Pre-Physician Assistant

Become well prepared for physician assistant school by completing the 18-credit, highly interdisciplinary pre-physician assistant program. The courses focus on the desired core competencies for entering PA students. The American Association of Physician Assistants (AAPA) recommends that interested students, regardless of major, should take courses that emphasize the skills of the effective and appropriate application of medical knowledge, interpersonal and communication skills, patient care, professionalism, practice-based learning and improvement, and systems-based practice.

Become as competitive as possible in the application process with the support of Nazareth’s Health Professions Advisory Committee (HPAC), including advising in individual and group sessions and offering practice interviews.

Ideal for 

  • Students preparing for professional or graduate training in a health care specialty.
  • Students majoring in a natural science (such as biochemistry, biomedical sciences, biology, or chemistry) interested in a suite of integrative courses to gain perspectives from the social sciences and humanities. (You don’t have to major in the sciences to attend PA school. But meet with the pre-health advisor as early as possible during your program at Nazareth to ensure you complete all prerequisite courses.)

How it’s different from the pre-medical minor

  • Focuses less on MCAT preparation
  • Focuses more on the specific physician assistant program prerequisites and the desired interpersonal and communication skills

Naz Catalog details