USF opened a satellite campus in 2006 in Albuquerque, New Mexico to create a site for a graduate program in Physician Assistant Studies. Since then the Albuquerque program has grown and flourished with PA grads entering practice across the United States.
Physician assistants (PAs) are often the first health care provider to examine patients. As part of their comprehensive responsibilities. Physician assistants provide patients with services ranging from primary care medicine to specialized surgical care.
As a member of a healthcare team, the PA can be found taking medical histories, examining and treating patients, ordering and interpreting laboratory tests and x-rays, and making diagnoses. Minor injuries—suturing, splinting and casting—may be part of your day’s work. P.A.s record progress notes, instruct and counsel patients and order or carry out therapy.
PAs can be found in physicians’ offices or clinics, hospitals, nursing homes, home health care agencies, government, as well as academia, and may also be responsible for managerial duties, such as ordering medical supplies or equipment and supervising technicians and assistants. Technology, such as telemedicine, provides unique opportunities for physician assistants and their patients.
To learn more about the profession and USF’s program, watch this recorded virtual presentation, organized by the PA program’s Diversity Committee and the Class of 2022. The outreach to local high schools and colleges was led by Ian Vanderwoude, MSPAS, PA-C, who is a clinical coordinator and faculty member at USF Albuquerque. Get a closer look at the presentation slides here and review the Zoom chat here.