Physician Assistant/Associate
Physician Assistants are medical providers, most with graduate-level educations. They are licensed to diagnose and treat illness and disease, and to prescribe medication for patients.
PAs work in physician offices, hospitals, and clinics in collaboration with a licensed physician. Because of their advanced education in general medicine, modeled after physician education, PAs can treat patients with significant autonomy within the physician/PA relationship.
In the primary care setting, PAs can provide almost all the clinical services that physicians provide, including performing physical exams, diagnosing and treating illnesses and prescribing medications.
Application
Applicants complete a single application and submit it, with corresponding materials, to the central service, CASPA. CASPA verifies the application for accuracy, calculates the applicant’s overall GPA, and sends the application to the applicant’s designated programs. The majority of PA programs participate in the CASPA system.
GRE and/or PA-CAT
Some PA programs require an admissions exam – check with the program’s website to see their specific requirements and deadlines.
Prerequisite Coursework
- Prerequisites for NC Physician Assistant Programs
- CASPA COMMON PREREQUISITE COURSES (English version)
- REQUISITOS PREVIOS COMUNES DE CASPA (Spanish version)
- Note: Several PA programs require a Medical Terminology course: an UNC course option is CLAS 126 which is ONLY offered in the summer. Please plan accordingly!
Every PA program is different and may have recommendations/requirements not on the common list – always refer back to the PA program’s website for reference.