April 20, 2005

NORFOLK—The EVMS Master of Physician Assistant Program has been granted re-accreditation by the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA) through March 2009.

Physician assistants (PAs) are trained to diagnose, treat and prevent health problems. They can interpret various types of X-ray and laboratory tests and prescribe medications, all under a physician's supervision.

EVMS’ first MPA class graduated in 2001. Due to an increased demand for physician assistants, EVMS increased the number of available spaces for the class that began in January from 36 to 50.

The ARC-PA is the accrediting agency that protects the interests of the public and the PA profession by defining the standards for PA education and evaluating PA educational programs within the United States to ensure their compliance with those standards.

Thomas Parish, DHSc, assistant professor, is the MPA program director. Patricia Shull, M.S., assistant professor, previously served as interim program director for more than two years.

“This accreditation reflects a lot of the hard work of the faculty — the leadership provided by Patricia Shull as interim director, the work of Thomas Parish and the organizational skills of Jeffrey Johnson [director of EVMS' Division of Health Professions],” said Gerald J. Pepe, Ph.D., EVMS interim dean.

Parish also thanked the program's faculty and students.

“We're really happy to have approval for four more years of accreditation," Parish said. "We owe this in large part of the hard work of the interim director of the PA program, Patricia Shull. Approval for this length of time is testament to the hard work of our faculty and the quality of our students.”

For more information, contact:

Doug Gardner, Director of News and Publications
EVMS Office of Institutional Advancement
(757) 446-6070 - This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it