LAREDO (May 4, 2010) — Anyone interested in becoming a physician assistant can learn more about this fast-growing career field — including how to apply to The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio or its Regional Campus in Laredo — during an information session on Saturday, May 8.
The session will be held at the Regional Campus, located at
1937 E. Bustamante St. in Laredo, in room 1.102 of the Academic Building.
“Now is the best time for undergraduate college students or people who are considering making a career change into the PA profession to begin gathering their transcripts and other materials for the application process,” said Araceli Duran, health careers program coordinator at the Regional Campus. When applying, students can request to enter the program through the Regional Campus in Laredo or the San Antonio campus. Once assigned, students will complete all three years of the program through the assigned campus.
PAs are licensed health professionals who practice medicine as members of a team with a supervising physician. PAs deliver a broad range of medical and surgical services to diverse populations in rural and urban settings. As part of their comprehensive responsibilities, PAs conduct physical exams, diagnose and treat illnesses, order and interpret tests, counsel on preventive health care, assist in surgery and prescribe medications. They can specialize in such areas as family practice, pediatrics, surgery, obstetrics/gynecology, emergency medicine or research.
The federal Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the PA profession is growing much faster than average, and job opportunities should be good in coming years, particularly in urban and rural settings.
The first two years of the program are spent in the classroom. Students receive clinical training throughout the South Texas region during their third year.
“The most important thing for prospective students to remember is that they need to have all of the required materials submitted by the application deadline,” Araceli said, which is Oct. 1, 2010, to enter the program in fall 2011.
For more information, please contact Duran at (956) 523-7411 or durane@uthscsa.edu.
The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, one of the country’s leading health sciences universities, ranks in the top 2 percent of all U.S. institutions receiving federal funding. Research and other sponsored program activity totaled a record $259 million in fiscal year 2009. The university’s schools of medicine, nursing, dentistry, health professions and graduate biomedical sciences have produced 27,000 graduates. The $753 million operating budget supports six campuses in San Antonio, Laredo, Harlingen and Edinburg. For more information on the many ways “We make lives better®,” visit www.uthscsa.edu.