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Physician assistants are medical professionals that practice medicine with the direction of physicians. In the United States, many schools provide the physician assistant program that produces thousands of competent physician assistants each year.
Every year the U.S. News and World Report lists top performing medical programs in the country and have ranked them based on their score of which 5 is the highest. In the last survey in 2011 by U.S. News and World Report, top physician assistant programs were compiled and ranked based on the performance of its PA program.
The top ten physician assistant programs include:
1. Duke University – Durham, NC, 4.4
2. University of Iowa – Iowa City, IA, 4.3
3. University of Utah – Salt Lake City, UT, 4.3
4. Emory University – Atlanta, GA, 4.1
5. George Washington University – Washington, DC, 4.1
6. Baylor College of Medicine – Houston, TX, 4.0
7. Oregon Health and Sciences University – Portland, OR, 4.0
8. University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey—Newark – Piscataway, NY, 3.9
9. University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center—Dallas – Dallas, TX, 3.9
10. University of Washington – Seattle, WA, 3.9
The Duke University in Durham, North Carolina tops all other programs in first place, having acquired a score of 4.4. The four-year private university roughly receives 14,000 enrollees each year. The PA program in Duke University includes a one year classroom and laboratory classes, and another year of clinical experience where students have to complete ten rotations in various clinical settings. With a score of 4.3, the University of Iowa and the University of Utah lands on second place. Both public universities receive around 28,500 enrollees every year.
The schools listed above are only the top ten of the many good performing physician assistant programs in the country. There are a total of 154 physician assistant programs accredited by the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant as of June 2011. The majority of PA graduate programs award master’s degree either in Physician Assistant Studies, Health Science or Medical Science. Each school have varying admission requirements which may range from acquiring previous working experience in the healthcare industry, obtaining bachelor’s degree, or passing the medical college admission tests or graduate record examinations. It is best to inquire from the school with regards to their prerequisites.
The physician assistant program basically follows the medical school model, but does not take up four years of education and there are no years of specialization required. The typical PA program can be completed by full-time students in around two, and some for three years. It includes one year of classroom and laboratory classes, and the last year consists of clinical rotations in various healthcare settings.