Bloomsburg University Academic Programs
Academic Catalog

Health Sciences - Pre-Physician Assistant Option

Administered by Department of Biological and Allied Health Sciences

Effective Fall 2008

Pre-Physician Assistant

Physician assistants work under the supervision of and in collaboration with physicians. They provide a broad range of diagnostic, educational, and therapeutic patient care services. Most physician assistant education programs are now at the masters degree level. We strongly recommend that students complete the B.S. in Health Sciences degree at Bloomsburg and then transfer to a masters physician assistant degree program. These programs are typically 2 years in length. Bloomsburg students have been admitted into many different physician assistant schools; there are 15 in Pennsylvania.

It is strongly recommended that students follow the B.S. in Health Sciences curriculum and work closely with their advisor to ensure an efficient plan of study to meet the varying requirements for admission into PA programs. The courses listed below are required by many physician assistant mid-entry and master's degree programs and these fit into the B.S. Health Sciences curriculum (see Health Sciences BS).

BIOLOGY.107 Medical Terminology

BIOLOGY.114 Concepts in Biology I

BIOLOGY.173 Anatomy and Physiology I

BIOLOGY.174 Anatomy and Physiology II

BIOLOGY.242 Microbiology

BIOLOGY.233 Human Genetics

CHEM.115 Chemistry for the Sciences I

CHEM.116 Chemistry for the Sciences II

CHEM.230 Fundamentals of Organic Chemistry

CHEM.341 Biochemistry

ENGLISH.101 English Composition I

ENGLISH.201 English Composition II

MATH.116 Algebra for Health Sciences (or higher math)

MATH.141 Introduction to Statistics or PSYCH.160 Basic Statistics

PHIL.290 Medical Ethics

PSYCH.101 General Psychology

PSYCH.210 Life Span Psychology

SOC.211 Principles of Sociology

Internship and/or volunteer experience in health care is required by most schools