The mission of the Physician Assistant Program at the University of Oklahoma, School of Community Medicine, Tulsa, is to train physician assistants to provide quality health care to the citizens of Oklahoma with an emphasis on serving diverse and underserved communities.
Program Goals
The goals of the OU-TU School of Community Medicine PA program are:
1. To provide a quality education that enables students to become competent, caring healthcare providers. We seek to educate our students in the basic medical sciences as well as the clinical and behavioral sciences in order to prepare them for the practice of medicine both today and in the future. While training physician assistants to go into areas of primary care medicine will be our fundamental focus, we are also cognizant that PAs are increasingly serving patients in both the surgical and specialty areas of medicine.
How are we doing? The program has graduated 306 physician assistants into the workforce from our thirteen classes in 2010-2022. All program graduates have passed the PANCE, with a first-time pass rate for the classes of 2018-2022 at 98%. Over 40% of the graduates are in a primary care setting.
Graduation rate: 97% Goal: 95% or greater
First-Time Taker Pass Rate (most recent cohort): 100% Goal: 100%
2. To expose students to the practice of primary care medicine in a variety of underserved locations in Oklahoma during their didactic and clinical training. The OU-TU School of Community Medicine PA program desires that a significant portion of their graduates will choose to work in these communities following graduation.
How are we doing?
Our curriculum supports our mission and goals by educating students about Oklahoma health statistics and community resources in Tulsa during the first-year Concepts of Community Medicine course and at the Summer Institute. In addition, students attend the Bedlam-Evening Clinic throughout the length of the program. During the clinical phase, PA students care for their own panel of uninsured patients twice monthly in the Physician Assistant Longitudinal (PAL) Clinic at OU Physicians Family Medicine Clinic. Clinical rotations during the second year include 22 weeks of primary care exposure, a four-week underserved medicine rotation, and a two week Community Impact experience, which includes exposure to various agencies such as the Tulsa Day Center and The Little Light House.
Our graduates have taken positions with the underserved that include rural medicine, federally qualified health centers, Indian health, and Oklahoma correctional facilities. Eighty percent of the graduates are practicing clinically in the state of Oklahoma. In addition, over 40% of the graduates are in a primary care setting and 24% work in an underserved setting.
Graduates employed in Oklahoma: 80% Goal: 75% or greater
Graduates employed in primary care: 42% Goal: 40% or greater
Graduates employed in underserved setting: 24% Goal: 20% or greater
3. To encourage the students, graduates, and faculty to participate in service and leadership roles within the University, the profession, and the broader community. With the strong support of the college and university administration, the OU-TU School of Community Medicine PA program is committed to fostering the growth and development of each individual student and faculty member to their greatest potential.
How are we doing?
OU-TU School of Community Medicine PA students engage in a variety of service and leadership roles within OU-Tulsa and the community as part of the SAAAPA Student Society, the SCM Student Executive Council, and the OU-Tulsa Student Government. PA program faculty and graduates fulfill service and leadership roles at the state and local level, including committee membership on the PA Advisory Committee of the Oklahoma Medical Board, board positions in the Oklahoma Academy of Physician Assistants, and clinical leadership within the Oklahoma Department of Corrections. Several graduates from the inaugural class have served as faculty for the program and many more graduates donate their time as guest lecturers and preceptors.
Student Society leadership roles filled: 100% Goal: 100%