Program goals and outcomes

Provide superior educational experiences in both the didactic and clinical settings. 

• WSU PAS performance on the NCCPA exam in 2021 demonstrates a 94% first-time pass rate (national average 93%).
• WSU PAS has a 5 yr. first-time taker pass rate of 97.6%. The national 5 yr. first-time taker rate is 95.2%.
• The Class of 2022 exit survey rated their program training experience as Very High/High in 98% of respondents.
• The Class of 2022 rated the overall quality of clinical rotations and preceptors as Very high/high in 91% of respondents.

Develop WSU PAS faculty as researchers and scholars. 

• PAS faculty have over 40 publications from its core faculty.
• PAS faculty have secured research funding in 2022.
• PAS faculty have presented at both national and regional PA meetings in 2021-2022.

Enhance the diversity of our academic environment including the student/faculty body and new partners in healthcare. 

• PAS faculty and students have a strong involvement with interprofessional education activities.
• WSU PAS students begin their encounters with patients at many metro Detroit area health care facilities in their first year of training to improve their skills and exposure to diverse training environments.
• WSU PAS students have clinical rotations in a variety of settings in the metro-Detroit area as well as throughout MI and other states.
• The class of 2022 exit survey found students rated exposure to cultures different from their own as Very High/High in 98% of respondents.

Continue a strong tradition of service to the community. 

• WSU PAS students have longstanding participation in Special Olympics health appraisals. The relationship with Special Olympics has expanded in 2022 with the introduction of health fairs for our Special Olympians. 
• Since 2018,  our WSU PAS students have participated in the yearly Men's Health Event at Ford Field in Detroit, providing health and wellness services to over 1,000 men yearly.
• In 2022, WSU PAS students have expanded health education presentations to metro-Detroit middle schools.
• WSU PAS students have a history of providing care to the underserved with each class participating in self-driven events. Examples of past classes activities include HIV counselor training, mental health first-aid training, water drives, adopt-a-family activities, soup kitchen events and volunteering with local charities.

Promote the PA profession and WSU through a culture of leadership development. 

• WSU PAS faculty and students participate in the annual Michigan Association of PAs (MAPA) fall conference. 
• WSU PAS faculty are represented through attendance and presentations annually at the PA Education Association (PAEA) national meetings.
• WSU PAS faculty members serve as PA representatives on local, state and national committees.
• WSU PAS students have been awarded the WSU Graduate Professional, EACPHS Board of Visitors Endowed, EACPHS Dean's Endowed Recruitment and Lara Rutan, MS, PA-C Memorial scholarships in 2022.
• WSU PAS alumni are administrative leaders in many Michigan health systems.

Maintain program ARC-PA (Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant, Inc) accreditation through continuous program self-assessment.  

• The WSU PAS program continually strives to self-assess our curriculum and processes to best serve our students and community.

Physician Assistant competencies