PA PROGRAM GRADUATES FIRST CLASS

The Physician Assistant Program at OSU Center for Health Sciences graduated its first class of 21 students in October 2023.

The inaugural class started in the summer of 2021 and 28 months later those students now begin their careers caring for patients, many of which live in rural and underserved areas.

The majority of the new PA graduates are starting jobs in rural communities including Muskogee, Enid, Stillwater and Miami, fulfilling the mission of OSU Center for Health Sciences to serve the medically underserved in Oklahoma.

The PA program at OSU-CHS is unique in the state because of the collaborative nature of programs across campus. PA students learn alongside osteopathic medical students and athletic training students in the classroom as well as during clinical training, gaining interprofessional experience in caring for patients similar to what they will encounter when practicing medicine.

OSU-CHS started the process of adding a PA program to its Graduate Program offerings five years ago when the program director, Amy Harrison, was hired. Now there is a growing department of faculty and staff who have navigated the first three years of a brand new program and watched their inaugural class graduate.

“This first class is especially near and dear to our hearts since they persevered through the growing pains of a new program. We relied on them to provide feedback, which has guided the evolution of curriculum,” Harrison said. “I am eager to see this first class in the workforce and hear practicing PA’s say they are OSU alumni.”

Pa Class Of 2023

81% staying in Oklahoma

57% practicing in rural locations