Physician Assistant Program
Physician Assistant Mission
To improve universal access to health care by graduating highly competent and confident Physician Assistants prepared to provide exceptional quality, patient-centered ethical health care in a collaborative environment.
Bryant University Physician Assistant Program Vision
The Bryant University Physician Assistant program will:
- Graduate top performing physician assistants from a rigorous program
- Prepare physician assistant students to perform in any clinical environment
- Engage physician assistant students in the pursuit of lifelong learning
- Instill in our students a desire to seek roles in leadership
- Ensure commitment to furthering the success of our profession
Goals of the Bryant University Physician Assistant Program
- Prepare our physician assistant students to excel in all of the competencies required for PA practice by providing a rigorous and supportive program in which to develop the knowledge, interpersonal, clinical, and technical skills, professional behaviors, and clinical reasoning and problem solving abilities necessary to clinical care
- Prepare our physician assistant students to meet the needs of our health care system by providing a strong primary care experience caring for under-served populations and by developing an understanding of the health care delivery and payment systems that affect health care access, outcomes, and potential disparities
- Develop and support our physician assistant students’ commitment and ability to serve in leadership roles as advocates for patients and the PA profession
- Develop and strengthen our physician assistant students’ skills and habits critical for life-long learning and continuous practice-based self-improvement
- Facilitate achieving our program’s mission, vision, and goals by integrating and supporting diverse perspectives throughout the curriculum, including global and inter-professional perspectives, in order to best serve the needs of our diverse patients and communities
Bryant University Physician Assistant Program Accreditation Status
The Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant, Inc.(ARC-PA) has granted Accreditation-Continued status to the Bryant University Physician Assistant Program sponsored by Bryant University. Accreditation-Continued is an accreditation status granted when a currently accredited program is in compliance with the ARC-PA Standards.
Accreditation remains in effect until the program closes or withdraws from the accreditation process or until accreditation is withdrawn for failure to comply with the Standards. The approximate date for the next validation review of the program by the ARC-PA will be June 2028. The review date is contingent upon continued compliance with the Accreditation Standards and ARC-PA policy.
Physician Assistant Program Curriculum
Courses by Semester
The physician assistant program is a 27-month, 126 semester hour course of study leading to a Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies degree.
The program consists of 9 terms:
| First Year | ||
|---|---|---|
| First Term | Credit Hours | |
| PA 501 | Physiology and Pathophysiology | 3 |
| PA 502 | Clinical Pharmacology | 3 |
| PA 503 | Human Anatomy | 4 |
| PA 504 | Clinical Laboratory | 2 |
| PA 505 | Research Methods | 1 |
| PA 506 | Genetics | 1 |
| Term Credit Hours | 14 | |
| Second Term | ||
| PA 510 | Clinical Medicine I | 5 |
| PA 511 | Clinical Medicine II | 5 |
| PA 512 | History and Physical Examination | 3 |
| PA 513 | Electrocardiography | 1 |
| PA 515 | Behavioral Medicine | 2 |
| PA 516 | Clinical Correlations One | 2 |
| PA 524 | Public Health and Dental Medicine | 1 |
| Term Credit Hours | 19 | |
| Third Term | ||
| PA 514 | Diagnostic Testing and Imaging | 1 |
| PA 520 | Clinical Medicine III | 5 |
| PA 521 | Clinical Medicine IV | 5 |
| PA 522 | Pediatrics | 4 |
| PA 523 | Orthopedics | 4 |
| PA 525 | Clinical Skills | 1 |
| PA 526 | Clinical Correlations Two | 2 |
| Term Credit Hours | 22 | |
| Fourth Term | ||
| PA 530 | Clinical Medicine V | 5 |
| PA 531 | Clinical Medicine VI | 5 |
| PA 532 | Emergency Medicine | 6 |
| PA 533 | Surgery | 3 |
| PA 534 | Medical Ethics and Law | 1 |
| PA 535 | PA History and Professional Issues | 1 |
| PA 536 | Clinical Correlations Three | 2 |
| Term Credit Hours | 23 | |
| Total Credit Hours: | 78 | |
| Clinical Year | ||
| PA 601 | Inpatient Internal Medicine Supervised Clinical Practice Experience | 4 |
| PA 602 | Outpatient Internal Medicine Supervised Clinical Practice Experience | 4 |
| PA 603 | Family Medicine Supervised Clinical Practice Experience | 4 |
| PA 604 | General Surgery Supervised Clinical Practice Experience | 4 |
| PA 605 | Pediatrics Supervised Clinical Practice Experience | 4 |
| PA 606 | Obstetrics and Gynecology Supervised Clinical Practice Experience | 4 |
| PA 607 | Psychiatry Supervised Clinical Practice Experience | 4 |
| PA 608 | Emergency Medicine Supervised Clinical Practice Experience | 4 |
| PA 609 | Orthopedics Supervised Clinical Practice Experience | 4 |
| PA 610 | Dermatology Supervised Clinical Practice Experience | 4 |
| PA 611 | Elective Supervised Clinical Practice Experience | 4 |
| PA 612 | Mini Clinical Supervised Clinical Practice Experience | 4 |
| Total Credit Hours | 48 | |
Faculty
Director of Physician Assistant Program
Jay Amrien, MPAS, PA-C
Clinical Associate Professor
Medical Director
Peter King, MD
Associate Program Director
Christopher Furbee, DSc, PA-C
Director of Clinical Education
Christopher Ferreira, MSPAS, PA-C
Director of Didactic Education
Wendy Buja, MS, PA-C
Director of Admissions and Academic Success
Kayla Cetrone, MEd