Dear Hawk Family,
It is with great pride that I share amazing news with you and applaud our faculty who are responsible for this latest outstanding achievement.
On March 31, 2020, the University of Maryland Eastern Shore received accreditation approval to offer our Physicians Assistant Program. As you know, this reaffirmation will allow the University to resume offering graduate-level courses in physician assistant training starting in the coming academic year.
As the sixteenth president of UMES, I made reaffirmation of the PA program an institutional priority. Moving to Maryland, I recognized that all of the counties on the Eastern Shore are designated as medically underserved areas and/or Health Professions Shortage Areas. Thus, having more physician assistants is vital for our communities.
Under the leadership of both Dean Rondall Allen and Dr. Tiffany Maxwell, the program faculty and campus staff compiled detailed material that the accrediting body required of institutions to prove readiness in preparing competent and compassionate physicians assistants. I am so proud of Dr. Maxwell and Dean Allen. They took on this monumental task and accomplished it in record time.
Based on the review of the program by the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant, Inc. (ARC-PA), UMES is authorized to enroll a cohort of 20 new students in August 2020 with plans to grow the program annually. The University will award a Masters of Medical Science in Physician Assistant Studies to those who successfully complete the program. ARC-PA, after receiving the materials, stated they “appreciate the commitment and dedication to quality PA education demonstrated by (y)our participation in the accreditation process.”
We are also pleased that the value of the program has been confirmed by the support of the USM’s immediate past and current chancellors (Caret and Perman), the USM governing board, and Governor Larry Hogan. In addition to providing endorsement for the reaffirmation of the PA program, elected leaders in Maryland also approved funds to underwrite construction of a healthcare training complex that will enhance all the health care curricula at UMES, including the physician assistant’s program.
Our program will be further strengthened by the engagement from our local health care community, including Peninsula Regional Medical Center, Atlantic General Hospital, University of Maryland Shore Regional Health, local physicians, physician assistants, and other healthcare providers.
The program will be 28 months in duration and includes a didactic and experiential education component. Students will complete over 2,000 hours in clinical rotations through fields that include family medicine, general surgery, and mental health training. The rigorous course content aligns closely with that of medical school and the program is attractive to students of all career and educational backgrounds.
I believe that everyone in our surrounding community should be excited about this as the program graduates will infuse the region with highly trained medical professionals with skills in illness diagnosis, medical treatment, prevention, and care plans.
A year from now, UMES will be able to enroll an additional 25 students with another 30 to be added in 2022. And this comes just when the nation is dealing with the coronavirus pandemic and needing a plethora of healthcare providers.
Please join me in congratulating the entire physician assistant department!
With Hawk Pride,
