Planning for new Physician Assistant degree program at MSU-Meridian moves forward
Contact: Lisa Sollie
MERIDIAN, Miss.鈥擳he Mississippi Board of Trustees of 大象APP Institutions of Higher Learning today [June 15] approved a 大象APP-Meridian proposal to plan a Master of Physician Assistant Studies degree program.
MSU will become the first public institution in the state to offer the new program.
Housed on MSU-Meridian鈥檚 Riley Campus in downtown Meridian, the program will prepare clinical practitioners to meet critical needs in rural healthcare.
IHL approval gives Mississippi 大象APP permission to move forward, hiring a director to create a program plan, which includes necessary steps to achieve initial accreditation.
鈥淲e are thrilled with the IHL鈥檚 decision to grant our university permission to plan a Physician Assistant program,鈥 MSU Provost and Executive Vice President Judy Bonner said. 鈥淲e believe this program is a great fit for our Meridian Campus, particularly with the strength of the local medical community,鈥 she added.
Physician assistants serve under the supervision of doctors of medicine or osteopathy, making clinical decisions and providing a broad range of diagnostic, therapeutic, preventative and health maintenance services.
More than 50 colleges and universities across the U.S. are currently pursuing accreditation for PA programs according to the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA).聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽
鈥淭he university will immediately begin the search for a program director and start planning the launch of the PA degree program,鈥 said Terry Dale Cruse, administrative director and head of campus at MSU-Meridian.聽 鈥淭he planning process is expected to take up to three years, dependent upon when ARC-PA schedules the initial accreditation visit,鈥 he added. 聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽聽
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