Pre-Physician’s Assistant

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General Information:

Jeff Rettig, advisor

Students interested in Physician’s Assistant (PA) training must first complete a Bachelor of Science degree. PA Master’s Degree programs do not require a particular major. Every PA program has slightly different prerequisites which can be found by going to the Web site of that school. The student is encouraged to investigate the requirements of the PA schools he or she may wish to attend during the beginning of undergraduate studies. The following is a list of College of the Ozarks courses that are required by the majority of PA programs.

Requirements:

Required courses:

Biology: 16 credit hours including:

BIO 374 - Human Anatomy
BIO 434 - Vertebrate Physiology
BIO 304 - Microbiology
BIO 444 - Genetics
Upper division Biology courses have prerequisites that require additional hours in biology and chemistry. See College catalog for course listings.

Psychology: 3 credit hours including:

PSY 103 - Introduction to Psychology

Chemistry: 13-22 credit hours including:

CHE 114 - General Chemistry I
CHE 124 - General Chemistry II
CHE 215 - Organic Chemistry I
CHE 225 - Organic Chemistry II (check PA school program requirements)
CHE 424 - Biochemistry (check PA school for program requirements)

Shadowing and health care experience:

Most PA programs require a large number of hours of health care experience prior to application. This experience is very important to admission into PA programs. Investigate the specific requirements of individual PA programs for details.