Physician Assistant Professional - Degree Program
Description
Program Length: 24 consecutive months (Full Time)
Program Start date: September
Delivery Method: A combination of face-to-face, distributed, (online) learning.
The Ministry of Health and Long Term Care’s (MOHLTC) 2006 Health Human Resources plan called for the introduction of Physician Assistants into the Ontario healthcare system to contribute to decreased wait times and improved access to primary care. HealthForce Ontario Pilot and Demonstration projects began in 2007 with PAs in various clinical positions in Ontario.
The Physician Assistant (PA) works entirely under the CPSO's Delegation of Controlled Acts Policy Number: #8-10, both as a student and as a medical professional. Exactly the same as medical students. Their duties and responsibilities fall directly under the supervision of a licenced physician. The PAs Scope of Practice is directly aligned with their supervising physician's Scope of Practice, which can be tailored by the supervising physician and to the facility's policies.
The Physician Assistant (PA) works entirely under the CPSO's Delegation of Controlled Acts Policy Number: #8-10, both as a student and as a medical professional. Exactly the same as medical students. Their duties and responsibilities fall directly under the supervision of a licenced physician. The PAs Scope of Practice is directly aligned with their supervising physician's Scope of Practice, which can be tailored by the supervising physician and to the facility's policies.
Program Overview:
Please note that the curriculum has been adjusted in response to COVID-19. As the pandemic continues to be monitored, future curriculum changes may be necessary.
The program runs continuously for six semesters (24 months). Short periods of time are spent in Toronto, but otherwise the student may be in their home location during the first year.
Year 1 (pre-clerkship 3 semesters) is academically focused:
Completion of 15 courses in total online with synchronous and asynchronous learning and online proctoring of assessments
2 Mandatory In-Person Campus Blocks will occur: a 3 week block in September, and a 7 day block in June. (Note, changes have been administered to this schedule due to COVID-19).
Year 2 (clerkship - 3 semesters) is clinically focused:
44 weeks of supervised direct clinical contact in rural and urban settings:
12 weeks of Primary Care, plus 4 week core rotations in General Surgery, Emergency Medicine, Hospitalist/Internal Medicine, Mental Health and Paediatrics. The remaining weeks are spent in electives.
Half of the clinical practicum will be assigned in Southern Ontario, half in Northern Ontario.
Mandatory In-Person Campus Block in Toronto will also occur - 1 week in March.
Clinical Experiences in Ontario
The BScPA Program is designed so that students may remain in their home community for much of the Program. Although clinical placements occur during Year 2 of the program, students are expected to participate in clinical experiences throughout Year 1.
Home Training Location
For all students whose primary residence is in Northern Ontario, their Home Training Location will be in the North. For all students whose primary residence is in Southern Ontario, their Home Training Location will be in the South.
It is expected that, as much as possible, the student’s Home Training Location will be in the same community as their primary residence. However, if the community in which they usually reside is not suitable for PA student training, the student will be expected to relocate to a suitable community within their geographic region (North/South).
N-S Swap Training Location
ALL students will be allocated to an N-S Swap Training Location in the other geographic region (North or South) from their Home Training Location.
Northern Ontario is defined by communities affiliated with NOSM U.
Full Time Status
The structure of the program requires that all students be registered in the program on a full-time basis. Attendance at all Residential and Evaluation components of the program and participation in all Distance components are mandatory. Employment while enrolled in the full-time professional degree program is strongly discouraged.
The BScPA Program has the following admission requirements:
- Canadian Citizenship or Permanent Resident Status required.
- Minimum 10 full-year courses (20 half-year courses) or the equivalent of 4 semesters of undergraduate university education from a recognized university. Please see our FAQ page for information on Winter 2020 courses. Please note: The minimum 10 full-year courses must be completed with grades before the application deadline. The grades for the 10 full-year courses must appear on the transcript submitted as part of the application.
- Minimum GPA of 3.0 calculated on the OMSAS scale. All completed undergraduate studies will be considered in the calculation of the GPA.
- *Minimum of 100 hours of health care experience. All forms of health care experiences are considered toward the minimum requirement and can be obtained through employment, clinical placements as part of health care educational programs, or as a volunteer. * Reduced from 910 hours due to COVID-19 for admission cycles 2020-2021 to 2022-2023. As of the 2023-2024 admission cycle, a minimum of 350 healthcare experience hours will be required.
For further details visit: https://paconsortium.ca/admission-requirements
Overview
- Institution: University of Toronto
- Program type: Baccalauréat
- Language: English
- Program Code:
- Delivery Method: Apprentissage mixte/hybride
Disclaimer:
Check with the institution regarding start/end dates, prices, and delivery method. These may vary according to program, section, and/or semester.
Check with the institution regarding start/end dates, prices, and delivery method. These may vary according to program, section, and/or semester.