[April 25, 2018 – Parker, CO] Rocky Vista University (RVU) is proud to announce that its new Physician Assistant (PA) program has received accreditation-provisional from the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA). With this designation, the agency has concluded that RVU’s PA program meets its standards for curriculum, admissions processes, and quality measurements. The program will offer the Master of Physician Assistant Studies degree in one of the country’s fastest growing medical disciplines.
Physician assistants are academically and clinically prepared to practice medicine under the supervision of a physician. Their shared team relationship is fundamental to the profession and enhances the delivery of high-quality health care. They also make clinical decisions and provide a broad range of diagnostic, therapeutic, preventive, and health maintenance services. Employed in virtually every health care setting, physician assistants can be found in communities of all sizes. Presently, many communities are medically underserved throughout the United States and PAs are able to provide necessary health care services. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the demand for PAs is expected to grow at a rate of 37% between now and 2026, with nearly 40,000 new jobs being created.
“We are very excited to have the new Physician Assistant program join our RVU family,” said Thomas N. Told, DO, FACOFP-dist, Vice President for Academic Affairs of RVU and Dean of RVU’s College of Osteopathic Medicine. “It has required a lot of work, along with the vision and dedication of our Board and faculty to make this dream a reality. Working in concert with RVU’s highly acclaimed physician education program, the program will produce outstanding graduates that will benefit Colorado and the Mountain West region well into the future.”
RVU’s Physician Assistant program will begin in September of 2018, and anticipates 36 students in its inaugural class. It will be a 27-month-long degree program.
