If you are a resident of Colorado and you have a desire to become a physician assistant, you have a lot of choices to pick from. There are four accredited on-campus programs in Colorado state. You can also choose to complete your choice of online programs without leaving the state. This guide will help you determine which programs you may want to consider and why.
Colorado Mesa University
The CMU PA Program utilizes a student-centered curriculum that emphasizes training compassionate and competent PAs. The program ensures its graduates become wellness ambassadors in their careers and communities. The CMU PA program emphasizes promoting wellness and preventing diseases in the community.
The PA program usually takes 27 months and is a full-time on-campus program with 112 credits. The PA program curriculum is designed to educate future clinicians with the knowledge they need to be innovative when delivering quality healthcare to communities of Colorado and beyond.
It is vital to note that the CMU MPAS Program doesn’t allow active students to work for the PA Program in a paid or volunteer capacity. Again, during clinical rotations, students are not supposed to be used as substitutes for regular clinical or administrative work. Employment during the CMU PA Program is discouraged due to the rigorous and demanding nature of the academic requirements and the tight schedule.
The CMU PA Program coordinates all activities associated with the clinical practice experiences. This is inclusive of identifying, contacting, and student placement with clinical sites.
Rocky Vista University
The aim of the RVU program is to support the development of clinically competent and compassionate physician assistants. The program utilizes a competency-based curriculum and its core faculty to achieve this goal. The program ensures that medical training involves a learner-centered approach that addresses the individual needs of each student.
The program also utilizes an innovative approach when it comes to patient safety and primary care. The curriculum consists of the first two semesters, which will allow you to understand foundational concepts and then learn about clinically oriented content. The subsequent five semesters aim at advancing the competency of students.
This is usually achieved through supervised clinical practice experiences and clinical seminars. The PA program at Rocky Vista University consists of 122 credit hours. Students who complete the program are prepared to provide clinically competent and compassionate care. Graduates are able to engage in interprofessional teams in a manner that optimizes safe and effective patient and population-centered care.
Graduates of the PA program can locate and implement evidence from scientific studies related to patients’ health problems. Furthermore, graduates continuously improve patient care based on constant self-evaluation and life-long learning. Graduates can utilize all resources in the healthcare system to provide optimal healthcare.
Red Rocks Community College
The Red Rocks Physician Assistant Program is a nationally accredited program that lasts 27 months. The program was founded in 1998 and has maintained its accreditation since then. The Red Rocks Community College is the only community college in the US to confer its own master’s degree.
The program aims at preparing physician assistants to serve all communities by practicing team-based care and inclusivity. The program also educates students to focus on primary care and excellence when offering medical care to patients. The program doesn’t discriminate on the basis of race, color, age, religion, or sexual orientation.
The college is dedicated to diversity in its people and programs. As a result, the program accepts people from diverse backgrounds. Graduates of the program are able to collaborate with other healthcare experts to promote a climate of mutual respect and trust. Additionally, students of the PA program are taught how to recognize the roles of different interprofessional healthcare team members.
Graduates are also educated on how to complete different team roles in order to provide population-based care that addresses the individual and unique needs of patients.
University of Colorado
The University of Colorado’s Physician Assistant Program is consistently ranked as one of the best PA programs in the country, considering it was founded in 1968. The PA Program at the University of Colorado primarily focuses on providing education to care for infants, children, and adolescents.
The PA program lasts for three years and utilizes an innovative curriculum that integrates clinical and basic sciences. This ensures that students are prepared with knowledge, attitudes, and skills to practice medicine as part of the healthcare team. Graduates are then able to practice in all areas of medicine and serve patients of all ages.
The Colorado curriculum is a learner-centered and educational platform that fosters decision-making and lifelong learning skills. The curriculum is based on clinical presentations instead of traditional courses. This means that, for instance, when students are learning about the shortness of breath, all learning is delivered in the context of a patient experiencing shortness of breath.
The curriculum consists of two instructional years, with clinical experiences integrated across both years. The third year of the program consists of 10 one-month rotations. During the first two years, students participate in thread courses where they learn clinical skills, role development, clinical environment, and patient care.
Students undergo clinical experiences in hospital and community settings. During these clinical experiences, students participate in observations, physical examinations, clinical decision-making, and planning of treatments and interventions. Students are also required to work closely with other healthcare team members.
Their skills and competencies required for patient care are evaluated during this time. The PA program at the University of Colorado provides additional training in pediatrics and the need for service to at-risk and disadvantaged populations.
In conclusion, if you are interested in pursuing a career as a physician assistant, you should consider enrolling in any of the four schools listed above. These schools offer different PA programs aimed at helping graduates show empathy and compassion when caring for patients. The programs aim at serving at-risk and disadvantaged populations that don’t have access to quality medical care.
Once you are done with the PA program, you will be able to work in any medical facility of your choosing.