UW-Madison, PA program (possible distance education option) Undergraduate Degree

[health56]

http://www.physicianassistant.wisc.edu/generalinfo.htm

This program is in my back yard. If I were to get the B.S. degree in PA, would I be able to get a job? (They are transitioning the program to a masters degree level).

I'm thinking of checking this program out since it is only a couple of miles away from where I live.

Can anyone please provide some feedback? I already have clinical work experience and I already have a B.S. degree in Biology.

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[deleted6669]

at the present time only 3 states require an ms to practice or prescribe as a pa so this or any other pa program would be fine to practice almost anywhere.
there are a large # of postgrad ms programs you can do while working full time at your 1st job if you want an ms later.
graduation from any program makes you eligible to take the natl exam.
this program does require a significant time committment on campus and in clinicals. it is also 1 yr longer than a typical pa program because of the partial distance format so this isn't really a "distance program" as the clinicals are the same as the traditional program and you do have to spend the first semester and several days per subsequent semester on campus.

 

[health56]

at the present time only 3 states require an ms to practice or prescribe as a pa so this or any other pa program would be fine to practice almost anywhere.
there are a large # of postgrad ms programs you can do while working full time at your 1st job if you want an ms later.
graduation from any program makes you eligible to take the natl exam.
this program does require a significant time committment on campus and in clinicals. it is also 1 yr longer than a typical pa program because of the partial distance format so this isn't really a "distance program" as the clinicals are the same as the traditional program and you do have to spend the first semester and several days per subsequent semester on campus.

thank you for your response. I already work on campus, so taking classes at school isn't any big deal to me. I always thought to pratice as a PA you had to get a masters degree (god I hate it when professors flat out lie).

I will set a meeting with the head people of the PA program to talk with them.

Thanks.

 

[core0]

http://www.physicianassistant.wisc.edu/generalinfo.htm

This program is in my back yard. If I were to get the B.S. degree in PA, would I be able to get a job? (They are transitioning the program to a masters degree level).

I'm thinking of checking this program out since it is only a couple of miles away from where I live.

Can anyone please provide some feedback? I already have clinical work experience and I already have a B.S. degree in Biology.

Look at this on their page:
The Medical School of the University of Wisconsin is scheduled to begin enrolling students into a new Master of Public Health degree program in 2005. Completion of this degree requires an on campus presence. The degree may be completed in one year while employed clinically. It is not possible to simultaneously complete this degree while enrolled in the UW-Madison PA Program.

Also based on this it sound like the bachelors may be a moot point:
The UW-Madison Bachelor of Science PA Program is currently a twenty-four month professional program whose rigorous curriculum parallels that of a post-baccalaureate education. Typically, more than 80% of our enrolled students have already attained a bachelor’s degree. The program is in the process of planning the implementation of a Master of Physician Assistant Studies (MPAS) degree and plans to admit its last undergraduate class in 2009. We will continue to update our website as information becomes available.

David Carpenter, PA-C

 

[Febrifuge]

Madison is a great town, and if you already work on campus, you have some potential assets in terms of contacts and familiarity that can really help your application.

As others have said, it's important for employment to have passed the PANCE, and to take the PANCE you need to graduate from a PA program that is accredited by the NCCPA or the PAEA or whomever. Madison's program is all set. Plus, the planned switch to an MPAS* could, depending on when the change goes through, mean you would be grandfathered in. At some schools that have switched over, students entered into a Bachelors program and wound up graduating from a Masters program.

Because all PA programs have to meet the same standards, BS vs MS is sort of irrelevant from an academic point of view. The one thing that is truly different from one to the other has to do with federal financial aid. The maximum per-year as well as the maximum lifetime a person can borrow changes as you get into graduate school, so if you are maxed out on federal aid (or close to it), it could theoretically make a difference.

I checked out Madison too, back in the day. I think their web page has a link to the U of Nebraska online Master's thing for PAs. If having the MS becomes important for your career trajectory later on, that could also be an option.

Good luck with your meeting!


* As an aside, I really like what Yale and some others do: they offer a "Master of Medical Science" degree, which means that PA is your job title and it's your professional designation, but your degree has the word "Medical" right in it. My school grants the "Master of PA Practice," which to my mind is better than "Master of PA Studies."

I mean, if you get a Master's in English, it's a Master of Arts... in English. It's not a "Master of English Studies," which I find to be recursive and weird. Plus, I'm studying to practice as a PA, after all. That's a pretty random rant, to be sure, but it's something that bugs me about PA education and it's a shame new Masters programs don't try to break out of the mold.

 

[health56]

Madison is a great town, and if you already work on campus, you have some potential assets in terms of contacts and familiarity that can really help your application.

As others have said, it's important for employment to have passed the PANCE, and to take the PANCE you need to graduate from a PA program that is accredited by the NCCPA or the PAEA or whomever. Madison's program is all set. Plus, the planned switch to an MPAS* could, depending on when the change goes through, mean you would be grandfathered in. At some schools that have switched over, students entered into a Bachelors program and wound up graduating from a Masters program.

Because all PA programs have to meet the same standards, BS vs MS is sort of irrelevant from an academic point of view. The one thing that is truly different from one to the other has to do with federal financial aid. The maximum per-year as well as the maximum lifetime a person can borrow changes as you get into graduate school, so if you are maxed out on federal aid (or close to it), it could theoretically make a difference.

I checked out Madison too, back in the day. I think their web page has a link to the U of Nebraska online Master's thing for PAs. If having the MS becomes important for your career trajectory later on, that could also be an option.

Good luck with your meeting!


* As an aside, I really like what Yale and some others do: they offer a "Master of Medical Science" degree, which means that PA is your job title and it's your professional designation, but your degree has the word "Medical" right in it. My school grants the "Master of PA Practice," which to my mind is better than "Master of PA Studies."

I mean, if you get a Master's in English, it's a Master of Arts... in English. It's not a "Master of English Studies," which I find to be recursive and weird. Plus, I'm studying to practice as a PA, after all. That's a pretty random rant, to be sure, but it's something that bugs me about PA education and it's a shame new Masters programs don't try to break out of the mold.

Yeah, find it funny how schools name degrees. Anyways. I sent out a message today to talk about my application and to meet the people.

There sure are a lot of jobs for a PA right now. The salary looks to be very good.