At each information session, a faculty member will be present to answer questions about the application and admissions process after a brief presentation about the program. The information sessions will be held at the following location:

Communicore
HSC Room C1-3
Gainesville, Florida

*Please note there are parking fees in the Shands parking garages and the School of PA studies cannot validate parking for information session attendees*

We currently have no additional information sessions scheduled.  If there is enough interest, we will schedule additional dates, please Email us through the Admissions page if you are interested in attending a session.

Services performed by physician assistants include, but are not limited to the following:

Evaluation – initially approaching a patient of any age group in any setting to elicit a detailed and accurate history, perform an appropriate physical examination, delineate problems, and record and present the data.

Monitoring – assisting the physician in conducting rounds in acute and long-term inpatient care settings, developing and implementing patient management plans, recording progress notes and assisting in the provision of continuity of care in office-based and other ambulatory care settings.

Diagnostics – performing and/or interpreting, at least to the point of recognizing deviations from the norm, common laboratory, radiologic, cardiographic and other routine diagnostic procedures used to identify pathophysiologic processes.

Therapeutics – performing routine procedures such as injections, immunizations, suturing and wound care, managing simple conditions produced by infection or trauma, participating in the management of more complex illness and injury, and taking initiative in performing evaluation and therapeutic procedures in response to life-threatening situations.

Counseling – instructing and counseling patients regarding compliance with prescribed therapeutic regimens, normal growth and development, family planning, situational adjustment reactions and health maintenance.

Referral – facilitating the referral of patients to the community’s health and social service agencies when appropriate.

Because of the close working relationship the PAs have with physicians, PAs are educated in the medical model designed to complement physician training. Upon graduation from an accredited physician assistant educational program, physician assistants take a national certification examination developed by the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA) in conjunction with the National Board of Medical Examiners. To maintain their national certification, PAs must log 100 hours of continuing medical education every two years and sit for a recertification every six years. Graduation from an accredited physician assistant program and passage of the national certifying exam are required for state licensure.*

*Information provided by American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA)

Dr. Rice, who was recognized last year as a Distinguished Fellow by the American Academy of Physician Assistants, comes to UF from the department of physician assistant studies at the Wake Forest University School of Medicine, where he is associate professor and associate program director. He was chosen to lead the UF physician assistant program following a national search to find a successor to Wayne Bottom, MPH, PA-C, who retired in June after guiding the program for 27 years.

Dr. Edward Block, chairman of the department of medicine who led the search committee, said the members were impressed with the credentials and experience that Dr. Rice brings to this position and are confident the School of Physician Assistant Studies at UF will continue to flourish and grow under his leadership.

There won’t be much of a learning curve for Dr. Rice, as his return to Gainesville will be somewhat of a homecoming. He earned his PA degree from UF in 1991 when the program was in the College of Health-Related Professions (now the College of Public Health and Health Professions), and he worked for the College of Medicine as a clinical assistant professor for the PA program and with Shands at UF in the heart and lung transplant unit.

Dr. Rice has led a varied and interesting career that began with service in the U.S. Navy and has included affiliations with several hospitals and trauma centers. He has served as the associate director for the Wake Forest PA program since 2006, and prior to that he was academic coordinator in the department of physician assistant studies at Missouri State University, where he also served as acting associate program director for one year.

One of his more fascinating responsibilities came in 1998 when he was lead clinician at a family practice clinic in Seward, Alaska, and acted as a liaison to the local Native Alaskan tribal council.

UF is the only public university in Florida to offer PA studies as a graduate program, and Dr. Rice says he is looking forward to the challenges and opportunities ahead of him to advance the School of Physician Assistant Studies even further.

Since its inception, the PA program has evolved and adapted to meet changing needs in the health-care delivery system. Last year it was elevated to “school” status, demonstrating the significant role of the program at the College of Medicine. It also reflects a tremendous need and demand for physician assistants in the health-care systems of our state and nation.

I am very pleased that Dr. Rice will be joining our team of dedicated, experienced faculty who are committed to educational excellence as we prepare men and women to be the best physicians and physician assistants they can be when they leave our college.

Please join me in welcoming Dr. Rice to the College of Medicine and congratulating him on his appointment as associate dean and director of the School of Physician Assistant Studies.

Michael L. Good, MD
Dean, College of Medicine

By Christine Velasquez
Published: June 26th, 2009

Forty years ago, Vietnam War veterans returned home attempting to start new lives as civilians. Among them were medics who looked for a way to turn their skills into a living and ultimately created the demand for a new profession.

The University of Florida supported the new physician assistant profession and, eventually, helped set the pace for public medical schools around the nation.

On June 12, 2009, just days before the commencement ceremony for 59 physician assistant studies students, the profession saw another milestone set by the University of Florida’s College of Medicine; the Board of Trustees approved the elevation of the PA Program to the School of Physician Assistant Studies.

“This further demonstrates the significant role of the Physician Assistant Program at the College of Medicine. It also reflects a tremendous need and demand for physician assistants in the health-care systems of our state and the nation,” said College of Medicine Interim Dean, Michael Good, M.D., during the graduation ceremony on Saturday, June 20.

UF has been a trailblazer in moving the profession to the forefront, answering the growing demand for PAs as health-care reform and spending became top national issues,” said Wayne D. Bottom, PA-C, M.P.H., associate dean and director of the School of Physician Assistant Studies, who has led UF’s PA Program for 27 years.

When asked about the significance of the recent elevation to a school status, Bottom said, “While this is designated as a school it is the equivalent of a new department within the College of Medicine which means we have the same rights and privileges as every other department … we have a voice and a vote.”

Currently there are 145 PA programs nationwide. UF is the only public university in Florida to offer PA studies as a graduate-level program, and the program has established a national precedent by becoming the only PA educational program housed in a college of medicine to be elevated from program status to the status of a school.

Please see the following link for more information on “Alumni Statistics” http://pap.med.ufl.edu/about-us/university-of-florida-pa-program-2/alumni-statistics/

Microbiology, including lab, pre-med level, 3-5 semester hours

General (Inorganic) Chemistry, a complete sequence, including labs, 8-11 semester hours

Statistics, 3 semester hours

Please refer to “Prerequisites and Other Courses” on the Admissions homepage for more information

http://pap.med.ufl.edu/admissions/prerequisites-2/

The institution code is 5812.

Please note that it takes about 4 weeks for ETS to reported your scores so applicants will want to take the GRE no later than the end of August, 2010.