All 58 students of Nova Southeastern University’s graduating class of 2012 of the Physician Assistant program passed their Physician Assistant National Certification Exam (PANCE). This exam is commonly referred to as the “PA Boards.”
This is the first year that the NSU Orlando Physician Assistant (PA) program has attained this 100 percent goal. The national average for pass rates for all PA programs is 93 percent for this iteration of the exam.
“All of our faculty and staff have been working diligently towards excellence with our students,” said Lorilee H. Butler, MPAS, M. Ed, PA-C, Interim Program Director and Assistant Professor of the Physician Assistant Program at NSU in Orlando. “This pass rate is proof of the hard work and gained knowledge of these Physician Assistants.”
Richard E. Davis, Ed.D, PA-C, dean of NSU’s College of Health Care Sciences which oversees the PA program, agreed with Butler. “The Orlando area, Florida and the nation in general has a need for more Physician Assistants,” he said. “Having more Physician Assistants means more people can receive medical attention sooner.”
Physician Assistants practice medicine working with members of a health care team including physicians and surgeons. They are formally trained to provide diagnostic, therapeutic, and preventative healthcare services as delegated by a physician. In rural or inner city clinics, they may be the primary health care provider, conferring with physicians as required by law.
“Our Physician Assistant program produces quality health care professionals who have jobs lined up before they even graduate,” Butler said. “Having more PAs in the area opens up more access for patients to get quality health care.”
The Orlando PA Program students complete their clinical rotations locally in many private clinics, private health clinics, the Florida Hospital system, Orlando Health System and the Heart of Florida system.
Additionally, the students often have clinical rotations in the Tampa area, Melbourne area and several other rural areas. After graduation, the majority of students accept positions in the local community. The Orlando NSU Physician Assistant program accepted their first class of students in 2007. The class of 2012 is the fourth graduating class for the Orlando program.
Congratulations to all the PA students, but also to the faculty and staff that helped make this happen. You are all awesome!