Buies Creek — Campbell University College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences (CPHS) celebrated National Physician Assistant (PA) week with a reception on Oct. 6, calling attention to the importance of the profession and promoting its new academic program.
“National PA week is a great opportunity to endorse the PA profession, especially in light of health care reform and the emphasis on primary care medicine,” says Thomas Colletti, MPAS, PA-C, director of the Physician Assistant Program. “PAs are primary care trained and through the launch of our program at CPHS we are committed to placing graduates in this area of need.”
With PA classes beginning in the fall of 2011, CPHS introduced the program to PAs and other members of the community during the reception. Students visited with faculty to learn more about career opportunities and admissions requirements.
“National PA Weekis held annually on Oct. 6-12 because it commemorates the anniversary of the first PA class that graduated from Duke University,” says Colletti. “Oct. 6 is also Dr. Eugene Stead’s birthday, who was the founder of the PA concept at Duke in the mid 1960s.”
The application for provisional accreditation was submitted in August to the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA), the national accrediting agency that defines the standards for PA education. A site visit is scheduled for Oct. 21-22 to complete the process. The accreditation results will be available in March 2011, allowing the college to officially begin accepting students into the program.
The 28-month academic program starts with 13 months of classroom training followed by 15 months of clinical rotations. More than 75 sites are secured for students to complete their clinical rotations ranging from primary care to specialized areas of practice.
CPHS is now accepting applications for the PA program, for more information visit www.campbell.edu/paprogram.
CPHS was established in 1985 as the first new school of pharmacy to open in the United States in 35 years. In addition to offering the Doctor of Pharmacy program, the college offers undergraduate and graduate programs in Clinical Research and Pharmaceutical Sciences. In 2009, the name was formally changed from the School of Pharmacy to the College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences to provide additional health science programs, including the newly established Physician Assistant program, slated to enroll its first class in fall 2011.
Photo Copy: Thomas Colletti, MPAS, PA-C, director of the Physician Assistant Program, speaks with a student about the new Physician Assistant (PA) program at Campbell University College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences during the National PA Week reception.