Physician Assistant Entry Level Masters Program: About the Program

Mission of the Physician Assistant Program:

Program Goals:

Achievements of the Graduates:

Assessment of the performance of professionals is truly complex involving a diversity of parameters that may be difficult to quantify. Dedication, quality of patient care, professionalism, contributions to the community, and leadership within the PA profession are all measures of the achievement. Collectively, as one of the largest subsets of physician assistants nationally, Hahnemann PA Program graduates excel in all of these endeavors in their practices throughout the United States and internationally, as well.

Currently, there exists only one achievement criterion common to all certified graduates of PA Programs, the performance scores on the Physician Assistant National Certification Examination (PANCE). The Hahnemann PA Program’s student body and alumni comprise a group extraordinarily diverse in prior healthcare and non-healthcare experience, ethnicity, educational backgrounds, and levels of community-based service. The Hahnemann PA Program is unreservedly proud of the professional achievements of its graduates in all arenas.

Program PANCE Performance History:
The performance of the most recently graduated classes represented by the first-time takers of the PANCE is:

Accreditation:

Accreditation by The Middle States Commission on Higher Education of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools: Drexel University is fully accredited by The Middle States Commission on Higher Education representing the highest level of recognition awarded to colleges and universities.

Accreditation by the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant, Inc (ARC-PA): The nationally recognized Hahnemann Physician Assistant Program of Drexel University has enjoyed full accredited since 1973. All physician assistant programs must be accredited by the ARCC-PA for their graduates to be eligible for national certification by the National Commission on Certification for Physician Assistants (NCCPA); that national certification is a requirement for practice certification in most states. Accreditation is a process of external peer review administered primarily by non-governmental, voluntary organizations that grant recognition to institutions or specialized programs of study that meet established qualifications and educational standards. Compliance with such standards is determined through initial and subsequent periodic evaluations. Accreditation also benefits society by providing reasonable assurance of quality educational preparation for professional licensure and practice. This Program was most recently reaccredited in 2002 for six years and will be evaluated next in 2008.

History:

The Hahnemann Physician Assistant Program of Drexel University, established in 1971 at the Hahnemann Medical College and Hospital, graduated its first class in 1973. The program is among the oldest in the country, matriculates one of the largest classes each year, and has a long history of innovation in primary care education for physician assistants while addressing the its mission to improve health care in rural and urban underserved communities. Over its history, the PA Program has graduated thousands of physician assistants with 40 percent  practicing in primary care settings while the remainder practices within the full spectrum of medical and surgical disciplines and sub-disciplines. Additionally, 25 percent of graduates practice in either urban or rural medically underserved communities across the entire United States and foreign countries. Greater than 20 percent of the graduates are members of minority groups acknowledged to be underrepresented in the healthcare profession.

The Program's history is steeped in the tradition of diversity among its students. Each entering class is chosen from a truly national and international applicant pool with students from across the United States and frequently from other countries. Representation of recognized minorities is among the highest in the nation. The Program's selection of students includes a widely diverse group in relation to age, ethnicity, prior education, health care experience, and people-oriented activities. With this diversity in mind, the notable achievement by each class of graduates is a testament to its members and one in which they and the Program appropriately take great pride.

The Hahnemann Physician Assistant program is now part of Drexel University, a premier leader in innovative, technologically advanced higher education and home to one of the largest, private medical schools, Drexel College of Medicine, in the country. The PA Program is located on the University's Health Sciences Campus adjacent to the Hahnemann University Hospital, a major teaching hospital in the Philadelphia region. Additional clinical affiliation sites available to PA students are located throughout the greater Philadelphia region, the entire east coast, and numerous other locales across the country.

The PA Program is located in Center City, the heart of Philadelphia, which provides the students with the opportunities and advantages associated with living and training in this historically-rich, culturally-diverse, major urban capital of the United States. The students' learning experiences are complemented by a cornucopia of the fine arts, history, professional sports, and other uniquely 'big city' experiences available only in a major-urban environment.