Postbac Pre-PA Certificate Program to Enroll First Students in Fall of 2018

Mirroring its successful Postbaccalaureate Premedical Certificate (PPC) program, Keck Graduate Institute (KGI) is excited to announce a new program for those seeking entrance into physician assistant school: the Postbaccalaureate Pre-PA Certificate (PPA) enhancement program, scheduled to enroll its first cohort in the Fall of 2018.

The PPA program will help post-bac students meet entrance requirements for most PA schools by combining rigorous graduate-level applied life science curriculum with invaluable professional skills and competencies such as teamwork, public speaking, and an interdisciplinary approach to solving tomorrow’s healthcare challenges.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment of physician assistants is projected to grow by 30 percent from 2014 to 2024. As demand for healthcare services grows, PAs will be needed to help meet the growing need in primary care.

KGI’s PPA program is best suited for students who are not only looking to further improve upon their credentials, including the need for additional clinical hours, but who also wish to develop both breadth and depth to enrich their future career in healthcare.

“There are plenty of post-baccalaureate pre-health programs around,” said Joon Kim, EdD, instructor and director of KGI’s PPC and PPA programs. “But KGI’s PPA program has been designed specifically for those seeking to become PAs by combining coursework and clinical opportunities.”

PPA students must earn 24 units to complete the certificate program. The curriculum consists of graduate-level courses within the School of Applied Life Sciences, which combines courses in science and business. There are additional upper-level undergraduate courses offered over the summer that are often required or highly recommended by many PA programs, including human anatomy with lab, human physiology with lab, microbiology with lab, and biochemistry.

PA programs differ widely in the number of clinical hours required for acceptance, from zero up to 2,000. Students in KGI’s PPA program can earn up to 560 clinical hours over the Fall and Spring terms, with students who need additional hours continuing through the summer.

One of the greatest benefits of the PPA program is the highly individualized support. KGI’s advising team is dedicated to working with all students to help navigate through the admission process, and advisors are readily available and accessible to students – as evidenced by generous office hours for walk-in appointments.

Many co-curricular learning experiences are also available for students, including field trips to local and regional PA schools; meetings with professors from various medical specialties; simulated individual interviews, group interviews, and multi-mini interviews; guest speakers from various PA schools; GRE prep courses; networking opportunities with KGI alumni; research opportunities; and clinical and shadowing opportunities.

For additional information about the PPA program, visit kgi.edu/ppa.