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2023-2024 Undergraduate Bulletin [ARCHIVED BULLETIN]

Physician Assistant Studies, Bachelor of Science (BS) and Master of Science (MS), Dual-degree Program

Physician assistants are health professionals licensed to practice medicine in collaboration with physicians and other healthcare professionals, providing a team-based approach to quality, patient-centered care. Physician assistants work and care for patients in various medical and surgical settings, ranging from basic primary care to sub-specialty medicine, with duties including assisting in surgery, attending medical emergencies, and caring for patients in out-patient internal medicine, pediatrics, or family medicine offices and clinics.

Hofstra’s program is designed to provide students the opportunity to earn both BS and MS degrees in Physician Assistant Studies. Undergraduate students first complete the pre-professional phase, consisting of three years of collegiate instruction, including all prerequisite courses. The professional curriculum (graduate) is divided into three semesters of didactic instruction, three semesters of clinical clerkships, and one semester of research.

The curriculum focuses on integrating basic science and the application of clinical medicine. To best reach, different students’ learning styles, the program’s professional phase instructs students utilizing a multi-modal approach. These include traditional lecture series, case-based learning, simulation, standardized patients (actors), practice sessions for procedural and physical examinations, use of cadavers for anatomy instruction, and procedure skills.

During the clinical year of the program, students are assigned to clinical clerkships at affiliated hospitals, private physicians’ offices, and community clinics. Located in various medical settings, these clinical campuses offer training in many disciplines of medicine and provide the opportunity for exposure to a wide variety of patient populations. The research semester will culminate in a research project using community partnerships.

Upon successfully completing the program, candidates are eligible to sit for the Physician Assistant National Certifying Examination (PANCE). Undergraduate students have completed 126 semester hours of coursework, and all Hofstra University undergraduate degree requirements will receive a Bachelor of Science degree in Life Science. Students should file for graduation only at the end of the spring semester of the didactic (fourth) year. Students in years 1-4 of the program will be eligible for undergraduate financial aid and all relevant undergraduate awards; students enrolled in years 5-6 will be eligible for graduate financial aid and all relevant graduate-level awards. Students who have completed the baccalaureate degree will earn a Bachelor of Science in Life Science; those completing the master’s degree will earn a Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies upon completing the entire curriculum.

Note

Students who complete the required course work and all Hofstra University undergraduate degree requirements are eligible for the BS degree; however, they will not be eligible to sit for the PANCE exam or to receive the MS degree until all requirements for the MS degree are fulfilled, including completion of the PA Professional Phase of the program. Students who do not continue into the professional phase can earn a BA in Natural Sciences degree which builds on what has already been taken as part of the pre-PA curriculum. Alternatively, students may choose any other major to transfer into.

Entry and Progression Requirements for Direct Admission to the Dual-Degree program (BS and MS)

Students entering Hofstra as incoming first-year students may apply for direct entry admission to this dual-degree program. The following requirements must be met to be eligible for the dual-degree program:

1. Enter Hofstra University as a first-year student with a cumulative grade point average of 3.5 in high school academic work and an SAT score of 1300 (evidence-based reading and writing + math sections) or an ACT score of 27
2. Qualified applicants to the dual-degree program will be asked to submit a supplement to their application consisting of two essay questions.
3. Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB), or college credit will not be applied to dual degree courses that begin with BIO, CHEM, or MATH.

Students admitted directly to the dual-degree program as incoming first-year students will be admitted automatically to the professional phase of the program beginning the fall semester of their senior year, provided they fulfill the following requirements:

1. Achieve a minimum cumulative overall grade point average (GPA) of 3.3 for each of the six semesters prior to beginning the professional phase of the PA program curriculum. Should a student not achieve the minimum cumulative GPA, the student will be placed on academic probation and will have one semester to raise their cumulative GPA to 3.3. If the student does not achieve the minimum cumulative GPA within one semester, the student will be dismissed from the dual-degree program;
2. Initially achieve a minimum cumulative science GPA of 3.3 at the end of the fall semester of the second year. Subsequent science GPAs will be reviewed at the end of each fall and spring semester. Students not achieving the minimum science GPA will be placed on academic probation and will have one semester to raise their cumulative science GPA to 3.3. If the student does not achieve the minimum cumulative science GPA requirement within one semester, the student will be dismissed from the dual-degree program;
3. Commensurate with the above requirements, the overall cumulative and science GPA must be a 3.3 by the end of the spring semester of the third year;
4. Remain in good academic standing for Hofstra University (i.e., cumulative GPA of 2.0 or greater). If a student’s cumulative GPA falls below 2.0, thereby placing them on academic probation by the University, the student will be automatically dismissed from the dual degree program.
5. Complete a successful interview during the junior year;
6. Successful completion of a background check without any convictions during their junior year;
7. Attend Hofstra University for all undergraduate coursework;
8. Follow the prescribed pre-professional curriculum;
9. Complete three years in-residence before entering the professional phase of the program;
10. Meet with a pre-professional science adviser (and the PA program adviser, if appropriate) at least once each semester;
11. Document 50 hours of health care experience.
12. Obtain a letter recommending admission to the graduate phase of the program from a faculty member from one of the PHA classes at the end of the spring semester of the student’s junior year;
13. Submit a $1500 deposit (applied to graduate tuition after students receive the BS degree) to reserve a seat in the graduate phase.

Should a student meet all conditions, space will be reserved in the professional phase of the PA program beginning in his/her senior year. If a student withdraws from the program, they forfeit the seat reserved for them in the professional phase of the program.

The science grade point average is calculated using ALL science courses taken beginning with CHEM, BIOL, BCHM, or PHYS. If a course is repeated, both classes will count in the science GPA calculations. BIOL 124 is excluded from this calculation. The only other courses that will be counted towards the science GPA are HSCI 103 and HSCI 105.

Students who do not meet every condition for the first-year dual-degree option may apply to the graduate program as an external candidate via www.caspaonline.org.

Dual Degree Program Requirements – Total Semester Hours: 167

BS/MS in Physician Assistant Studies

Five and One-Half Year Sequence

Candidates for the dual degree (BS/MS) must fulfill the following requirements:

1. The successful completion of at least 167 semester hours.
2. The successful completion of the progression requirements listed above.
3. The successful completion of the Pre-Professional Phase (Undergraduate Phase) comprised of 88 credits and includes completion of the student’s Pre-PA Curricular Plan and Additional Courses as listed below.
4. The successful completion of the Professional Phase (Graduate Phase - (See Below)): 79 semester hours.

First, Second and Third Years: Pre-Professional Phase (Undergraduate) - Total Semester Hours: 88

Pre-PA Curriculum Plan:

Pre-PA Curriculum Plan: All incoming Pre-PA dual degree students will receive a Pre-PA Curricular Plan that they will follow for all of their pre-professional science coursework. The Pre-PA Curricular Plan will provide a schedule of prerequisite science courses across the six semesters of the program, which will need to be completed by the end of the spring semester of the student’s third year. Dual-degree Pre-PA students will receive preferential seating when registering for these courses to ensure that no student gets closed out of a prerequisite science course. Below is a list of courses included in the Pre-PA Curricular Plan:

• BIOL 112 - (NS) General Biology ISemester Hours:4
• BIOL 113 - (NS) General Biology IISemester Hours:4
• CHEM 003B - (NS) General Chemistry Laboratory ISemester Hours:1
• CHEM 004B - (NS) General Chemistry Laboratory IISemester Hours:1
• BIOL 122 - GeneticsSemester Hours:4
• BIOL 123 - Cell BiologySemester Hours:4
• BIOL 134 - General MicrobiologySemester Hours:4
• CHEM 135 - Foundations of Organic ChemistrySemester Hours:4
• BIOL 140 - Human PhysiologySemester Hours:4
• BCHM 162 - Foundations of BiochemistrySemester Hours:3

Additional Courses:

The successful completion of the following additional courses must also be completed by the end of the spring semester of the student’s junior year. However, the sequence in which the student takes these courses may vary according to student preference, courses transferred in, etc. Please note that preferential seating is not available in these courses. In addition and in accordance with the University’s Degree Requirements, Pre-Physician Assistant Studies dual degree students are required to take at least 84-credits of liberal arts credits to complete their undergraduate degree. These credits need to be completed within your first three years of the program before progressing on to the professional phase of the program. Liberal Arts courses include: science, math, distribution, writing composition, foreign language, etc. The bulletin will assist students in identifying which courses count toward liberal arts. PA seminars do not count towards liberal arts credits.

• HSCI 103 and 105 (Human Anatomy and Physiology I& II)
• MATH 050 – (Precalculus) or MATH 071 or 072 or 073 (Analytic Geometry and Calculus I, II, or III)
• BIOL 124 (Biostatistics) or PSY 040 (Statistics) or SOC 180 (Statistics in Sociology)
• PHA 101, 102, and 103 (Physician Assistant Seminar I, II, and III)
• Satisfactory completion of WSC 001 and 002 (See University Degree Requirements) and a passing grade in the Writing Proficiency Exam
• Humanities (LT and AA) distribution (at least 6 s. h.)
• Social Sciences (BH and HP) distribution (at least 6 s. h.)
• Cross-Cultural distribution (at least 3 s. h.)
• Language Level 1, 2, and 3 (at least 9 s. h.)

Professional Phase (Graduate) - Total Semester Hours: 79

Fourth Year: Professional Phase (Didactic)

Fifth Year: Professional Phase (Clinical)

PHA 255 - Internal Medicine Clerkship

24

NOTE: Each of these courses must be completed before the end of the program; however, the sequencing varies.

Sixth Year: Professional Phase (Research Semester)

Complete BS Requirements

BS Requirements in Hofstra College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Graduation Requirements

Graduation is dependent upon successful completion of the following:

1. All courses in the physician assistant curriculum, including all clinical rotations;
2. Completion of all research semester requirements;
3. A cumulative grade point average of 3. 0 must be earned;
4. Successfully passing all summative examinations;
5. Meeting all patient and procedural log requirements;
6. Passing a faculty review of professional behavior throughout the entire program;
7. Any student enrolled in the dual-degree Pre-PA program must also complete all Hofstra University requirements as published in the University Bulletin.

Eligibility to sit for the Physician Assistant National Certification Examination is contingent upon the successful completion of all program requirements.