Master of Physician Assistant Studies - Arizona Hybrid Program (M.P.A.S.)
Master of Physician Assistant Studies Hybrid Program (M.P.A.S.)
Interim Program Director, Director/Associate Professor: Dr. Carla Shamblen, DMSc, PA-C, DFAAPA
Director of Clinical Education/Assistant Professor: Dr Alycia Rosendale, DMSc, PA-C
Director of Program Assessment-Evaluation and Assessment/Associate Professor: Professor Krysten Carlson, DMSc, MPAS, PA-C
Program Coordinator: Mrs Misty Braunbeck
Clinical Placement Coordinator: Sarah Gomez
Medical Director: Dr Annette Lusko, DO
Physician Assistants (PAs) are nationally certified and licensed healthcare professionals who practice medicine with a physician’s collaboration and/or supervision working as a team.
The Arizona-based, hybrid 24-month Master of Physician Assistant Studies (MPAS) Program is designed to prepare PAs to provide compassionate care with the highest level of clinical excellence and ethical standards. We develop PAs who are patient advocates, critical thinkers, and lifelong learners. We nurture the development of culturally sensitive leaders who embrace diversity, equity, and inclusion to serve patients within their communities. Explore a technology-rich environment where you will attend classes virtually. Your clinical training will include rotations in family medicine, internal medicine, emergency medicine, surgery, behavioral medicine, pediatrics, women’s health, and two elective rotations. Develop hands-on, practical skills during scheduled immersion weeks at the Goodyear, Arizona center. In addition to online instruction, in-person clinical experience is a vital component to the program. Full-time courses are designed for program completion in 24 months.
Mission
Our mission is to prepare Physician Assistants (PAs) to provide compassionate care
with the highest level of clinical excellence and ethical standards. We develop PAs
who are patient advocates, critical thinkers, and lifelong learners. We nurture the
development of culturally sensitive leaders who embrace diversity, equity, and inclusion
to serve patients within their communities.
Program Goals
• Recruit a talented and multicultural student body that corresponds to the diversity
of the U.S. population.
• Offer a flexible schedule that encourages mindfulness and work-life balance. Our
program utilizes multiple teaching and learning strategies using innovative technology
to promote student success.
• Prepare graduates to become competent PAs with a first-time PANCE pass rate that
meets or exceeds the national average.
Program Learning Outcomes
• Competently address a patient’s chief complaint by eliciting a focused and/or comprehensive
patient history and conducting a focused and/or comprehensive physical exam. (Competency
1: Medical Knowledge and Patient Care; Competency 5: Clinical reasoning and problem-solving
abilities)
• Develop a differential diagnosis for medical and behavioral problems seen in a primary
care setting based on fundamental knowledge of the basic and clinical sciences. (Competency
1: Medical Knowledge and Patient Care; Competency 5: Clinical reasoning and problem-solving
abilities)
• Apply critical-thinking principles to patient care using current medical literature
and evidence-based medicine to order and interpret the proper diagnostic studies and
recommend treatments. (Competency 3: Clinical and Technical skills; Competency 5:
Clinical reasoning and problem-solving abilities)
• Implement health maintenance and disease prevention screening and counseling to
patients across the lifespan. (Competency 1: Medical Knowledge and Patient Care; Competency
2: Interpersonal and Communication Skills)
• As a collaborative member of the healthcare team, accurately and concisely communicate
in both oral and written forms, patient encounters and their outcomes. (Competency
2: Interpersonal and Communication Skills)
• Communicate effectively and respectfully with patients, families and caregivers
while considering a patient’s emotional state, culture, and/or socioeconomic background
for shared medical decision-making. (Competency 2: Interpersonal and Communication
Skills; Competency 4: Professional behaviors)
• Develop, implement, and monitor management plans for patients across the life span
and in a variety of health care delivery settings with emergent, acute, chronic, and
ongoing conditions. (Competency 1: Medical Knowledge and Patient Care, Competency
3: Clinical and Technical skills; Competency 5: Clinical reasoning and problem-solving
abilities)
• Perform clinical and medical interventions as necessary to include diagnostic procedures,
surgery, counseling, therapeutic procedures, and rehabilitative therapies. Obtain
informed consent for such tests and/or procedures as needed. (Competency 3: Clinical
and Technical skills, Competency 4: Professional behaviors; Competency 5: Clinical
reasoning and problem-solving abilities)
• Demonstrate behaviors consistent with the highest ethical and legal standards. (Competency
4: Professional behaviors)
Accreditation
At its March 2025 meeting, the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant, Inc. (ARC-PA) placed the Franklin Pierce University Master of Physician Assistant Studies Hybrid Program sponsored by Franklin Pierce University on Accreditation-Probation status until its next review in March 2027. Probation accreditation is a temporary accreditation status initially of not less than two years. However, that period may be extended by the ARC-PA for up to an additional two years if the ARC-PA finds that the program is making substantial progress toward meeting all applicable standards but requires additional time to come into full compliance. Probation accreditation status is granted, at the sole discretion of the ARC-PA, when a program holding an accreditation status of Accreditation - Provisional or Accreditation - Continued does not, in the judgment of the ARC-PA, meet the Standards or when the capability of the program to provide an acceptable educational experience for its students is threatened.
Once placed on probation, a program that fails to comply with accreditation requirements
in a timely manner, as specified by the ARC-PA, may be scheduled for a focused site
visit and is subject to having its accreditation withdrawn.
Specific questions regarding the Program and its plans should be directed to the Program
Director and/or the appropriate institutional official(s).
The program’s accreditation history can be viewed on the ARC-PA website at
https://www.arc-pa.org/accreditation-history-franklin-pierce-university- goodyear-az/.
Technical Standards
The following technical standards establish the essential qualities necessary for
students enrolling in the M.P.A.S. Hybrid Program. Students must possess these qualities
upon admission to the program and continue to demonstrate these standards throughout
the program, in order to achieve the required level of competency stipulated for program
advancement and graduation. Failure to do so will be grounds for dismissal from the
program.
Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL)
All applicants who were born outside of the United States and who did not graduate from a United States high school will be required to submit internet-based TOEFL (iBT) scores with their application. A minimum total score of 100 (with at least 25 in each section) is required. The Educational Testing Service (ETS) code for submitting your score to CASPA is 3709.
Observation and Sensation
• Candidates and graduates must possess sufficient visual, auditory, and tactile sensation
to participate in the classroom, laboratory, and other educational or clinical settings.
• Must be able to receive verbal and nonverbal communications from patients and others,
and to perform a complete patient physical exam.
Communication
• Candidates and graduates must be able to speak, hear, and observe patients, family
members, and other clinicians.
• Communicate clearly and effectively through oral and written communication.
• Candidates and graduates must have the ability to receive and process communication
from the healthcare team to respond in a timely manner and make appropriate decisions.
• Candidates and graduates must possess the skills to communicate attentively and
sensitively to others while honoring the HIPAA policy.
Motor Function
• Candidates and graduates must have sufficient strength, coordination, dexterity,
and equilibrium to perform the activities required of a physician assistant, including
performing a physical examination utilizing diagnostic instruments and techniques
required in auscultation, palpation, percussion, and diagnostic maneuvers.
• Must be able to manipulate medical equipment for basic laboratory tests and procedures
such as airway management, suturing, needle placement & IV, stethoscope & ophthalmoscope,
tongue blades, gynecologic speculum and scalpel.
• Candidates and graduates must have the physical stamina to sit, stand, and move
within classroom, laboratory, examination rooms, treatment rooms, and operating rooms
for long periods of time.
Intellectual Capability
• Candidates and graduates must possess clinical problem solving and reasoning skills
to think critically with sound judgment, emotional stability, maturity, and empathy.
• Candidates and graduates must be able to accurately collect, measure, organize,
prioritize, calculate, reason, analyze and integrate data to make decisions in a timely
manner.
• Must be able to comprehend the medical literature to use this knowledge in problem
solving and patient care.
• Must be able to interpret diagnostic testing and treatment regimens.
Behavioral and Social Proficiency
• Candidates and graduates must be able to establish and maintain appropriate professional
relationships.
• Must work cooperatively with other members of the health care team.
• Must be able to prioritize competing demands and exercise good clinical judgment.
• Must be able to respond to emergencies in a calm and reasonable manner and handle
physical, mental, and emotional stress while functioning effectively.
• Must be able to develop rapport with patients and their families as well as their
colleagues.
• Must be able to demonstrate compassion, empathy, motivation, integrity, and flexibility
while interacting with a diverse population.
• Must be able to accept criticism and modify behavior and practice as needed.
• Candidates and graduates must understand and apply ethical standards and responsibility
in their daily practice.
• Candidates and graduates must demonstrate emotional stability to deliver the appropriate
patient care in all settings.
Advanced Placement
The M.P.A.S. Hybrid Program is a full-time program and does not offer advanced placement
for students.
Work Policy
In order to enhance student learning and assure student success in the M.P.A.S. Hybrid
Program, it is recommended that students do not work while enrolled in the program.
If a student chooses to work while enrolled in the program, work schedules cannot
interfere with class attendance, academic performance, or clinical rotation schedules.
Students are never required to work for the program in any capacity.
Physician Assistant Hybrid Program Academic Policies
The policies below are in addition to the standards noted above as set by the College
of Health and Natural Sciences.
Satisfactory Academic Progress
All M.P.A.S. Hybrid Program students must achieve and maintain a term grade point
average (TGPA) and cumulative grade point average (CGPA) of 3.0 or higher to remain
in good academic standing. M.P.A.S. Hybrid Program students may have no more than
two grades lower than a B- on the academic record at the time of graduation. Any student
not meeting this minimum will be required to meet with their academic advisor to establish
and sign a Learning Contract to address academic deficiencies. A student will be considered
to have attained satisfactory academic progress when the student receives consistent
course grades of B- or better and maintains a cumulative and TGPA of 3.0. Students
with a history of academic probation will be referred for academic dismissal from
the program if they fail to maintain the academic standards of the program or University.
The M.P.A.S. Progress and Promotions Committee meets throughout each term to review
and discuss each individual student’s progress.
Concerns regarding a student’s academic performance will be documented and referred to the student’s academic advisor. At the close of each term, academic records will be reviewed by the Program Director. Appropriate sanctions will be applied if necessary. Students on Academic Probation at the end of the didactic year cannot progress to the clinical year without approval of the M.P.A.S. Progress and Promotions Committee. In addition to academic expectations regarding Academic Standing, recipients of all forms of financial assistance are expected to meet Satisfactory Academic Progress.
*Note: The standards and policies of the M.P.A.S. Hybrid Program supersede any university
policy regarding academic probation and/ or dismissal.
Part-time Enrollment and Deceleration
The design of the curriculum within the M.P.A.S. Hybrid Program does not allow for
students to attend part-time.
Students who cannot continue on a full-time basis may consider applying for a Leave of Absence (LOA), which then must be approved by the Program Director. Poor academic performance is not a valid reason for taking a LOA. Only those students with an approved LOA (or other extenuating circumstance approved by the Program Director) will be allowed to decelerate. Deceleration is defined as movement from the student’s entering cohort to a subsequent cohort. Students who decelerate may be required to repeat some or all of the coursework completed at the time of withdrawal.
Summative Evaluation
The Summative Evaluation is administered within the last four (4) months of the program
in Professional Practice IV, and is used to assess the culmination of the following:
(1) medical knowledge, (2) clinical and technical skills, (3) interpersonal skills,
(4) clinical reasoning and problem-solving abilities, and (5) professional behaviors.
As the Summative Evaluation is the means by which we verify each student is prepared
to enter clinical practice, a student will be permitted to take the Summative Evaluation
only after successful completion of all courses in the didactic phase of the program
AND they are in good academic standing. An exception to this rule will be permitted
only under extenuating circumstances on a case-by-case basis and at the sole discretion
of the Program Director. Students must demonstrate satisfactory performance in the
Summative Evaluation in order to successfully complete the program.
Course Sequence
Didactic Phase
Grad Fall Term I August-November
Anatomy I 2 Credits
Basic Science I 2 Credits
Patient Assessment I 3 Credits
Clinical Pharmacology I 2 Credits
Clinical Medicine I 2 Credits
Mindfulness in Medicine 1 Credit
Evidence-based Medicine 1 Credit
Preventive Medicine 2 Credits
Introduction to Health Professions 1 Credit
Diagnostic Methods I 1 Credit
Total 17 Credits
Grad Term II Winter November-March
Anatomy II 3 Credits
Basic Science II 2 Credits
Patient Assessment II 3 Credits
Clinical Pharmacology II 2 Credits
Clinical Medicine II 3 Credits
Diagnostic Methods II 2 Credits
Cross Cultural Health 1 Credit
Total 17 Credits
Grad Term III Spring March-May
Anatomy III 3 Credits
Basic Science III 2 Credits
Patient Assessment III 3 Credits
Clinical Pharmacology III 2 Credits
Clinical Medicine III 3 Credits
Diagnostic Methods III 2 Credits
Behavioral Health 1 Credits
Total 16 Credits
Grad Term IV Summer June-August
Anatomy IV 2 Credits
Basic Science IV 2 Credits
Patient Assessment IV 3 Credits
Clinical Pharmacology IV 2 Credits
Clinical Medicine IV 3 Credits
Clinical Skills 4 Credits
Research 1 Credits
Medical Ethics 1 Credits
Total 18 Credits
Clinical Phase YEAR TWO
SCPE Internal Medicine 5 Credits
SCPE Family Medicine 5 Credits
SCPE Emergency Medicine 5 Credits
SCPE Surgery 5 Credits
SCPE Pediatrics 5 Credits
SCPE Women’s Health 5 Credits
SCPE Behavioral Medicine 5 Credits
SCPE Elective 1 5 Credits
SCPE Elective 2 5 Credits
Professional Practice I 1 Credit
Professional Practice II 1 Credit
Professional Practice III 1 Credit
Professional Practice IV 1 Credit
Total 49 Credits
Total Credits over 8 Terms = 116 credit hours earned
