UW-Madison Physician Assistant (PA) Program

Mission

The UW-Madison Physician Assistant (PA) Program has a rich history of excellence and innovation in PA education. The program encourages scholarship, is responsive to changing health care and societal needs, facilitates personal and professional growth and promotes life-long learning.

Our Mission.

The mission of the University of Wisconsin-Madison Physician Assistant Program is to educate professionals committed to the delivery of comprehensive health care in a culturally and ethnically sensitive manner, with an emphasis on primary health care for populations and regions in need.

Our Vision.

The Program will serve as an academic and professional leader in the physician assistant profession by contributing its strengths in education, distance education, evidence-based practice, public health, community-based training and grant initiatives.

PA Program Diversity Statement

Diversity is central to the mission of the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health and to the UW-Madison PA Program in meeting the health needs of the people of Wisconsin and beyond through excellence in education, research, patient care, and service. The UW-Madison PA Program puts specific emphasis on educating professionals committed to the delivery of comprehensive health care in a culturally and ethnically sensitive manner, with an emphasis on primary health care for populations and regions in need. To achieve this vision, the UW-Madison PA Program will recruit, admit and graduate a diverse student body, maintain an open, inclusive and respectful learning environment, and employ a curriculum that embraces individual differences and enhances cultural awareness.

In an effort to avoid potential barriers in the admissions process for students of rural or underrepresented origin, we have established partnerships with pre-health advisors at colleges and universities across Wisconsin in addition to developing CPACs (Community Practice Advisory Councils) to recommend competitive applicants with disadvantaged status for a guaranteed interview. These students are then mentored by community partners and/or PA faculty and staff to strengthen identified weakness and build skills as part of the PA Profession Success Plan. Once admitted, students’ progress will be monitored closely throughout the professional program in addition to working with a faculty mentor and a representative of the Office of Student Academic Development as needed. In addition, to create flexible options for learners, the program may offer part-time curriculum.

The development of the PA Profession Success Plan has been very effective in better preparing underrepresented/disadvantaged applicants for admissions consideration and has consequently increased the enrollment of students who have disadvantaged backgrounds, an origin in a health professional shortage areas, or minority status into the UW-Madison PA Program.

Overview

Approximately thirty students are accepted each year into our full-time, 24-month campus-based professional program or our 36-month distance education track. We are an integral part of a world-class university and the Department of Family Medicine within the School of Medicine and Public Health. We have an experienced and committed faculty and staff, a dynamic primary care curriculum with an emphasis on prevention, an innovative approach to community health and diversity and unique community-based clinical learning experiences.

Director

Virginia Snyder, PhD, PA-C

Structure

• Highly regarded full-time, Two-year campus-based professional program
• Premier alternative Three-year community-based distance education (DE) track
• Approximately 30 students enroll in the PA program each year; up to 9 DE track students

Strengths

• Experienced and committed faculty and staff
• Dynamic primary care curriculum emphasizing preventive care
• Unique approaches to community health, diversity, and clinical learning-one of only a few PA programs in the nation to offer community-based distance education
• Located in a new state-of-the-art facility that offers advanced educational technology
• Thriving environment for collaborative research and professional education
• Integral part of a world-class family medicine department, school of medicine and public health, and university.

Proven Success

• Over 900 graduates of the program from its historic beginning in 1975 through today
• Accreditation update - September 2009: The Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA) reviewed our site visit report, application and supporting materials submitted from our Program and has awarded our Program a six year accreditation period, with the next review scheduled for fall 2015.

Forward Thinking Initiatives

Our rapidly growing program has launched several new initiatives that will benefit students, communities, and the state:

• MPAS. As a master's program, we prepare students for not only clinical practice, but in addition, research, administration, and teaching
• HRSA training grant. July 2008, one of 14 programs awarded a HRSA Title VII training grant ($581,000) to build community partnerships, collaboration with the Wisconsin Academy of Rural Medicine to design a rural track, and increase representation of PA students from medically underserved, rural communities
• New curriculum. Components of the re-engineered curriculum include: population/ public health, evidence-based medicine/ medical informatics, genetics, family medicine, cultural competency, rural health and clinical research methods/design, capstone experiences
• Opportunities. Collaborative research, interprofessional training, collegial environment, expanding faculty numbers.

The DFM Connection

The UW-Madison PA Program's academic home is within the UW Department of Family Medicine (DFM), one of the oldest, largest, and top-ranked family medicine departments in the nation. The DFM and PA Program have complementary missions, and although the PA Program functions independently, the DFM provides administrative oversight and support.