Physician Assistant Program - Fort Lauderdale

The entry-level physician assistant program at NSU, leading to a Master of Medical Science (MMS) degree, is a fully integrated program encompassing basic science, clinical, and professional work. All students must complete the entire curriculum, regardless of their previous educational preparation.

The PA-S(1): Academic Education (15 months)

The course of study in the 15 month didactic/academic phase includes a curriculum that builds on student knowledge of the basic sciences, introduces clinical medicine and fosters the development of the critical thinking process.

Courses include Anatomy, Physiology, Pathophysiology, Physical Diagnosis, Medical Terminology, Microbiology, Legal and Ethical Issues, Pharmacology, Clinical Medicine and Surgery (a multi-discipline review of all medicine and surgery), Clinical Laboratory Medicine, Clinical Behavioral Medicine, Clinical Procedures and Surgical Skills, Life Support Procedures and Skills, Clinical Genetics, Domestic Violence training, OSHA "Blood borne Pathogen" training, and Interpretation of the Medical Literature.

(Note: Many applicants may have completed similar courses in other institutions. No course exemptions for previous course work completed prior to admission will be considered except by expressed permission of the Program Director and the College of Health Care Sciences Dean. The PA program curriculum is subject to change and /or modification at any time).

The PA-S(2): Clinical Education (12 months)

The second year consists of clinical rotations in hospitals, private practices, and other patient care areas over the remaining 12 months of the program. The following areas of concentration are required in this clinical phase: Internal Medicine, Surgery, Emergency Medicine, Pediatrics, and Family Medicine, OB/GYN and Behavioral Health. Students also complete three electives.

During the second year, students are required to return to campus after each rotation. These "End of Rotation" events include testing, review seminars, job preparation and didactic instruction in contemporary clinical medicine and surgery topics.

The progress of each student through the curriculum requires continuous satisfactory academic and clinical performance. Since many of the curriculum’s courses are offered only once per year, a student may have an altered plan of study if not making satisfactorily progress each semester. This may extend the student’s program beyond the standard 7 consecutive semesters. There is a maximum four-year time limit for program completion, which includes any approved leave of absence / administrative break and subsequent return to the program.

Didactic Phase

Clinical Phase

*Clinical rotations vary in sequence

Prospective students are selected by the Committee on Admissions (COA) which considers the overall qualities of the applicant. Areas of consideration include:

• personal motivation
• interpersonal skills
• knowledge of the PA profession
• quality and length of prior health care experience
• academic performance and level of achievement
• extracurricular activities and community service
• employment while in school
• collegiate athletics

Applicants must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 and a minimum science GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 grading scale at the time of application in order for your application to be considered. Successful applicants in the past have typically had both cumulative and science GPAs of 3.4 or higher, GRE score (verbal, quantitative, and analytical) in the 40th percentile or higher in each of the three categories.

Course work, particularly required and recommended prerequisites, completed in the recent past is deemed to be more relevant to the related content in the professional curriculum and serve as better preparation than course work completed in prior years. Academic preparation is considered on a case-by-case basis in the context of health care experience, etc.

Recommended courses are regarded as important elements of comprehensive preparation for application and success in the curriculum.

Introductory and survey courses are not accepted to fulfill the required science prerequisites.

Personal interviews are offered to the most qualified applicants to assess interpersonal and communication skills, teamwork, interests, inquisitiveness, grit and resilience, humility, and integrity. Interviews are conducted on the Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, campus and are by invitation only. Interviews are usually held during the months of October through March.

The most current information pamphlet, university catalog and application information should be consulted for the most up-to-date information.

The Physician Assistant Program participates in the Centralized Application Service for Physician Assistants (CASPA) for the receipt and processing of all applications. CASPA takes no part in the selection of students. CASPA applications are completed online at CASPA.

Questions regarding completion of the online application may be directed to CASPA's email address, by telephone at (617) 612-2080, or by visiting the CASPA Applicant Help Center.

The CASPA application deadline is January 15 to be considered for admission the following May.

Required Degree

Prior to matriculation, applicants must have earned a baccalaureate degree from a regionally accredited college or university.

Required Courses

The College requires applicants to earn a grade of “C” (2.0) or better in each of the following required courses listed below. Science prerequisites must be completed by the end of the fall semester prior to matriculation. There is no expiration date for prerequisite courses. However, applicants are still responsible for retaining the knowledge gained from prerequisite coursework. Therefore, applicants with science prerequisites over 10 years may be considered less competitive.

• College Math - 3 semester hours   (Statistics does not satisfy this requirement)
• English (including 3 semester hours of English Composition) - 6 semester hours
• Humanities/Arts - 3 semester hours (examples include; philosophy, religion, foreign language, law, ethics, literature, performing/visual arts, e.g. music, dance, film, theater, band, opera, painting, drawing.)
• Social Sciences - 9 semester hours (examples include; anthropology, psychology, sociology, political science, economics, history, geography, criminology, archeology, communication, cultural studies, law, ethics)
• General Inorganic Chemistry (I & II) including lab - 8 semester hours
• Microbiology including lab - 4 semester hours
• General Biology (or Zoology) including lab - 4 semester hours
• Human Anatomy & Physiology – 6 semester hours*
• Biochemistry - 3 semester hours
• Human Genetics (Genetics, not Animal Genetics) - 3 semester hours
• Medical Terminology – 1 semester hour

*If you take the combination class of Human Anatomy & Physiology I (A&P I), then you must complete the sequence by taking Human Anatomy & Physiology II (A&P II).

Note: Graduates of foreign institutions where English is not the primary language of instruction must present transcripts showing at least 18 semester hours of study from a regionally accredited college or university in the United States. Of these 18 semester hours: three must be in English Composition, English Literature, and Public Speaking (courses do not include ESOL). The remaining nine semester hours can be any course of the applicant's choosing (excluding physical education).

Recommended Courses

• Biochemistry lab - 1 semester hour
• Anatomy lab – 1 semester hour
• Physiology lab – 1 semester hour
• Introduction to Statistics – 3 semester hours

Applicants are encouraged to complete their elective course work in the areas of behavioral, physical and social sciences or humanities.

GRE Standardized Test

All applicants are required to submit official scores from the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) general test through the CASPA application portal. The program's CASPA GRE is 0947. The GRE must have been taken within the past 5 years and must be taken early enough for official scores to be received in CASPA by January 15th. Applications will not be considered complete without GRE scores. If multiple exams have been taken, only the most recent GRE scores will be considered.

For further information contact:

Graduate Record Examination (GRE)
http://www.gre.org 
1-609-921-9000

Basic Life Support

We no longer require proof of current certification in Basic Cardiac Life Support. All students are required to take BLS/BCLS, ACLS and PALS (pediatrics) during the program regardless of previous certification status or training. 

Throughout the curriculum students are required to access various instructional materials and information from the Internet. All students are required to have a laptop computer and printer.

The computer must have the following minimum specifications:

PC/Laptop

• Operating System: 64-bit Windows 10 (Must be genuine U.S. English versions or Windows operating systems)
• Processor: Intel I5 processor or above
• RAM: 8 GB or higher
• Hard Disk Space: 256GB solid state drive (SSD) or higher
• Graphics Card: Integrated graphics card or NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 or dedicated video graphics card with 4 GB video memory or higher
• Display: 1280x1024 or higher

MacBook/iMac

• Operating System: Mac OS C Monterey or higher (Must be genuine versions of Mac operating systems)
• Processor: Intel I5 processor or above M1
• RAM: 8 GB or higher
• Hard Disk Space: 256GB solid state drive (SSD) or higher
• Graphics Card: Intel Iris Plus or higher, or Apple M1 Integrated graphics
• Display: 1280x1024 or higher

Computer Skills

All applicants must show evidence of computer skills through course work or self study prior to the end of the first term. Students may obtain instruction through the NSU Microcomputer Laboratory or other training facilities.

Healthcare Experience

While there is no minimum requirement, prior healthcare experience is highly recommended. Higher consideration may be given to applicants with prior direct patient contact. 

PA Shadow Experience

PA shadow experience is not required, but is preferred. Higher consideration may be given to applicants with greater PA shadow hours.

Official transcripts from all institutions where course work was completed or attempted must be sent directly to CASPA by the institutions. Once accepted, if the applicant did not submit final official transcripts with degree conferral to CASPA prior to acceptance, the applicant must submit all updated transcripts to NSU prior to matriculation. The updated official transcripts are to be sent directly from the institution to:

Enrollment Processing Services
Nova Southeastern University
3301 College Avenue, P.O. Box 299000
Fort Lauderdale, Fl 33314-9905

Foreign Transcripts

Applicants who have attended foreign universities or colleges are required to have their academic credentials evaluated for U.S. institution equivalence by an approved National Association of Credential Evaluation Services (NACES) organization, such as one of the services listed below.

An official course-by-course evaluation with a cumulative grade point average must be sent directly from the evaluation service to CASPA.