Program Completion Ceremony for Physician Assistant Students at Franklin Pierce University
Mar 10, 2014
Franklin Pierce University President James F. Birge and Provost Kim Mooney presided at its Master of Physician Assistant Studies (MPAS) Program Completion Ceremony on March 1. Twenty-one students in the MPAS program in Lebanon, N.H., received certificates of completion toward their diplomas awarding them a Master’s degree of Physician Assistant Studies. Part of the University’s College of Graduate & Professional Studies, the MPAS program trains upcoming physician assistants who work under the supervision of a physician as part of a team.
A physician assistant may perform physical examinations, diagnose and treat illnesses, prescribe medications, order and interpret lab tests, perform procedures, assist in surgery, and provide education and counseling to patients, among other duties. Physician assistants are nationally certified and licensed by the state to practice medicine.
Franklin Pierce University’s MPAS program received a grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which enables them to emphasize work with medically underserved populations, especially the elderly and people with disabilities, in rural areas of New England. Students are given special training in these areas and encouraged to serve these populations.
