Physician assistants are important members of a professional health care team that work to keep individuals, families and communities healthy. 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, a competitive Graduate Record Examination (GRE) score, letters of recommendation and a completed Central Application Service for Physician Assistants (CASPA) application.

All PA graduate programs also require applicants to obtain 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, thanks to our strong relationships with area healthcare organizations, including Mayo Clinic Health System. 

At UWEC, you'll be met with support, guidance and encouragement as you start your journey towards becoming a medical professional. Our challenging curriculum, exceptional advisors and direct access to experiential learning opportunities work together to set you apart when applying for graduate school and help shape you into a competent and compassionate physician assistant. 

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. There are currently 159 accredited PA programs in the United States. 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.

Once you have graduated from an accredited PA program, you will be eligible to take the Physician Assistant National Certifying Exam (PANCE). Passing the PANCE is required of all practicing physician assistants.

What will I do as a physician assistant?

Physician assistants are health professionals who provide direct patient care by delivering a broad range of medical and surgical services. Working with patients of all ages, they make diagnoses, develop treatment plants, order and interpret lab tests, prescribe medications and conduct minor procedures. PAs work in a variety of healthcare settings, including physicians’ offices, hospitals, nursing homes and outpatient clinics alongside a team of physicians, surgeons and other healthcare workers. 

Physician assistants are in high demand. In fact, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts that the employment of physician assistants will grow 31 percent from 2020 to 2030, which is much faster than the average for all occupations.

As a pre-PA student, your curriculum can be customized to fit the admission requirement needs of your chosen master's program. Because the specific requirements of professional schools vary considerably, students should obtain current academic catalogs from the schools in which they are interested so that the undergraduate experience can be planned accordingly. Pre-physician assistant advisors are available to you during your time at UWEC to help you plan out your semesters.

No matter your major, you will be prepared to take the Graduate Record Exam, which is required for admission to most graduate-level physical therapy programs. The exam consists of three sections: Verbal Reasoning, Quantitative Reasoning and Analytical Writing. It is often taken in the spring semester or summer following your junior year. 

What classes do pre-physician assistant students take?

Students interested in becoming a PA may focus on these topics during their undergraduate career:

• Statistics
• Organic and inorganic chemistry
• Biochemistry
• Biology
• Human anatomy and physiology
• Microbiology
• Psychology
• Human development
• Ethics of healthcare
• Genetics
• Medical terminology

Learn more about pre-physician assistant studies in the UWEC course catalog.

Programs that would best support a career as a PA include: