Pacific University in Forest Grove, Oregon is now offering the Doctor of Medical Science degree (DMSc). Future Pacific PA Doctors will have to complete 4 semesters in “real-life application of healthcare science principles” unless they direct-admit from Pacific’s 27-month Master of PA studies program.
It’s been a year since I started the Doctor of Medical Science program at Lincoln Memorial University. The 3rd semester ends tomorrow with one more to go. This also marks the end of the “modules” and the beginning of our cognate or specialty-specific training. We had a few new students …
PAs serve a crucial role in improving patient access to healthcare. This data indicates that participants attribute a decline in PA employment opportunities to state legislative restrictions, which was exacerbated by SARS-CoV-2 in many states. Supervisory laws may be reducing patient access to care across all states and specialties. Participants suggested that the PA profession should seek to remove these practice barriers and better educate employers and the public to keep the PA profession viable in a constantly evolving healthcare landscape. As the clinician shortage in the US continues to worsen, barriers to PA employment will further exacerbate patient access to care.
I got home from the on-campus residency training at Lincoln Memorial University a few days ago and I am exhausted! The 4 semester LMU Doctor of Medical Science program requires 1-2 weeks on-campus for lecture, ultrasound presentation, and final project presentation. We spent 8-12 hours in class and lab every …
Almost done with the 5th module of LMU’s Doctor of Medical Science program. We completed 3 modules the first semester: cardiology, nephrology, and heme/onc. The second semester started with endocrinology and we’re now finishing up infectious disease. I really enjoyed the endo module, the physician was an excellent discussion leader. …
$21 million is a lot of money especially when it won’t change a single thing about PA practice. Those more important battles would likely have to wait years until a name change is complete. There is a better option. Focus on the future. Focus on becoming, and better yet earning, the title of doctor. Spend that $21 million on untethering PAs and PA Doctors from physicians. “Just say MCP?” Naw, just say Doctor.
PA faculty often find themselves in a quandary about how to generate scholarship. The traditional bench research is rarely a solution due to a lack of traditional research-PhD background of many faculty members. The good news is that with some creativity and mentoring faculty can find opportunities for scholarship embedded within their everyday lives. The classroom provides a fertile laboratory for data collection and analysis. Pedagogical innovations can be documented and prove suitable for publication. The scholar-practitioner model is arguably the most successful route for PA faculty to achieve tenure and higher rank.
Physician assistants (PA) are number #1 in healthcare, so getting a job for an experienced PA should be super simple. Right? Maybe not always. My personal awakening to the looming problems in the physician assistant profession came in 2018. I had always enjoyed an easy time finding a position, and …
My first semester of the LMU Doctor of Medical Science program is officially complete. I’m writing this in early January and we’ll be starting the next module on the 11th.
Just forty years ago, most PA programs were not offering a graduate degree—the program I attended only granted an associate degree. Years would pass before the master’s degree became the entry-level credential for pre-PAs.
