Pre-Physician Assistant
Interested in becoming a physician assistant (PA)? Our pre-physician assistant program will prepare you for the next step in your career.
Specialized support is available to pre-physician assistant students through the Health Careers Center.
Become an Important Member of the Professional Healthcare Team
At the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, our pre-physician assistant curriculum provides a pathway to graduate school for students interested in a career as a physician assistant (PA).
PAs are licensed to practice under the supervision of a physician (MD or DO) and state law determines the scope of their practice. In general, they take medical histories, examine and treat patients, order and interpret laboratory tests and X-rays, make diagnoses, prescribe medications, administer treatments, assist in surgery, and counsel and educate patients.
Pre-physician assistant studies is not a major at UW-Eau Claire, but rather a declaration of your intention to continue your education and become a PA. No specific undergraduate major is required to become a PA, but certain courses, skills and experiences are favored — especially when applying for graduate school. For example, health professional schools often require a high GPA, strong letters of recommendation, and a completed application through CASPA (Central Application Service for Physician Assistant).
All PA graduate programs also require experience in healthcare, with some programs requiring 500-3,000+ hours of experience. As a pre-PA student, you may choose to pursue hours working as a certified nursing assistant (CNA), emergency medical technician (EMT), lab assistant/phlebotomist, Peace Corps volunteer, medical assistant, surgical tech, and more. Or learn directly from experts in the field via internships, research projects, or job shadowing. These opportunities are readily available to you, through our strong relationships with area healthcare organizations, including Mayo Clinic Health System.
Pre-Physician Assistant students are supported by exceptional advisors and faculty members, including the Health Careers Center who stays current on pre-PA requirements and trends in the Physician Assistant school application process and will help you understand what it takes to develop a competitive application.
Program Details
Are you planning a future in a health career? UW-Eau Claire is one of only a few schools of its size with a specialized Health Careers Center dedicated to helping you achieve your health career goals. We offer access to targeted programming, high-quality clinical and volunteering opportunities, and personalized academic and pre-professional advising delivered by our caring expert staff.
As the top master's-level university for undergraduate research, opportunities to explore and discover are endless. Many of our students work directly with faculty and local professionals on groundbreaking research projects, driving innovation and making real improvements to the world around us. Pre-PA students may also choose to take their research experience a step further by presenting their findings at both regional and national conferences.
On-campus student organizations — like the Pre-Professional Health Club — connect students like you who are also interested in becoming a physician assistant. These extracurriculars are an excellent way to learn from guest speakers, engage in volunteer work and tour graduate programs in the region.
The university’s success rate at preparing students who gain admission to professional schools is outstanding. Previous students have gone on to attend the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Marquette University, Carroll University, Augsburg College, St. Catherine University and Des Moines University.
Blugold Stories
The William J. and Marian A. Klish Health Careers Center is a specialized career center that helps students in explore health careers, build effective skills and tools for career development, and prepare for admission into health professional programs. It's also one of the main reasons Haley chose to attend UW-Eau Claire.
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Where can the pre-physician assistant program lead me after graduation?
After earning your undergraduate degree from UWEC, your next step towards becoming a physician assistant is enrolling in an accredited PA program and earning your master's degree. Most PA programs are approximately 27 months long and include classroom instruction and more than 2,000 hours of clinical rotations. Your rotations could be in the areas of family medicine, pediatrics, general surgery, psychiatry, emergency medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, internal medicine, and more. Most UWEC students attend PA school at the University of Wisconsin La Crosse, University of Wisconsin Madison Concordia University (WI), or Saint Catherine University.
After graduating from an accredited PA program, you are eligible to take the Physician Assistant National Certifying Exam (PANCE). Passing the PANCE is required of all practicing physician assistants.
Suggested pre-PA courses at UWEC are courses that are required by most Physician Assistant schools. Courses you can expect as a pre-PA student include general chemistry, anatomy and physiology, introductory and advanced biology, statistics, and psychology. Requirements vary by program and students should connect with the Health Careers Center and access pre health advising information early and often. Visit the Health Careers Center for a more detailed guide on pre-physical therapy advising.
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