Nadine and Tom Craddick Physician Assistant Studies Program

What Is a Physician Assistant?

Physician Assistants (PAs) are members of one of the fastest-growing and most rewarding health care fields today. PAs are highly qualified health professionals who are trained to provide care to patients in a variety of medical settings. PAs are certified and licensed to practice medicine as part of the health care team. They gather and evaluate medical data and participate in clinical decision-making, diagnosis, therapeutic management, and provide preventative care and education.

A PA exercises considerable autonomy in medical decision-making, but the supervising physician and state law determine the scope of a PA’s practice.

About the Nadine and Tom Craddick Physician Assistant Studies Program

The TTUHSC Nadine and Tom Craddick Physician Assistant Studies Program (MPAS) is committed to educating PAs to meet the challenge of increasing access to and providing high-quality, patient-centered health care for communities in West Texas and beyond.

With a focus on primary care and family medicine, the program awards a Nadine and Tom Craddick Physician Assistant Studies degree following 27 months of intensive academic and clinical training. The 15-month academic phase of the program is conducted in a dedicated, state-of-the art facility in Midland, Texas, a thriving community located between Fort Worth and El Paso. The 12-month clinical experience takes place at a variety of sites throughout West Texas.

Becoming a Physician Assistant

As a student in the MPAS program, you will thrive in an environment that is both academically rigorous and focused on providing patient-centered clinical experiences. Among the program’s features:

• A state of the art, dedicated facility in Midland, which includes a gross anatomy cadaver lab, clinical skills lab, and standardized patient simulation center.
• A didactic curriculum with real-world application. TTUHSC’s unique curriculum combines active learning with interactive lectures, practical lab sessions, simulated patient cases, and case-based discussions. Our students participate in community service learning volunteer experiences and serve at a free clinic, providing needed aid to underserved community members while solidifying clinical concepts and skills.
• A full spectrum of clinical rotations with an option for specialization. In the MPAS program, you’ll rotate through a variety of clinical areas: family medicine, internal medicine, prenatal and gynecology, pediatrics, emergency medicine, psychiatry, and surgery. You’ll also have the opportunity to complete an elective rotation in a specialty discipline of your choice.
• A grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration which has provided funds to implement a rural track, stipends for students on longitudinal rural rotations, and underserved medicine curriculum enhancements.
• A program driven by student-focused faculty. TTUHSC PA faculty have years of clinical experience and expertise as medical educators. Our faculty are engaged in scholarly, professional service, and clinical activities; and serve in national leadership positions within our profession.

The Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA) has granted Accreditation-Continued status to the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Health Professions Nadine and Tom Craddick Physician Assistant Studies Program sponsored by Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center. Accreditation-Continued is an accreditation status granted when a currently accredited program is in compliance with the ARC-PA Standards.

Accreditation remains in effect until the program closes or withdraws from the accreditation process or until accreditation is withdrawn for failure to comply with the Standards. The approximate date for the next validation review of the program by the ARC-PA will be March 2033. The review date is contingent upon continued compliance with the Accreditation Standards and ARC-PA policy.

The program's accreditation history can be viewed on the ARC-PA website.

Physician Assistant Certification

As a graduate of the program, you will be eligible to sit for the Physician Assistant National Certifying Exam (PANCE), the gold standard of certification for physician assistants. All states require physician assistants to be licensed.

Goals and Outcomes

• NCCPA Performance Report
• Mission, Goals, and Outcomes Report
• Student Attrition Table

Physician Assistant Careers

The PA profession has been named by top media outlets, including Forbes and USA Today, as the most promising job in America. The demand for PAs increased more than 300% from 2011 to 2014, according to the health care search firm Merritt Hawkins.

• In line with an increase in the demand for health care services, especially for rural and other underserved populations, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Outlook Handbook projects that physician assistant employment will increase by 37% through 2026, faster than average for all professions.
• For more information about the PA profession, visit the American Academy of PAs (AAPA) website. 

The Nadine and Tom Craddick Physician Assistant Studies Curriculum

Our comprehensive curriculum provides didactic and clinical practice experiences emphasizing primary care in underserved areas of West Texas. The curriculum is designed to equip you with the full range of skills and clinical experiences you need to provide the highest-quality care as a professional PA.

Classes in the academic portion of the program include:

• Physiology.
• Pharmacology.
• Clinical Decision Making.
• Pediatrics.
• Cardiology.

The final 12-month clerkship year allows you to care for a wide range of patients in varied settings and specialties.

Successful completion of the program culminates in the Nadine and Tom Craddick Physician Assistant Studies degree.

Explore our curriculum and clerkship options.

The faculty and staff at TTUHSC's PA program want you to succeed, and they take a personal interest in students individually. PA school has been one of the most difficult undertakings in my life, but the environment of kindness and teamwork at TTUHSC carried me through. The instructors helped me feel prepared for the clinical environment. The structure of the program sets you up to succeed on the PANCE and in the workplace. I'm so glad I attended TTUHSC!

Rebecca Hall

MPAS Class of 2022