Physician Assistant Studies Program Draft
Lynchburg College has applied for provisional accreditation from the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA). The College anticipates matriculating its first class in June 2015, pending provisional accreditation in March 2015. Provisional accreditation is an accreditation status for a new PA program that has not yet enrolled students, but at the time of its comprehensive accreditation review, has demonstrated its preparedness to initiate a program in accordance with the accreditation standards. The program will not commence in the event that this provisional accreditation is not received.
LC proposes to initiate a Physician Assistant Studies graduate program with a first entering class proposed for 2015. The program will be approximately 28 months in duration. It will be housed in the health sciences facility adjacent to the main campus of the College, which will be renovated to accommodate the training needs for the program. The cohort size for the program is proposed to be approximately 25-40. The information provided here in his draft only and will be updated on a regular basis at this website.
The overarching goal for Lynchburg College is to build a strong program that attracts top-quality faculty and students who will serve local, regional, national needs for well-educated physician assistants. The goal for the curriculum is to prepare physician assistant students to serve as generalists and work in any area of medicine that they which to pursue.
The curriculum will be approximately 90 credits over approximately 28 months. The first class is proposed to begin their studies in summer or fall of 2015 Subsequent cohorts would likely begin in May/ June or September and conclude their studies in August.
The first 16 months will include didactic instruction and the remaining 12 months will be in clinical education. The didactic portion of the program is anticipated to include coursework such as in anatomy, physiology, pathophysiology, pharmacology, clinical medicine, clinical skills, internal medicine, family medicine, general surgery, pediatrics, professional relationships, and ethical and legal practices. The clinical education program will be 12 months in duration. Students are projected to complete a total of 12 rotations of four weeks in duration. A given rotation requires the student to work the typical shift of his/her preceptor (for example, 8-12 hour shifts).
Dr. Jeremy M. Welsh has been appointed as the founding department chair and program director and will begin working in May 2013 to outline the structure and curriculum of the proposed program. Dr. Dan Johnson, medical director for the program, began his work October, 2012. He continues to work toward enabling the proposed program, and ultimately the clinical placements of the program, to be connected to the broader medical community. While serving in this part-time position, he also continues to serve as a practicing physician.
The Lynchburg College PA Studies Program will be housed in the Health Sciences facility approximately one block from the main entrance to the College. This facility already houses the DPT program on the upper level. The PA program will primarily occupy the terrace level of the building.
Updated 04/08/13
