A medical school with roots in Missouri and Arizona has started accepting applications again for its inaugural students in a new Central Coast physician assistant training program already delayed for a year.
City and community leaders gathered in May 2019 to herald the expansion of the 128-year-old A.T. Still University to Santa Maria, achieving a long-term goal of bringing more higher education offerings to the city.
Pending accreditation, the first class could begin learning by early fall 2021, according to Sean O’Connor, senior director of communications and marketing for ATSU.
Officials originally targeted a 2020 start date, but they notified initial applicants in December about a one-year delay, according to an online forum for future physician assistants.
“ATSU has elected to postpone accepting the inaugural class in order to devote time to ensuring the program provides the highest quality education for those attending,” Central Coast Physician Assistant Program applicants were told.
Students also were advised that refunds would be issued, but “due to the high number of applicants,” they could take several months to process.
ATSU representatives hope to learn whether the program achieved provisional accreditation during a June 2021 meeting of the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for Physician Assistants.
Although students aren’t enrolled, provisional status can be granted for a proposed program if plans and resources appear to demonstrate an ability to meet the ARC-PA Standards, according to the ATSU website.
The Central Coast Physician Assistant Program will provide a 24-month residential master’s degree, with students spending one year on campus in Santa Maria for the pre-clinical phase of the training. Students then will enter the clinical phase, including 30 weeks of supervised clinical practice experiences in various medical disciplines. That phase of training primarily will take place at one of the partnered Community Health Centers locations.
“CCPA program prepares highly competent professionals in the science of medicine steeped in the osteopathic tradition of body, mind and spirit care for the whole person and service to underserved populations,” O’Connor said. “From their first day, CCPA students are immersed in engaged scholarship, threading the philosophy of whole person health care and serving the underserved through classes and activities designed to foster critical thinking.”
Training will focus on developing a new generation of physician assistants for several health specialties, including family medicine, general internal medicine, general pediatrics, women’s health and behavioral health/psychiatry.
A.T. Still University Santa Maria expects to enroll 100 students annually, or 200 in total once the two-year program exists, as they study to become physician assistants.
The new program’s training will occur in a 25,000-square-foot facility — the second story of the CoastHills Credit Union headquarters on Betteravia Road near Highway 101 where ATSU faculty and staff will begin operating in September, O’Connor said.
That facility features 10 clinical simulation rooms, a spacious library, a student lounge and an on-site exercise/recreation area. It will foster pre-clinical education and team-based learning opportunities, O’Connor said.
The program has six faculty members and one administrative assistant, he added.
Established in 1892 by the father of osteopathic medicine Andrew Taylor Still, the nonprofit university has campuses in Kirksville, Mo., and Mesa, Ariz., boasting an average annual enrollment of more than 3,100 students from 35 countries.
The education focuses on the tenets of osteopathic medicine — looking at the whole person — and modern science while developing the next generation of health care workers in several specialties, according to ATSU’s website.
Prospective students can learn more about the CCPA program and application process by clicking here.
— Noozhawk North County editor Janene Scully can be reached at jscully@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.