Primary Care Physician Assistant Program

Keith Administration Building B29
1975 Zonal Avenue
Los Angeles 90033
(213) 342-1328
FAX: (213) 342-1260

Program Director: Jack Liskin

Medical Director: Allan Abbott

Faculty

Ricardo Hahn, Chair and Professor

Professor of Family Medicine: A. Abbott

Assistant Professors of Clinical Family Medicine: F. Hooda; R. Kern; L. Landry-Taylor; J. Liskin; S. Stumpf

Instructors of Clinical Family Medicine: S. Collier; D. Middleton

Clinical Instructors: L. Howard; N. Nielsen-Brown; J. Tramel

The faculty listed above are core faculty with the Primary Care Physician Assistant Program. A complete list of faculty in the Department of Family Medicine is found in the Bulletin of the USC School of Medicine, 1993-1996.

The Primary Care Physician Assistant Program, established in 1971, prepares men and women to practice medicine under the supervision of a physician. Graduates of the program receive a bachelor of science degree in physician assistant practice from the USC School of Medicine which prepares them to work in the physician assistant profession.

Based in the Department of Family Medicine located on the USC Health Sciences Campus, the classroom curriculum is provided by physician assistant program faculty and faculty from other departments within the School of Medicine, as well as clinicians from the surrounding communities. Emphasis is placed on primary care. Clinical training occurs at the LAC + USC Medical Center and other sites throughout the Southern California area, including Kern, Fresno, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, and Ventura counties. Opportunities to train in selected off-site settings, e.g., sites serving Native American populations in the Southwest, are available to some students.

Students complete clerkships in emergency medicine or urgent care, family medicine, internal medicine/geriatrics, ob/gyn, orthopaedics/occupational medicine, pediatrics, and general surgery. Throughout these clerkships emphasis is placed on obtaining necessary clinical skills as well as learning to provide primary care services as part of a health care team. The physician assistant program is committed to recruiting disadvantaged applicants and to preparing graduates to practice in medically underserved areas.

The USC primary care physician assistant program is accredited by the Accreditation Review Committee on Education for the Physician Assistant which is sponsored by seven medical national associations including the American Medical Association. The program is approved by the Physician Assistant Examining Committee of the Medical Board of California. Graduates must pass a National Certifying Examination to qualify for licensure in California.

Bachelor of Science in Physician Assistant Practice

Admission Requirements

Once prerequisites have been met, currently enrolled USC students may apply directly to the physician assistant program before February 1 in the sophomore year for acceptance into the program.

Prospective transfer students at other colleges or universities must submit a USC undergraduate application available from the USC Office of Undergraduate Admission. Transfer students should contact the PA Program Office to obtain supplementary application materials. Transfer applications must be submitted no later than February 1.

Admission to the program is for the fall semester only. Admission to the physician assistant program is granted by the physician assistant faculty after careful review of all applications. Selections are made on the basis of a formal interview and consideration of a variety of factors which include academic record, type and amount of clinical experience, multicultural sensitivity, community service experience, screening examination results, and personal and professional experience.

Health Careers Opportunity Program

The Health Careers Opportunity Program (HCOP) is a federally funded program at USC designed to help individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds enter and graduate from physician assistant programs.

For further information contact the HCOP coordinator at the PA Program Office, (213) 224-5088.

Advisement

Physician assistant program admissions staff are available to prospective students regarding preparation for the program. Interested high school, undergraduate and post-baccalaureate students are encouraged to contact the physician assistant program for guidance in applying to the program.

General Education Requirements

As of fall 1997, the university has instituted a new general education program, designed to be a simpler, more coherent and more integrated introduction to the breadth of knowledge outside the major discipline which is expected of every undergraduate who receives a degree from USC. This new program requires six courses in different categories, plus writing and diversity requirements, which are described in detail here.

All students who (1) enter the School of Medicine as freshmen in the summer of 1997 or later; or (2) begin college elsewhere in the summer of 1997 or later; or (3) began college earlier but transfer to USC in the summer of 2000 or later must satisfy the requirements of the new general education program. Other students whose schedules permit are encouraged to follow the new program as well. However, continuing and transfer students in the fall of 1997 may elect to satisfy a "transitional" plan instead.

Major Prerequisites

BISC 101x Human Biology (with a discussion section) or a USC transferable college-level chemistry course.

BISC 306Lx Introductory Physiology (with a lab section)

BISC 310Lx Principles of Human Microbiology (with a lab section)

BISC 312Lx Human Anatomy (with a lab section)

SPAN 120 Spanish I or waiver by faculty

Students intending to apply to the Physician Assistant Program should contact the admissions director of the PA Program for evaluation of transfer course work.

Upper Division Requirements

All physician assistant students enroll in the same course work during their two years in the program. The following courses must be successfully completed in order to earn the bachelor of science degree in physician assistant practice. Only physician assistant program students may enroll in these courses. Departmental clearance is required to enroll.

Fall Semester, Junior Year		Units
PCPA 301	Cross-Cultural Competency	3
PCPA 302	Health Behavior	1
PCPA 311	Physical Assessment	3
PCPA 312	Specialties in Medicine I	3
PCPA 313	Specialties in Medicine II	3
PCPA 314	Specialties in Medicine III	3
PCPA 321a	Clinical Skills Practica I	1
		____
		17
Spring Semester, Junior Year		Units
PCPA 303	Medical Spanish	2
PCPA 315	Specialties in Medicine IV	3
PCPA 316	Specialties in Medicine V	3
PCPA 321b	Clinical Skills Practica II	1
PCPA 421ab	Clinical Placement I	9-0*
		____
		18
Fall Semester, Senior Year		Units
PCPA 401	Health Promotion and Disease Prevention	3
PCPA 402	Primary Care Medicine	2
PCPA 422	Clinical Placement II	9
		____
		14
Spring Semester, Senior Year		Units
PCPA 403	Physician Assistant Profession	1
PCPA 423	Clinical Placement III	6
PCPA 424ab	Preceptorship	8-0*
		____
		15
Total units:		64

*Grades for these courses are awarded in the following summer session. Students register for the "b" section in that summer session.
Requests for further information may be addressed to: Physician Assistant Program, USC School of Medicine, 1975 Zonal Avenue, KAM B-29, Los Angeles, CA 90033, (213) 224-5080.

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