Physician Associate Program

School(s): School of Health Professions

PBA’s new Physician Associate Program will be 28 months long with 16 months of didactic education and 12 months of clinical rotations. 

Anticipating ARC-PA approval, PBA will begin interviewing for their inaugural class in fall of 2023 and matriculate its first class on October 1, 2024. 

With PBA poised for continued, significant growth in the health sciences, you’ll experience rich, interdisciplinary collaboration. 

PBA prepares you for the real world with a year of clinical education, where you’ll work specific core rotations in the community or around the world. You’ll graduate from PBA ready to care for those in need with empathy and excellence. 

 

Physician Associate Program

Admissions for the PA program:

Applicates will be required to apply through the CASPA system.

The school requires applicants to earn a grade of C (2.0) or better in each of the following required courses. Prerequisites and direct patient care must be completed by start of program.

Applicants must earn a baccalaureate degree conferred from a regionally accredited institution of higher education before matriculation in the program.

Successfully pass the interview process. 

A 3+2 undergraduate program is currently being worked out and requirements for that will be posted as they become available. 

 

 

Requirements:

  • General Biology a including lab - 4 semester hours
  • Human Anatomy & Physiology I and II – 8 semester hours
  • General Inorganic Chemistry (I & II) including lab - 8 semester hours
  • Organic Chemistry including lab – 4 Semester hours
  • Microbiology including lab - 4 semester hours
  • Psychology 101 – 3 semester hours

*GRE taken in the last 5 years. No score requirement but a combined score of 300 and an essay of 3.5 would be competitive.

  • $500 deposit required two weeks after selection
  • The second $500 deposit will be due two weeks after the ARC-PA board recommendation in June 2024. 
  • Both deposits will go toward tuition and are nonrefundable. If for some unlikely reason PBA does not receive approval to start the program deposits will be refunded. 
  • Read more about Dr Tobin's experience with PA programs here.

  • Careship- designated assignments from Workship at PBA. 
  • Other allied health such as MA, CNA, EMT and health professions like BSN, CRT, MD or CLT

  • One letter from a mentor
    One letter from a healthcare professional (e.g. physician assistant, physician, dentist, pharmacist, registered nurse, nurse practitioner, physical or occupational therapist)
  • Recommendations submitted by relatives, friends, personal healthcare providers, or personal friends of the family are not acceptable.

Recommendations for a stronger application:

  • Biochemistry - 3 semester hours
  • Human Genetics - 3 semester hours
  • Medical Terminology – 1 semester hour
  • More direct patient care hours in different areas
  • Other allied and health professions

Requirements are preliminary and are subject to change. 

 

Palm Beach Atlantic University PA program has applied for Accreditation - Provisional from the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA). PBA PA program anticipates matriculating its first class in October, 2024, pending achieving Accreditation - Provisional status at the June, 2024 ARC-PA meeting. Accreditation - Provisional is an accreditation status granted when the plans and resource allocation, if fully implemented as planned, of a proposed program that has not yet enrolled students appear to demonstrate the program’s ability to meet the ARC-PA Standards or when a program holding accreditation-provisional status appears to demonstrate continued progress in complying with the Standards as it prepares for the graduation of the first class (cohort) of students.