Physician Assistant

The Howard University Department of Physician Assistant will offer an entry-level Master's in Physician Assistant Studies program that will prepare culturally and clinically competent healthcare providers who will have a positive impact on today's healthcare workforce and beyond.

Our Mission

The mission of the Howard University Department of Physician Assistant is to educate and cultivate compassionate, competent, and culturally diverse physician assistants committed to increasing access to health care in medically underserved communities. The program will provide an exceptional educational opportunity and experience for professional and ethical students of high academic potential, with an emphasis on underrepresented minorities in medicine focusing on Black students and other minority students. The program faculty is dedicated to preparing, empowering, and training healthcare professionals who are inclusive in their delivery of care to meet the needs and have an impact on healthcare disparities in diverse populations.

Department Chair

Dionne M. Soares, MPAS, PA-C Phone:
202-250-6765
Email:
HUPAProgram@howard.edu

Program Goals

1. Educate culturally competent Physician Assistants who will contribute to the healthcare provider workforce, inclusive of underserved communities.
2. Recruit and retain qualified and disciplined students, inclusive of those from multicultural and diverse backgrounds underrepresented in medicine.
3. Create, develop, and maintain an educational environment which fosters interprofessional and interdisciplinary team collaboration to provide optimal patient care.
4. Cultivate and prepare physician assistant students to successfully pass the Physician Assistant National Certifying Examination (PANCE).
5. Prepare physician assistant students to be clinically efficient, knowledgeable, compassionate, competent, and professional members of their healthcare teams.

Accreditation

The ARC-PA has granted Accreditation-Provisional status to the Howard University Physician Assistant Program sponsored by Howard University.

Accreditation-Provisional is an accreditation status granted when the plans and resource allocation, if fully implemented as planned, of a proposed program that has not yet enrolled students appear to demonstrate the program’s ability to meet the ARC-PA Standards or when a program holding Accreditation-Provisional status appears to demonstrate continued progress in complying with the Standards as it prepares for the graduation of the first class (cohort) of students.

Accreditation-Provisional does not ensure any subsequent accreditation status. It is limited to no more than five years from matriculation of the first class.

The program’s accreditation history can be viewed on the ARC-PA website at https://www.arc-pa.org/accreditation-history-howard-university/

3325 Paddocks Parkway
Suite 345
Suwanee, Georgia 30024
Phone: 770-476-1224
Email: accreditationservices@arc-pa.org
Website: www.arc-pa.org

PANCE Pass Rate

The graduates of the Howard University Physician Assistant Program must pass the Physician Assistant National Certifying Exam (PANCE) before becoming a certified Physician Assistant (PA-C). This certification examination is required for licensure in all states. The National Board of Medical Examiners and the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA) jointly develop the exam.

The program report will be available here, once the first cohort completes the exam.

Program Attrition Data

In the 5th edition of the Standards, the ARC-PA defines student attrition as the permanent loss of a matriculated student from the course of study in a physician assistant program. Future program attrition data will be found here.

College of Nursing and Allied Health Sciences
801 N. Capitol St. NE
Washington, D.C. 20002
Phone: (202)381-8808