WEST LIBERTY, W.Va., April 8, 2021 — West Liberty University’s second year students in the physician assistant (PA) program to participate in an interprofessional day at Trinity Health Center, Steubenville, Ohio recently.
“We were pleased that our second year PA students joined third year students from West Virginia Osteopathic School of Medicine for another interprofessional day at Trinity on April 1,” said Kristie Meintel, who serves as clinical coordinator for the WLU PA program.
“Our students worked together on multiple different skills such as chest tubes, lumbar punctures and other emergency procedures.”
Eleven WLU students took part in the hands-on training and interacted with the medical students.
“We’re working on increasing these opportunities because it provides our PA students, as well as WVSOM medical students a chance to work side by side as they will in their future careers,” said Meintel.
Interprofessional care is a term used medical care today and recognizes the increased use of multiple caregivers who work collaboratively to deliver quality care to patients.
West Liberty University’s Master’s in Physician Assistant Studies degree program is a 24-month, year-round course of studies that begins each year in July.
Fully accredited by the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant, it includes one year of didactic, in-classroom work, and a second year of clinical rotations under the supervision of licensed clinical instructors.
Featuring a small class size of 18 students, WLU has one of the most affordable programs in the state.
It is housed in the newest academic building on campus, the Campbell Hall of Health Sciences and has now graduated more than 100 physician assistants that serve in a variety of roles across the country.
The Bureau of Labor statistics indicates that the PA profession will grow by 31% from 2018 – 2028. In some rural and underserved communities, PAs may serve as the primary providers of healthcare.
For complete information on the physician assistant program at WLU, please visit westliberty.edu/physician-assistant or call 304-336-5098.