Undergraduate Admissions

The most recent graduates of Gannon University’s physician assistant program achieved a 98 percent pass rate on a required certification examination.

Forty-one of the 42 graduates who took the Physician Assistant National Certification Exam (PANCE) passed it on the first attempt, said Michele Kauffman, chair of Gannon’s physician assistant department. The exam, taken by most of the students in late August and September, must be completed successfully in order for students to practice as physician assistants.

At 98 percent, the graduates, who earned five-year Master of Physician Assistant Science (MPAS) degrees, again outperformed students from peer institutions and topped national averages. The National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA) average pass rate for individuals taking the exam for the first time was 93 percent.

Gannon’s five-year average pass rate on the Physician Assistant National Certification Exam is 97 percent. Averages for recent classes of Gannon graduates taking the PANCE include:

• 2008: 38 of 40 students, or 95 percent, passed the exam.

• 2007: 36/37, 97 percent.

• 2006: 37/37, 100 percent.

• 2005: 37/39, 95 percent.

Gannon’s PA graduates consistently have been able to exceed national averages in part because of the program’s emphasis on helping students gain hands-on experience through field placements. For example, students spend the majority of their fifth year in the program participating in clinical rotations in emergency rooms, hospitals, and in operating rooms.

Every six weeks, students begin a new clinical rotation at one of the more than 120 hospitals in Pennsylvania, New York, and Ohio with which Gannon University has an affiliation agreement.

As a result, Kauffman said, students gain valuable experience in areas such as pediatrics, family medicine, surgery, emergency medicine, geriatrics/long-term care, behavioral medicine, and obstetrics/gynecology. In addition, depending on their specific interests, students can participate in rotations in cardiology, cardiovascular surgery, neurology, endocrinology, dermatology, and orthopedics.

“Gannon University’s physician assistant program has developed tremendous community support locally and regionally,” Kauffman said. “Strategic partnerships with hospitals and other health care providers are very important in order for students to be able to work in a new setting every six weeks.”

Gannon University’s physician assistant program is accredited by the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant, Inc. (ARC-PA), and has graduated nearly 700 physician assistants. Gannon’s PA majors also have the option of joining the Gannon University Society of Physician Assistant Students (GUSPAS), a student-run group that seeks to foster interaction among students, to promote community awareness of the profession, and to participate in community service.

For more information on the program, call 814-871-5643 or visit http://www.gannon.edu/departmental/pa/default.asp.