About the Program

Class of 2018 White Coat

The UAMS Physician Assistant Program is a continuous 28 month, full-time professional program that accepts new students once a year beginning in mid-May and finishing a little over two years later at the end of August. The Program strives to prepare physician assistants in a broad range of medical knowledge and skills and educate them to provide high-quality and compassionate health care to diverse patient populations with the supervision of a licensed physician.

This is a cohort-based full time program with a lock-step curriculum.  Students must complete all courses each semester and be in good standing to continue to the next semester. The first 13 months of the curriculum consists of an intensive didactic phase and includes classroom, laboratory, seminars, patient simulation, service learning, and clinical patient encounters.

The second 15 months of the program is the clinical phase which comprises 10 core rotations, 2 elective rotations, a Capstone Project, and a Summative Evaluation.  The core rotations include Family Practice, Internal Medicine, Inpatient Medicine, OB/GYN, Emergency Medicine, General Surgery, Pediatrics, Behavioral Medicine, Orthopedic Medicine, and Geriatric Medicine.  Clinical Rotations will take place at UAMS and clinical facilities around the state.

Upon completion of the degree requirements, students are awarded a Master of Physician Assistant Studies.

Admission Factors

Admission to the program is competitive and based on the following criteria:

  • Academic achievement
  • Academic aptitude
  • Quality of direct patient care experience
  • Personal/professional endorsement
  • Career goals
  • Written and oral communication

Clinical Affiliations

The PA Program is working diligently to develop a strong clinical phase for the program by establishing partnerships with the top medical facilities in the state of Arkansas.  Clinical rotations will take place at UAMS and many medical facilities across the state.  Partnerships have been established with Reynolds Institute on Aging, the UAMS Regional Programs (formerly known as AHECs), UAMS Departments of Medicine such as, Internal Medicine, Surgery, OB/GYN, and Pediatrics, the Community Health Centers, the Veterans Administration, Baptist Health Care, CHI St. Vincent’s Health System, and multiple community physicians and physician assistants.