Physician Assistant

Commonly Required (or highly recommended) Courses – Physician Assistant Programs

INTRODUCTORY BIOLOGY I/II (BIO 121 and 122/ 123 and 124 or 224)

INORGANIC CHEMISTRY I/II (CHE 106/107/ 116/ 117)

ONE SEMESTER OF ORGANIC CHEMISTRY and/or ONE SEMESTER OF BIOCHEM (CHE 275/ 276, BCM 475 OR NSD 456)

ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY (BIO 216 OR BIO 316 AND BIO 217 OR 317)

MICROBIOLOGY (BIO 409; prerequisites BIO 326 AND BIO 327 OR BIO 322 AND BIO 324)

STATISTICS (MAT 121 OR 221)

DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY (PSY 335, 336, OR 337)

DEVELOPMENTAL PERSPECTIVES IN MEDICAL LANGUAGE (HFS 326)

In addition to coursework, physician assistant programs will expect you to have completed patient care experience, many require upwards of 1000 hours completed at time of application. Shadowing and volunteering, obtaining training and potential certifications, and actively participating in clinical opportunities—where you are directly interfacing with the patient population—are imperative to your development.

Local Opportunities

Veterinary Medicine

INTRODUCTORY BIOLOGY I/II (BIO 121 and 122/ 123 and 124 or 224)

INORGANIC CHEMISTRY I/II (CHE 106/107/ 116/ 117)

ORGANIC CHEMISTRY I/II (CHE 275/ 276/ 325/ 326)

ZOOLOGY OR ANIMAL BEHAVIOR COURSES

BIOCHEMISTRY (BCM 475)

PHYSICS (PHY 101/ 102 OR PHY 211/ 221/ 212/ 222)

STATISTICS (MAT 121 OR 221)

MICROBIOLOGY (BIO 409) HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

In addition to coursework, veterinary schools will expect you to have developed through experiential learning with both small and large animals.

Experience with Animals

Experience in veterinary practice is extremely important to veterinary schools. If you have not been “inside the walls” where you were able to witness and participate in the profession, veterinary schools may hesitate, and feel skepticism that you understand the career path you aspire to. Shadowing veterinarians, including small and large animal vets, which may take you out of the walls of the vet clinic, obtaining training and potential certifications, and actively participating in clinical opportunities—where you are directly interfacing with the patient and owner population—are imperative to your development.

Campus and Community Involvement

Not all volunteer endeavors need to be clinical. Students benefit immensely from dedicating their time to community agencies and being of service to others. Students have gained immeasurable skills by volunteering for local non-profits, such as animal rescues and shelters, education, refugee resettlement, and youth mentorship and recreational services. During gap years, students may serve for Teach for America, City Year, AmeriCorps, the Peace Corps, or other domestic and international organizations. Be mindful that your service is about responsibly meeting the needs of the population; not just serving your own interests, growth, and development.

Research

Research is everywhere. It exists in public health, sociology, anthropology, English literature, psychology, science, linguistics—in other words, if you are interested in research, find a position in a research project that studies something you intimately care about. At Syracuse, there are multiple avenues to research—for Pre-Health, these are most popularly in the sciences, psychology, and neuroscience—but there is a myriad of current research projects related to health policy, public health initiatives, socio-economic healthcare disparities, drug delivery, bioengineering, and post-traumatic stress syndrome. If you wish to extend your experience beyond campus, Syracuse students have often pursued research at Upstate Medical University or nearby research facilities and participated in summer SURF or SURP programs (at many institutions) during their undergraduate careers. During gap years, some students enjoy obtaining clinical or laboratory research positions at institutions across the United States or abroad.

SURF link - https://www.nist.gov/surf

If you are interested in veterinary schools in the future, you should be sure to connect with the Pre-Health Advisors to discuss your plans – prehealthadvising@syr.edu.

Nursing

Students who are interested in Nursing programs should begin researching Accelerated Nursing Programs (link is https://www.aacnnursing.org/Nursing-Education-Programs/Accelerated-Programs) in which you can become a Registered Nurse (RN) or BSN in as little as 11 months (depending upon previously completed coursework). Students may also be interested in pursuing a Master’s level Nursing Degree to work as a Nurse Practitioner.