Physician Assistant Studies (MS)

The mission of the Physician Assistant Studies Program is to develop highly qualified Physician Assistants who will serve as collaborative leaders in patient care, professional service and advocacy for all populations.

Goals

The following data is from the Class of 2023 and 2024 Student Exit Surveys. Twenty-six students (44%) from Class of 2023 and 36 students (61%) from Class of 2024 report their perceived effectiveness of the program in achieving the following goals using a five-point Likert scale to in which 1 = not effective at all and 5 = extremely effective. Benchmark of mean ≥ 3.5 for all six goals.

Goal 1: To create and foster an atmosphere of learning and practice that emphasizes, promotes and champions diversity, equity, and inclusion in our Programs, in our School and in the health care professions.

• Class of 2023 mean: 4.31
• Class of 2024 mean: 4.25

Goal 2: To provide students with the required cognitive knowledge, affective behaviors, and psychomotor skills to consistently and reliably function as a physician assistant.

• Class of 2023 mean: 4.5
• Class of 2024 mean: 4.33

Goal 3: To graduate skilled physician assistants who practice patient-centered care.

• Class of 2023 mean: 4.61
• Class of 2024 mean: 4.44

Goal 4: To inspire a lifelong desire and responsibility for continued learning, service to the community and advocacy within the health care profession. Mean rating of 4.47

• Class of 2023 mean: 4.5
• Class of 2024 mean: 4.47

Goal 5: To encourage graduates to pursue educational, research and administrative activities within the health care profession.

• Class of 2023 mean: 3.73
• Class of 2024 mean: 3.94

Goal 6: To advance PA education by incorporating clinical technology to prepare students to practice in the clinical environments of the future.

• Class of 2023 mean: 4.15
• Class of 2024 mean: 4.2

Comments

1. “I feel Pitt made the goals clear from the start and stuck with them: Patient-centered care with DEI focus. Tons of hands-on learning made the program stand out for me with POCUS, cadaver lab and suturing, and OSLERs.”
2. “I feel very prepared to enter into practice within the real world thanks to the diverse experiences offered to me during both didactic and clinical year, including in the realms of surgery, rural healthcare, and diverse patient populations.”
3. “I think our program did an outstanding job promoting DEI engagement and giving us opportunities to broaden our scope while caring for a very wide range of patients. I also think that POCUS in our program was well used and helpful for clinical practice”
4. “Each of these goals were consistently addressed throughout both years of the program”
5. “The faculty at Pitt truly cares for each and every one of their students. I feel like all of the program goals were very effective during my time as a student.”
6. “Thank you so much for preparing me to be a PA. I feel like I am in the right profession and well trained to begin making a difference.”
7. “I specifically chose UPitt despite being very far from home and having questionable weather because of the focus on diversity, equity and inclusion. This focus was lived and breathed by the program and embodied by all staff. I always felt welcome and valued. The program excelled at incorporating these topics into lectures, patient encounters, optional discussions, and the personality of the program. Faculty at UPitt were second to none. I truly felt they cared about me and our learning. Anything they could do to help they did, always going way above and beyond exceptions. If there was an issue Dr. Graff tried to solve. it. They aren’t only intelligent people teaching, they lead by example in how to be genuinely good human beings. They were instructors, mentors, coaches, patient advocates, cheer leaders, and did it all with grace and patience beyond measure. I cannot imagine having gone to a different program and not being inspired by these leaders in patient care.”
8. “Pitt’s program and professors were supportive and challenging and ultimately set me up for a successful future career as a PA.”