So you want to be a PHYSICIAN ASSISTANT/ASSOCIATE (PA)

Most graduate level professional health programs do not require a specific undergraduate major. They do require:

A bachelors degree
Prerequisite coursework, typically with minimum grades of B or B- or higher
A minimum GPA, typically at least 3.0 but many programs have an average GPA of 3.5 or higher for admitted students
Shadow/Volunteer/Patient Contact Experience in a setting related to your specific field of interest (STRONGLY RECOMMENDED if not required)

Admissions requirements vary from school to school, so you should ALWAYS do your research to make sure you have a plan to meet all of the requirements needed for your schools of interest.

What major should I choose? The Health Pathways page provides information about all of the health related programs at ODU. This is a good place to start exploring options to make sure you've chosen your best fit major.

Common majors for students interested in PA school:

Biomedical Sciences
Health Services Administration
Medical Laboratory Science
Nuclear Medicine Technology
Nursing
Pre-Clinical Studies
Psychology
Public Health

Regardless of major, the Pre-Health Advisory Committee (PHAC) assists students with the application process for graduate professional health programs: https://www.odu.edu/sci/academics/advising/pre-health

What Do I Need to Apply?

Always check with your schools of interest to see which specific prerequisites they require, and which ones they recommend. Check the directory of accredited programs to search for information about admissions requirements for the school(s) to which you plan to apply.

Physician Assistant/Associate: American Academy of Physician Associates (AAPA)Links to an external site. and Physician Assistant Education Association (PAEA) Program DirectoryLinks to an external site.

Common Prerequisite Courses	Course Numbers
Anatomy & Physiology I & II w/labs	BIOL 240 or 250	BIOL 241 or 251
Microbiology or Cell Biology	BIOL 150/151 or BIOL 293	BIOL 316/317 (requires BIOL 293 and 294 prereqs)
General/Inorganic Chemistry I & II w/ labs	CHEM 121N/122N	CHEM 123N/124N
Organic Chemistry I (some programs require lab)	CHEM 211/212
Math or Physics	MATH 102M or 103M or 162M or PHYS 111N or STAT 130M
Intro to Psychology + Advanced Psychology	PSYC 201S	PSYC 203S or PSYC 306 or PSYC 353 or PSYC 405

How will my GPA be evaluated?

You'll apply through a Centralized Application Service, or CAS. The link below explains how GPAs are calculated:

Physician’s Assistant

CASPALinks to an external site.

Why Shadow:

https://www.aapa.org/career-central/become-a-pa/how-to-find-pa-shadowing/

Clinical Experiences:

PA programs strongly recommend that applicants have patient care experience where they are "directly responsible for the care of a patient" beyond daily living activities like feeding/bathing/changing or basic patient interactions gained through volunteering. For this reason, it is strongly recommended that students seek a certification that will allow them to gain at least 1000-2000 hours of direct patient care experience before applying to PA programs.

Become a Medical Assistant: https://online.odu.edu/continuing-education/programs/healthcare/certified-medical-assistant or search for local Certified Clinical Medical Assistant (CCMA) courses
Become a Patient Care Technician: Sentara offers a 16-week program which includes 180 hours of hands-on experience https://www.sentara.edu/academics/patient-care-technicianLinks to an external site.
Become an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT): Search local Community Colleges or health care institutions for programs in your area, such as Tidewater Community College.Links to an external site. You can also check with your local Emergency Medical Services (EMS) department to see if they offer EMT training. Some cities, like Virginia Beach, offer free EMT training in exchange for a volunteer time commitment: https://ems.virginiabeach.gov/members/training/emt-academy
Become a Tech: ED Tech, Patient Care Tech, Nuclear Medicine Tech, Radiology Tech, etc. are all great ways to gain the clinical experience needed to be competitive for PA programs.

Related Student Organizations:

Pre-Health Club
Alpha Epsilon Delta
Global Brigades
Health Occupations Students of America (HOSA)
Operation Smile

Public Health Students Association