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Program Mission & Goals

The mission of the Physician Assistant Program is to educate highly qualified physician assistants with patient centered values who practice medicine confidently and ethically by demonstrating academic excellence and clinical competence. Our emphasis is on serving the medically undeserved populations in Upstate New York.  We are seeking candidates who will assist us in fulfilling our Mission which involves serving these communities.  Preference will be given to qualified candidates who originate from these areas.

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Goal 1

Provide a strong and rich didactic and clinical curriculum that prepares the physician assistant student for the practice of medicine

Program Outcomes

  • 94% of our graduates have passed the PANCE on the first attempt in the past 5 years
  • In the annual exit survey, > 97% of graduates in the Class of 2023 rated their overall preparation for entry into clinical practice as Good or Very Good.
  • The percentage of graduates in the Class of 2023 employed in the following disciplines include:
    • Primary Care* – 23.5%
    • Emergency Medicine / Urgent care – 17.6%
    • General Surgery – 11.8%
    • Sub-specialties Surgery – 11.8% **
    • Sub-specialty Medicine – 14.7% ***

* Primary care includes Family Medicine & OB/GYN
** Subspecialty surgery includes Ortho, Neurosurgery, & Urology
*** Subspecialty medicine includes Endocrinology, Neurology, & Hematology-Oncology

Goal 2

Maintain program accreditation to assure program curriculum includes current standard of care and is aligned with that of professional practice

Program Outcomes

  • Program was granted Accreditation- Continued in September 2016 with next review scheduled in 2026
  • > 98% of preceptors for the Class of 2023 rated overall student preparation for clinical rotations as Good or Very Good.

Goal 3

Recruit qualified program matriculates and faculty from a variety of backgrounds

Program Outcomes

For the graduating Classes of 2019-2023

  • 20.8% of matriculates self-identified as under-represented minority ethnicity which included the following race / ethnicities:
    • African-American – 4.2%
    • Hispanic – 4.8%
    • Asian – 7.7%
    • Biracial – 4.2%
  • 23.2% of matriculates originated from rural communities.

For the Classes of 2024-2025

  • 34.7% of matriculates self-identified as under-represented minorities:
    • Asian – 15.9%
    • Hispanic – 10.1%
    • African American – 8.7%
  • 20.3% of matriculates originated from rural communities
  • 20.0% of program faculty self-identified as under-represented minorities.

Goal 4

Promote practice in primary care. Primary care includes Family Medicine, General Internal Medicine, General Pediatrics, and OB/GYN

Program Outcomes

For the graduating Classes of 2019-2023

  • 23.5% of graduates entered primary care after program graduation. Primary care disciplines include family medicine, general internal medicine, general pediatrics, and women’s health.

Goal 5

Promote practice in underserved and rural communities

Program Outcomes

For the graduating Classes of 2019-2023

  • 22.6% of graduates practice in rural communities
  • 52.6% of graduates who originated from rural communities returned home to practice in those rural communities
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