Physician Assistant

A physician assistant (PA) are licensed healthcare professionals that work under the supervision of a physician to practice medicine and provide healthcare in any specialty.

Some key responsibilities include:

  • Taking medical history
  • Performing physical examinations
  • Ordering and interpreting laboratory tests
  • Treat minor injuries by suturing, splinting, and casting
  • Make diagnoses
  • Prescribe medications*

* Scope of practice and level of supervision for PAs may vary from state to state.

PAs are different from nurse practitioners (NP) who focus on a specific specialization, take a more preventative care approach, and work independently. PAs have more flexibility in specialization, take a more diagnostic approach, and work under the supervision of a physician. PAs are trained based on the medical model while NPs follow the nursing model. 

To learn more about what is a PA, check out American Academy of Physician Associates (AAPA): What is a PA?

Physician Assistant Preparation

  • Timeline

  • 1. Obtain a Bachelor’s degree and complete all pre-PA requirements, including prerequisites, PA-CAT/GRE (if applicable), LORs, and experiences (4+ years)
    2. Attend an accredited PA program (2-3 years) and earn a Master’s Degree in Physician Assistant
    3. Pass the Physician Assistant National Certifying Exam (PANCE) to be certified
    Optional: Complete a fellowship for a speciality focus (length varies)
    4. Become licensed in the state where you want to practice
    5. Maintain your certification

    Upon matriculation into a health professional school, there are additional steps students must complete in order to obtain licensure or professional certification. These steps vary by field and by program, and may include board examinations, supervised clinical hours, background checks, or other program-specific milestones. Once you are in your graduate program, your graduate program advisor will provide guidance on the post-graduation next steps.

  • Pre-Requisites

  • Prerequisite courses are the academic foundation that most schools require students to complete to prepare for standardized exams and before beginning PA school. No matter which major you choose, you will need to fulfill the specific science and non-science prerequisites set by each school. We strongly recommend you complete the prerequisite coursework prior to studying for and taking the exam. Always review and cross-check the requirements of your major with the prerequisite coursework for your chosen Physician Assistant Program(s) to ensure you are completing both UCD requirements as well as the requirements of your intended school(s).

    While HPA has developed a suggested prerequisite chart from a sample of schools, prerequisite coursework and entrance requirements can vary quite a bit by program, hence it is important to check individual schools' websites to familiarize yourself with their exact prerequisites.

    Program Prerequisites

    Courses to Take at UC Davis

    Required for PA-CAT?

    Most schools require: 

    		  

    General Biology with Lab 1

    BIO 1 & 2 & 3 AND BIO 1L & 2L

    YES

    General Chemistry with Lab

    CHE 2ABC OR CHE 4ABC

    YES

    Organic Chemistry

    CHE 8AB OR CHE 118ABC

    YES

    Human Physiology with Lab

    (NPB 101 & NPB 101L) OR (NPB 110C & NPB 101L)

    YES

    Human Anatomy with Lab

    (EXB 106 & EXB 106L) OR (CHA 101 & CHA 101L)

    NO

    Microbiology with Lab

    MIC 102 AND 103L

    Recommended

    General Psychology

    PSC 1

    NO

    Statistics

    STA 13 OR STA 100

    NO

    Some schools may require:

    		  

    Genetics

    BIS 101

    Recommended

    Biochemistry

    BIS 102 AND BIS 103

    NO

    Nutrition

    NUT 10 AND NUT 11

    NO

    Math

    College-Level Math Course (ex. MAT 17ABC, MAT 21ABC…)

    NO

    Sociology

    SOC 1 OR SOC 3

    NO

    English Composition 

    Combination of 3-quarters of writing-intensive ENL and UWP courses

    NO

    Spanish

    SPA 1 & 2 & 3

    NO

    Medical Terminology

    Course not offered at UC Davis

    NO

    Prerequisite Chart Footnotes:
    1. PA schools have varying requirements for general biology. Some may not require it, some require 1 semester (2 quarters) or 1 quarter, or some require 9-12 quarter units of general biology. HPA recommends pre-PA students to take the full year. General biology is also a prerequisite for UCD upper-division biology courses.

    HPA Recommendations:
    1. Complete all prerequisite courses for a letter grade, not P/NP.
    2. Earn a “C” or higher in all prerequisite coursework. Some programs may require no lower than a B in any of your prerequisite courses.
    3. Maintain a minimum undergraduate and science GPA of 3.0 or higher. A competitive GPA will be higher for most programs.

    Additional things to consider:
    1. There is no ideal major required for PA schools. We encourage students to choose majors they are genuinely interested in rather than one chosen solely to fulfill PA school prerequisites. As long as PA school prerequisites are completed alongside major requirements, students should be on track.
    2. For the lists of courses that count towards the science GPA, refer to the Centralized Application Service for Physician Assistant (CASPA): CASPA Course Subject List.

    Please note that while some PA schools do accept community college credit, it may be a limited amount of classes or units. Most PA schools also restrict the amount of course repeats and have specific deadlines for the completion of prerequisites prior to applying (ex: complete prerequisites by a specific month, a quarter/semester prior to applying, etc.). Additionally, the acceptance of AP credit may differ from school to school. It is important for students to research their PA schools of interest. If you have any questions about your major, prerequisite courses, or grade/GPA concerns, you are encouraged to make an appointment with one of HPA Staff Advisors.

  • Exam

  • Most PA schools do not require standardized exams, however, some schools may require the PA-CAT or GRE. You can speak with a HPA Staff Advisor about your specific schools and timeline. Check each individual school’s admissions webpage that you are applying to to see if they require it.

    The Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) is not a course-dependent test, meaning there are no specific UCD courses you need to take to prepare. The best way is to give yourself time to study the test by buying test prep books or taking a test prep course.

    PA-CAT is a new science-based entrance exam. Before taking the Physician Assistant College Admissions Test (PA-CAT), we strongly recommend that students complete the prerequisite courses for the exam prior to taking the exam - the courses provide foundational knowledge to support studying for the test.

    To learn more about the standardized exam and preparing for it, please visit HPA’s Application Preparation tab on Standardized Exams and HPA’s Test Prep Events & Resources.

Applying to Physician Assistant School

  • Choosing Schools

  • There are over 300 PA schools in the U.S. Check out the Physician Assistant Education Association (PAEA)'s CASPA Program Directory for a list of CASPA-participating PA programs.

    There are a variety of factors that go into choosing which PA schools to apply to, including degree awarded, location, environment (i.e. urban), tuition, class size, focus or mission statement, etc. Spend some time researching schools online and create a spreadsheet that tracks the factors most important to you. On average, pre-PA students apply to 10-15 PA schools. HPA also recommends meeting with an advisor to discuss your school list.

  • Application System

  • Pre- PA applicants typically apply the year before they matriculate into the PA school and Centralized Application Service for Physician Assistants (CASPA) is a centralized application system that is used by most PA schools. To learn more about CASPA, visit the webpage Centralized Application Service for Physician Assistants (CASPA): Welcome to CASPA. Students are encouraged to refer to the Centralized Application Service for Physician Assistants (CASPA): CASPA Applicant Help Center for additional guidance on how to complete their applications.

    The CASPA opens in late April and closes early April of the following year; these dates may vary for schools who are not utilizing CASPA. While CASPA closes in early April, participating schools of CASPA may have earlier deadline dates, which are the deadlines applicants should be submitting by. These deadlines may also vary by schools or some may admit students on a rolling basis; please check your individual schools for specific dates. If that is the case for your school of choice, be sure to submit your application early, but only when you are ready. Come see an advisor at Health Professions Advising to review your application.

    Schools and application systems may have specific guidelines about what is considered a completed application, and these components may vary based on the application system and/or individual school. Some examples include but are not limited to submitting the application fee and receiving letters of recommendations and official transcripts. Students are responsible for ensuring their applications are complete, submitted, and verified by the application deadline.

    To learn more about applications and application timeline, please visit HPA’s Application Preparation tab on Applications and Application Timelines.

  • Personal Statement
  • The prompt and/or character or word count may vary per year. HPA recommends applicants  begin drafting their personal statement in advance of the application opening. It is very common for applicants to write multiple drafts before they finalize their personal statement. To learn more about approaching personal statements, please visit HPA’s Application Preparation tab on Personal Statements.
  • Experiences and Activities

  • Experiences and activities help students learn more about their motivations, interests, and goals, and to explore the field of Physician Assistant. What you do with your time helps define who you are in your application. Whatever you choose to do, be sure you are dedicated, passionate about it, and understand your motivation for pursuing it. It is important that you balance your co-curricular activities with your academics to ensure you are maintaining strong academic performance while still engaging meaningfully outside the classroom.

    PA programs typically require a range of 1000–3000 or more hours in Direct Patient Care Experience (PCE). Direct patient care experience refers to hands-on patient care, where you are directly involved in the patient care or treatment process. Each PA program is especially specific about the type of experiences that is classified as PCE, and this varies depending on the school. We encourage you to research the types of experiences that fall under PCE for your schools of interest. Note that CASPA prefers applicants to only include experiences from the last 10 years, beginning at least at collegiate level.

    To learn more about experiences and various on- and off-campus opportunities, please visit HPA’s Application Preparation tab on Experiences and Allied Health Fields. UC Davis students are also encouraged to subscribe to HPA Today (HPA’s newsletter).

  • Letters of Recommendation

  • Letter of recommendation requirements vary by health professional schools. For many health fields, HPA recommends two lecture-based science instructor recommendations (this excludes research PI), one lecture-based non-science instructor, and additional letters from your co-curricular experiences. This can include a research PI, mentor, volunteer coordinator, professional you shadowed, etc. Your specific school list will determine what letters you may actually need.

    To learn more about the etiquettes for letters of recommendation, please visit HPA’s Application Preparation tab on Letters of Recommendations.

  • Supplemental Applications
  • Supplemental applications (or secondaries) may be required for some PA schools and some may not require it. Students should carefully review the application process of the schools they are applying to. Supplemental/secondary applications may include additional fees and/or essays. To learn more about supplemental applications, please visit HPA’s Application Preparation tab on Applications.
  • Interviews
  • Interviews may be required for most PA schools and some may not require it. Students should carefully review the application process of the schools they are applying to. To learn more about preparing for interviews, please visit HPA’s Application Preparation tab on Interviews and HPA’s Interview Week.

More questions? Check out the frequently asked questions or schedule an appointment with an advisor.