Sacred Heart University

Why Earn Your Master in Physician Assistant Studies at Sacred Heart?

Learn to provide compassionate, respectful, high-quality healthcare as a certified physician assistant. This full-time, 27-month program consists of a 12-month didactic phase followed by a 15-month clinical phase segmented into five-week rotations. 

You’ll end the program with a combined 2,000 hours of experience in internal medicine, general surgery, pediatrics, and primary care/family medicine, as well as orthopedics, women’s health, emergency medicine, behavioral health, and one additional elective area.

In the MPAS program, you will also:

• Learn from world-class physicians, physician assistants and other healthcare professionals in state-of-the-art medical facilities and in a variety of clinical settings
• Benefit from a student-centered learning environment, in small in-person classes taught by experienced PA and interdisciplinary educators. We value in-person hands-on learning in our classrooms and skills labs and believe this is the best approach for PA education.
• Enjoy an integrated curriculum which in addition to organ systems-based medicine courses includes standalone courses in Primary Care, Professional Practice, and Population Health and Wellness that address aspects of health, wellness and safety
• Gain hands-on clinical experience starting your first year 
• Focus on primary care and population health and wellness through a patient-centric approach
• Study in SHU’s patient assessment suites, with state-of-the-art technology and clinical simulators such as Harvey, a cardiopulmonary patient simulator that provides high-fidelity heart and lung sounds
• Self-assess and develop ways to improve your clinical acumen through clinical simulation and recordings of your practice scenario experiences
• Complete supervised clinical rotation experiences at various SHU affiliated sites
• Work collaboratively as a member of an interprofessional team 
• Have the opportunity to join the Master in Physician Assistant Studies club
• Become proficient in PA profession competencies as defined by the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA)
• Be prepared to sit for the PA National Certification Exam (PANCE). When you pass the exam, you will be qualified to apply for state licensure in any state and work as a certified PA (PA-C) in collaboration with a licensed physician.