The Shenandoah University Physician Assistant (PA) Studies class of 2017 has posted a 100 percent first-time pass rate on the Physician Assistant National Certifying Exam (PANCE).
It’s the third time in five years 100 percent of program graduates have achieved a perfect first-time pass rate. The program’s overall pass rate for first time takers over the past five years is 98 percent, and the program boasts a 100 percent overall pass rate since its first graduating class in 2003.
“I believe that our successful pass rate can be attributed to two major factors,” said Distinguished Professor and Director of the Division of Physician Assistant Studies Anthony A. Miller, M.Ed., PA-C. “First, the outstanding students that we attract who are very bright and highly motivated,” he said. “Second, our outstanding faculty who are great teachers and mentors but also are dedicated to the success of our students.”
But those aren’t the only strengths of the program, which is one of the nation’s Top 20 PA programs, according to U.S. News & World Report.
“Our curriculum is designed to prepare our students to be excellent health care providers, so it is natural that they would do well on the national certifying exam,” Miller said. “It focuses on preparing our students to be critical thinkers as well as caring and compassionate individuals.”
Shenandoah’s PA program provides students a chance to study and hone their skills around the world through medical mission trips (the program regularly travels to Nicaragua) and to clinical rotations in places such as Clinica Madre de Cristo in Trujillo, Peru.
The program also offers a dual master’s degree in PA studies and public health for students interested in PA and public health positions that address today’s most challenging population health care issues.
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