Creighton Receives Provisional Accreditation for New Physician Assistant Program

After receiving provisional accreditation from the Accreditation Review Commission on Education, Creighton University’s (creighton.edu/accreditation) new Physician Assistant (PA) Program in the School of Medicine will welcome its inaugural class of 24 students in August 2019. Graduates of the program, which is only the fifth such program offered at Jesuit institutions in the United States, will receive a Master of Physician Assistant Studies degree in just over two years.

According to US News & World Report, the physician assistant profession ranks third on the 2019 list of Best Jobs in America and first on the list of Best Health Care Jobs. A PA is a nationally-certified and state-licensed medial professional who practices medicine as a member of a health care team with physicians and other health professionals.

Students enrolled in the 28-month, two-phase curriculum will demonstrate competence in collaborative patient care, clinical medicine, practice-based learning and improvement, interpersonal and communication skills, professionalism and systems-based practice.

Creighton University will began accepting applications on April 25 for a second cohort that will begin in August 2020. Graduates will go on to work and communicate effectively as leaders or members of a collaborative health care team to provide culturally competent and evidence-based, patient-centered care.

The ARC-PA has granted Accreditation-Provisional status to the Creighton University Physician Assistant Program sponsored by Creighton University. Accreditation-Provisional is an accreditation status granted when the plans and resource allocation, if fully implemented as planned, of a proposed program that has not yet enrolled students appear to demonstrate the program’s ability to meet the ARC-PA Standards or when a program holding Accreditation-Provisional status appears to demonstrate continued progress in complying with the Standards as it prepares for the graduation of the first class (cohort) of students.

Accreditation-Provisional does not ensure any subsequent accreditation status. It is limited to no more than five years from matriculation of the first class.

Creighton University has maintained continuous accreditation with the Higher Learning Commission since 1928. For information regarding the University’s accreditation status, visit creighton.edu/accreditation.