did anyone become a PA in the military?

[timbo85]

I think that the Air Force offers a program, the others probably do too. So has anyone done the physician assistant program in the military?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[R-Me-Doc]

Army, Navy, Air Force all offer PA school. The entire concept of the PA, in fact, was pretty much a military invention back in the Vietnam era I believe. While I have not gone to PA school, I can tell you that the Army PA program (run in San Antonio) is pretty good judging from the PA's I have worked with. The program is 2 years long; 1st year is classroom and done at Ft Sam Houston in San Antonio. For the second year you do clinical rotations at an Army hospital somewhere. There are opportunities for PAs to subspecialize (ortho, surgery, medicine, etc) but I'm not sure if those are run by the military itself or if you are deferred to civilian programs for further training.

 

[entpa]

The military PA program is called "IPAP" or the Interservice PA Program. It is a joint Army/AF/Navy/Coast Guard program. The website is "fshtx.army.mil/ipap". You generally have to be and enlisted service member to apply although the Army has allowed some officers to attend. They also allow Army Guard to attend as well. It has a rep as a very solid program. The first yr is didatic mostly as R-Me-Doc said. The second yr you spend at a military hospital for your rotations. Here at Offutt AFB our PA students do some rotations at UNMC I believe. I went thru the AF Program in 91-93 prior to the merge of the three programs. Then we graduated with a BS and were commissioned as 2nd louies, now they are graduating with an MS. And I've heard scuttlebutt that they get commissioned after the first yr.

 

[entpa]

I think the Fed Bureau of Prisions also sends students to the IPAP program.

 

[deleted6669]

there is also a residency program in em through the army. see www.appap.org for a list of accredited residencies.

 

[Rock Star]

Yeah the Navy PAs are the coolest people in military medicine. I always seem to end up partying with those guys whenever I go to the AAPA conference. Maybe its because of their laid back attitude. Most of them were operational, so they've been in the sh;t, and don't need to prove anything. The PAs in my branch, the USAF, were always stuck up. Alright enough of that.

I didn't go to military PA school, but i can tell you that every IPAP graduate I've worked with was solid!!!

I need to plug the Air Force/Air Guard: about 2-3years ago IPAP started accepting applications from the air guard. As mentioned previously you have to be an enlisted person already in the Air Guard to be elgible.

Good luck to you.

 

[timbo85]

thanks for all the info guys. i have looked into the stuff and have decided to go to PA school instead of doing it through the military.

 

[PACtoDOC]

I got out of active Navy enlisted service and went to PA school. I graduated and went into the Army reserve as a PA where my service was at Fort Sam as an instructor. I came yearly and helped put on the goat lab and teach ACLS. It was a blast. The IPAP program is on par with medical school where I am now starting 3rd year in one month. The IPAP guys are mostly ex high speed enlisted medics!! HOOOAAH