Physician Assistant (PA)

School/Division: Keck School of Medicine

Degree/Certificate: Physician Assistant

The Primary Care Physician Assistant Program at the Keck School of Medicine of USC has a long and successful history of training and graduating outstanding clinicians who work in a variety of medical care settings with diverse patient populations.

Our graduates are trained not only for clinical excellence, but also in the breadth of competencies required to be professional leaders in this exciting career within the rapidly changing, medical environments of the 21st century.

PAs are educated in basic medical sciences and clinical disciplines, including human anatomy, physiology, pharmacology, pharmacotherapeutics and clinical laboratory medicine. PA education includes training in patient assessment, including interviewing, history-taking, physical examination, presentation and documentation of clinical findings, differential diagnoses, development and implementation of treatment, and medical management plans. Additionally, PA students are trained in the cognitive skills required for effective medical decision-making, including the ability to conduct a medical literature search, interpret relevant research findings, and incorporate these findings into clinical practice. PAs are trained in the areas of family medicine, general internal medicine, pediatrics, geriatrics, women’s health, general surgery, psychiatry, health maintenance, long-term care, and emergency medicine.

A PA is a health care professional qualified by academic and clinical education and by formal certification to practice medicine with the supervision of a doctor of medicine or osteopathy. PAs may practice in all 50 states. However, laws and regulations governing PA practice vary from state to state. The Primary Care Physician Assistant Program at the Keck School of Medicine of USC meets the education requirements for licensure in all 50 states.

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