor; J. Mabee

Instructor of Clinical Family Medicine: M. Lucio

Clinical Instructors in Family Medicine: R. Bradley; L. Kirakosian; J. Tramel

The faculty listed are core faculty with the Primary Care Physician Assistant Program.

The Primary Care Physician Assistant Program prepares students to practice medicine under the supervision of a physician. Students earn a Master of Physician Assistant Practice (MPAP) upon completion of the program.

Based in the Department of Family Medicine, classroom instruction is provided by physician assistant program faculty and faculty from other departments within the Keck School of Medicine, the USC School of Pharmacy, divisions within the Health Sciences campus, as well as clinicians from the surrounding communities. Emphasis is placed on primary care. Clinical training occurs at dozens of clinical sites throughout the greater Los Angeles region, including Los Angeles County+USC Medical Center, Arrowhead Regional Medical Center (San Bernardino County Medical Center), Ventura County Medical Center, and a range of private offices and managed care settings, community based clinics, VA facilities and specialty settings. Opportunities to train in selected off-site settings serving Native American populations in the Southwest are available to some students.

Students complete clerkships in emergency medicine and urgent care, family medicine, internal medicine/geriatrics, women’s health, orthopaedics/occupational medicine, pediatrics and general surgery. Throughout these clerkships emphasis is placed on obtaining necessary clinical skills as well as learning to provide primary care services as part of a health care team. The physician assistant program is committed to recruiting disadvantaged applicants and to preparing graduates to practice in medically underserved areas.

The USC Primary Care Physician Assistant Program is accredited by the Accreditation Review Committee on Education for the Physician Assistant which is sponsored by seven medical national associations including the American Medical Association. The program is approved by the Physician Assistant Committee of the Medical Board of California. Graduates must pass a National Certifying Examination to qualify for licensure in California.

A monthly information session is available for prospective students who would like to receive more information in preparation for the program. Students who are interested in applying to the program are encouraged to visit the PA Program Web site at www.usc.edu/medicine/pa or call the PA Admission Office at (626) 457-4247.

A bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution and completion of all prerequisite course work are required for admission to the Physician Assistant Program.

Six semester units or nine quarter units each: general biology with lab; general chemistry with lab.

Three semester units or four quarter units of each of the following: human anatomy with lab; physiology with lab; microbiology with lab; intermediate algebra; and elementary statistics.

Students are expected to have a strong competency in medical terminology.

Six semester units or eight quarter units each: English composition (6) or English composition (3) and critical thinking (3) or logic (3); social sciences (e.g., psychology, sociology, anthropology); humanities (e.g., art, music, philosophy, religion).

Three semester units or four quarter units each: general psychology (does not count toward six semester or eight quarter units of social sciences listed above); foreign language (Spanish is strongly recommended).

Students who intend to apply to the Physician Assistant Program should contact the admission office for evaluation of previous baccalaureate and/or post-baccalaureate course work.

The GRE (Aptitude) or the MCAT are required.

A minimum of 1,000 hours of “hands-on” patient care experience is required. Successful applicants often have worked as one of the following: emergency medical technician, licensed vocational nurse, medical technologist, military medical corpsman, paramedic, psychiatric technician, radiologic technician, respiratory therapist, registered nurse or medical assistant. Other health care experience is equally acceptable as long as the experience is “hands-on” in nature.

Community service activities/projects are required of all applicants. Service which benefits medically underserved or disadvantaged groups is highly desirable.

The completion of a three-year professional curriculum is required to earn the Master of Physician Assistant Practice degree. Students do not have choices of courses to take nor are they permitted to drop any course or courses during the semester. Progress is permitted only when the prior semester is completed in full. Students should view the curriculum outlined here as advisory only and subject to modification.

All students in the Master of Physician Assistant Practice degree program must meet course and grade point average requirements. All course requirements must be completed with a grade of “B” or better. The degree will not be conferred until the student has successfully completed all degree requirements. Students are subject to the degree requirements in the catalogue current for the semester of their admission into the program.

Physician assistant students are enrolled in a standard curriculum during their three years in the program. The following courses must be successfully completed in order to earn the Master of Physician Assistant Practice. Only physician assistant students may enroll in these courses. Departmental clearance is required to enroll.

Requests for further information may be addressed to: USC Physician Assistant Program, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, 1000 South Fremont Ave., Unit 7, Building A6, Room 6429, Alhambra, CA 91803.