Primary Care Physician Assistant Program

The Master of Physician Assistant Practice Program is a 33-month, graduate curriculum that includes integrated course work in the basic sciences, medicine, clinical skills, public health and epidemiology, health care administration, and psychosocial and behavioral sciences. Students enter the Program having completed a Bachelor’s degree as well as a set of Program prerequisites. Our unique location within the Keck School of Medicine of USC provides students with a vast array of educational and clinical resources that contribute to the excellence in training. The physician assistant (PA) is a health care professional qualified by academic and clinical education and by formal certification to practice medicine with the supervision of a doctor of medicine or osteopathy. Physician assistants perform diagnostic, therapeutic, preventive and health maintenance services in any setting in which physicians provide care. Physician assistants are accountable for their own actions as well as being accountable to their supervising physician.

MISSION STATEMENT:

The USC Primary Care Physician Assistant Program is dedicated to the advancement of physician assistant education and emphasizes service to the medically underserved. The Program is committed to preparing students from a wide variety of backgrounds to practice medicine with the supervision of a physician. Emphasis is placed upon understanding and appreciating diversity. The Program aims to prepare its graduates to practice and promote primary health care of the highest quality as part of a multidisciplinary team.

GOALS OF THE PROGRAM:

Education: Provide excellent primary care educational instruction and professional development to PA students and promote the growth and development of PA education.

Diversity: Emphasize diversity in the selection of students and faculty, and in the curriculum.

Quality: Promote excellence in healthcare through the careful selection of admissions policies, well-prepared faculty and lecturers, and clinical experiences that emphasize primary care medicine.

Service: Encourage service to the medically underserved.