Physician Assistant Studies

Overview

Key Features

The program consists of one 12-month didactic phase and one 12-month clinical phase. Students learn how to care for patients in a variety of settings such as in-patient, out-patient, in the operating room and emergency room. Students further learn to treat patients across the lifespan, from newborn to the elderly. Students learn technical skills such as suturing and counseling skills. Global health is also emphasized.  The program offers seven required core rotations in the clinical year, as well as one elective.

The Physician Assistant Studies program from Marist College is located in the Marist College Allied Health Building, which has a state-of-the-art gross anatomy laboratory, standardized patient suites, a trauma simulation room, and a skills laboratory. In total, the program occupies over 18,000 square feet in the 58,000 square feet building. The program shares resources and activities with other programs in the School of Science on campus, especially the Doctor of Physical Therapy Program.  The opportunity to develop inter-professional skills will increase as new clinical programs are added to the School of Science. 

The success of the program’s design is measured, in part, in the first time pass rate of the Physician Assistant National Certifying Examination (PANCE).  The first-time pass rate for the 2018 cohort is 100% , for the 2019 cohort is 98%, and for the 2020 cohort is 92%.