Let’s Talk About McMaster’s Physician Assistant Program
Behind every doctor and physician, there are several different people who are responsible for the behind-the-scenes work which includes taking physical exams, administering diagnoses, talking to the patient, ordering and reading tests, and many other important tasks. Every physician is composed of an essential team who work together with the physician to help determine the best care plan for their patient and it is always best to get advice and input from other perspectives and sources who can have sufficient knowledge and background in the field. Now, you may be thinking, who are these “other” people who work alongside physicians, and although nurses are certainly an important part of this team, today I will be talking about a newly proposed career pathway, a physician assistant. The process and schooling required for a person to become a physician assistant may seem close to that of a doctor entailing a long road and many years of education, however, many universities, including McMaster University, have developed a program to allow for students to gain their foundational knowledge in a minimum of four years of schooling. In this continuation of the Exploring Undergraduate Program series, I will be bringing you into an in-depth look into the admission and schooling process of students in the Physician Assistant (PA) program at McMaster University and some of the important core values that might fit your style of learning and possible career pathway.
What is a Physician Assistant?
When someone asks, “What is a Physician Assistant,” do not fear to hesitate with an answer, because truly, the name says it all… a physician’s assistant. If this definition is not detailed enough for you, keep on reading to understand fully what a physician assistant does and if this career may be suited for you. A physician assistant is a healthcare professional who works alongside physicians under their supervision to ultimately help them come to a synonymous agreement about a patient’s treatment plan and their care plan going forward. Some of the tasks that a physician assistant is responsible for include taking patient histories, conducting a physical examination, ordering and reading tests, diagnosing and treating illnesses, counselling on preventative healthcare, and many more. They even have the potential to assist with surgeries and assist physicians in the operating room. As they continue to grow and learn under the supervision of many physicians throughout their career, they become excellent healthcare professionals, however, they also become great sources of information which oftentimes allows many physician assistants to become teachers within their own field. Many physician assistants will educate younger students entering the field and help them to become the best physician assistant they can be. Another interesting part of their job is the opportunity to conduct research and gain research experience with trained professionals to learn more about research and studies going on in different areas of medicine. It is oftentimes that physician assistants are able to continue their job working alongside physicians, but experience a new environment whilst still contributing to medicine and helping patients to be treated. These are some of the most commonly practiced roles of a physician assistant especially in hospital settings, however, it is important to understand that many physician assistants will have the opportunity to work in different settings where they will be exposed to a whole new side of healthcare which can be exciting and thrilling for many young and aspiring students eager to make a difference in the healthcare industry. Check out this link if you want to know the different areas and environments of medicine in which physician assistants can work and also an in-depth description of what their job entails!
Introduction the Program
Now that you have a better understanding of what exactly a physician assistant does and some of their important responsibilities, let us take a look into the educational pathway for how a student can become a physician assistant. Specifically, we will take a closer look at the McMaster Physician Assistant program and some of the important admissions processes to note if this pathway may be a potential road for you. The McMaster physician assistant program was first founded, only thirteen years ago in 2008 and it was one of the first institutions in Canada to introduce such a program that allowed for a new type of healthcare professional to be trained. The physician assistant program is similar to many MD programs in the sense that admissions are extremely competitive and very limited. The program allows for a small number of 24 students per application cycle, with an estimate of over 1200 applicants which was the total number of applicants specifically in the September 2021 cycle. The program has a similar acceptance rate to many medical graduate programs, of just 2% when comparing students admitted to the number of applicants. As previously mentioned, this program is a new program to many institutions across Canada and the United States however it has been an increasingly popular program as it allows students to establish a new role in healthcare and open up the possibilities for different pathways that will allow for people to still make a difference in the industry. McMaster University has always been known to be very group-oriented and encourages their students to take initiative in all that they do, and specifically, their core values can be seen in their mission statement for the physician assistant program which states “To educate energetic, innovative, committed, and caring individuals to become role models in a new health care delivery model practicing medicine under the supervision of a physician to expand health care access for people of Ontario” (McMaster University). It is evident that the healthcare industry is always evolving and changing and the introduction of this new personnel is very inspiring and sets new limits and goals for the healthcare industry.
Program Design
Furthermore, the physician assistant program at McMaster University consists of a two-year program that teaches students critical skills and important clinical knowledge for working with patients. It is delivered over a 24 month period beginning in September of the academic year and is academically consistent throughout the year. The programs are distinguished by two core values part of the physician assistant program: clinical science and clerkship. The first year is clinical science and the curriculum centers around learning the important scientific facts to be successfully equipped to treat patients and develop treatment plans alongside physician supervision. The curriculum is delivered in small group problem-based learning modules with a focus on the physician assistant’s role in health care. Problem-based learning is an essential component to many of the healthcare programs at McMaster University and this style of learning is used to enhance students’ abilities to think with critical skills, solve complex problems, demonstrate initiative, showcase independence, and promote workplace lifelong learning which is an important part of working in the healthcare field as science is continuing to develop new and innovative technologies. Within the first year of developing important clinical science skills, the curriculum consists of three Medial Foundations which are composed of four components to learn and that enhance these concepts including clinical sciences, IER (interviewing, examination, and reasoning), professional competencies, and longitudinal clinical experiences. Below is a brief overview of each medical foundation:
Medical Foundation 1:
- Students learn about oxygen transport to the heart, respiratory, and hematological physiology.
- Students develop important communication skills with patients and other healthcare professionals, history taking of patients, physical examination, professionalism, and social determinants of health.
Medical Foundation 2:
- Students learn about homeostasis within the body including energy balance, nutrition, hormone balance, and reproduction.
- Specific focuses during this component of medical foundations include the gastrointestinal tract, endocrine system, obstetric systems, and students will learn how to complete physical examinations for these types of patients.
- Students will also continue to develop their communication skills and learn more about how to make decisions regarding medical ethics.
Medical Foundation 3:
- Students learn about infections, neurological, psychiatric, and musculoskeletal physiology and specific focuses during this component of medical foundations include neurological, psychiatric, and musculoskeletal systems.
- Students will also have the opportunity to learn standards of care, the law and codes of medical ethics, and end-of-life decision-making.
In addition to the long first year that students will go through to learn about the most important components to medical and healthcare knowledge, students will be able to apply what they have learned in the first year of clinical sciences, in a variety of different medical settings. The second year of the physician assistant program is clerkship, which allows students to undertake approximately 48 weeks of supervised clinical placements in different fields of medicine including family medicine, pediatrics, emergency medicine, surgery, and many others. Students will have many opportunities to be placed in healthcare settings in many locations in the surrounding area of Hamilton, as well as in cities where other McMaster campuses are located including St. Catherines, Kitchener, and Waterloo. The program allows for students to access many opportunities and experiences that allow them to network with their peers, and learn most of their skills applicable to their career as a physician assistant through clinical placements.
Admission’s Process
When learning about different University programs, the most important part to many students is the admissions process and oftentimes is the most sought out information for many competitive programs, especially those in healthcare. I can definitely agree that the admissions process is the first part of any application and is the first area on the website that I access, and I am here to help give you an in-depth look into the admissions process for a competitive program like the Physician Assistant at McMaster University. It is important to note that, unlike many University programs, the program is open to Canadian citizens and permanent residents of Canada only, and does not consider any international placements. Below is a list of some important requirements to check off the admissions process list for the Physician Assistant program at McMaster University:
- Minimum 2 years of any undergraduate program
- Minimum cumulative undergraduate GPA 3.0 on the OMSAS 4.0 scale
It is also important to note that the application does not require any specific course or background requirements and no work and/or volunteer experience is recognized. Although extracurriculars are not reviewed as part of the application, being a part of extracurriculars throughout your education is important for experience and is recommended by admissions officers as many of these experiences help to give students who often succeed, a good fundamental and foundational skill set which often helps them in specific components of the application including the supplementary application and the multiple mini interviews. With that being said, another important part of the application for the Physician Assistant program alongside transcripts and GPA is the additional supplemental documentation that will help to set aside potential candidates. A supplementary application is a mandatory part of the application and it must be submitted with the appropriate fee through the OUAC form 105 website prior to the application deadline. The supplementary application is usually emailed to all qualified applicants by the end of February and gives students about 4–5 weeks to prepare for this assessment. The supplementary application is an additional piece of documentation that the Physician Assistant program uses to assess potential candidates and gives applicants an opportunity to share some of their personal experiences through writing pieces and video presentations.
Multiple Mini Interview (MMI)
Alongside the supplementary application, is the last part of the application which is the multiple mini interview, commonly known as the MMI. The MMI is a common form of assessment for healthcare programs including admission to the School of Medicine at McMaster University. Selected candidates will be invited to participate in this interview however depending on the state of the pandemic, it may be held virtually due to social distancing limitations, however, it is important to note that this is usually an in-person assessment. The MMI is an example of how McMaster, specifically, has developed an outside-of-the-box approach to determining the best-suited candidates for the program. The MMI is a unique and non-traditional approach to selecting appropriate candidates as the reliability of the interview is greatly increased due to the fact that interviewers are able to judge the applicant’s merits and this opportunity allows for applicants to showcase important skills that may be misrepresented in their written and formal application. Now, the real question that many of you are wondering is, “What is the MMI?” The MMI allows for applicants to move between interviews in a multiple station circuit. Each station will last about eight minutes and there is a 2-minute break between each one for the applicants to re-group and prepare for the next set of scenarios. The stations deal with a variety of issues including communication, ethics, and many more. It is not about your knowledge and how to answer the questions correctly since they usually do not have a ‘right answer,’ but it is about how you approach it and use critical thinking and problem-solving skills in the situation.
Admissions Statistics for the Physician Assistant Program
- Average entering GPA 3.63
- Average undergraduate GPA for the 2019 MMI was 3.82 on the OMSAS 4.0 scale
Conclusion
This innovative and newly designed four-year program to introduce a new form of healthcare professionals is one that is becoming increasingly popular and allows for students to gain specific experiences to help them succeed in their careers and in the healthcare industry. Graduates will be able to qualify to take the National Physician Assistant Certification Examination in order to become eligible to work in Ontario and they will have earned their Bachelor of Health Sciences (Physician Assistant) degree. It is certain to say that this pathway is one that is very unique and is only one of the evolving ways that people are able to make a difference in the industry and become healthcare professionals from different perspectives and points of view.
About the Writer: Wynter Sutchy is an incoming first-year undergraduate student at McMaster University studying Life Sciences and is from King City, ON. She is very passionate about the healthcare field and enjoys sharing her volunteering experiences through writing. She plans to pursue a career in medicine in the future and plans to explore the field of healthcare through research and volunteering throughout her undergraduate career. In her free time, you can expect her to be watching her favourite show, Greys Anatomy, teaching children how to swim, or baking some delicious desserts!
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