Pre-Physician Assistant
Interested in practicing medicine with physicians, surgeons and nurse practitioners? Seattle Central College can help you get started on the path to become a Physician Assistant (PA). Physician Assistants examine, diagnose and treat patients in doctor's offices, hospitals, outpatient clinics and more.
We have two applied bachelor's degree options that help prepare you to meet the academic requirements to apply to Physician Assistant master's degree programs, like MEDEX Northwest at the University of Washington:
Community Health & Education
This pathway is perfect if you already have experience working directly with patients, such as in medical assisting, nursing, military medicine, emergency medicine or community health. The Community Health and Education pre-PA option gives you a way to earn a bachelor's degree, meet PA programs' prerequisite coursework, and sharpen your healthcare decision making and critical thinking skills.
There is a specific pre-PA application with unique entrance requirements. Learn more about the Community Health and Education pre-PA curriculum and entrance requirements (pdf).
Respiratory Care
If you are new to healthcare and need clinical training and a bachelor's degree, the Respiratory Care pre-PA option is a great choice. You will get training in a high-demand field and become academically qualified to apply for PA graduate programs.
There is no specific pre-PA Respiratory Care application and the courses are exactly the same. At the end of the program, you have the choice to add the pre-PA option on your transcripts. All you will need to do is earn at least a 2.7 GPA in your prerequisite classes.
Learn more about the Respiratory Care program.
Clinical Experience Requirements
In addition to a bachelor's degree, you will also need to meet clinical experience prerequisites. Most schools like MEDEX require you to have 1-2 years of hands-on experience working with patients.
More information
PA schools like MEDEX are very competitive and you aren't guaranteed a spot. To learn more about how to become a competitive applicant, contact MEDEX.
Don't put your future on hold! Contact the division AlliedHealth.Central@seattlecolleges.edu to learn more and get started.