ANN ARBOR – Concordia University Ann Arbor will be introducing a Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies in fall 2019.
Described as "Michigan’s only Christian-based PA program," it will be 28 months long and will blend practical experience and lectures, along with an 11-month clinical training.
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It will be housed in the North Building with other CUAA health science programs, including nursing, health and human performance and athletic training. There, PAs will have the opportunity to take advantage of shared learning spaces and collaborate on research.
Christine Oldenburg-McGee, M.A.Ed., MS PA-C will lead the new program. She joins the CUAA faculty from the University of Michigan Hospitals' trauma burn emergency and acute care surgery.
"Concordia is making bold strides in health care education," Oldenburg-McGee said in a statement. "I'm pleased to work alongside my talented colleagues to prepare our students to provide a better patient experience that will have significant impact in their lives and the overall health of our community."
While much of the program will focus on primary care and preventative medicine, students will also cover clinical skills, pharmacology, physiology/pathophysiology and issues in health care.
A wide-ranging profession, PAs work in diverse medical settings, including emergency departments, family and internal medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics, general surgery and more. They collaborate regularly with various service providers ranging from diagnostic to therapeutic.
According to U.S. News and World Report's newest "best jobs" list, being a PA was rated the second-best health care job in the U.S. and the third-best job overall.
A recent report in Forbes found that the average salary of a PA is $107,000, up 12.7% over the last five years.
CUAA is now accepting applications for the program. Learn more by visiting www.cuaa.edu/PA.
Accreditation Statement:
The Concordia University Ann Arbor Master of Science, Physician Assistant Studies (MSPAS) Program has applied for Accreditation-Provisional from the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA). Concordia University Ann Arbor anticipates matriculating its first class in August 2019, pending achieving Accreditation-Provisional status at the March 2019 ARC-PA meeting. Accreditation Provisional is an accreditation status granted when the plans and resource allocation, if fully implemented as planned, of a proposed program that has not yet enrolled students appears to demonstrate the program's ability to meet the ARC-PA Standards or when a program holding accreditation-provisional status appears to demonstrate continued progress in complying with the Standards as it prepares for the graduation of the first class (cohort) of students.
