Physican Assistant Education Program

I feel like very few people know about this program as it is relatively new in Canada, and only currently only 3 universities offer it. I guess I should start off by defining what a Physician Assistant (PA) is...

What Is a Physician Assistant (PA)?

1. They work under the direction of a licensed physician to provide patient care 
2. Specific duties vary depending on the individual competencies of the PA, the supervising physician’s area of practice, and the types of duties that the supervising physician chooses to assign
3. Examples include:

• Conduct patient interviews and take medical histories
• Perform physical examinations
• Perform certain controlled acts delegated to them by a physician
• Provide counseling on preventive health care

In laymen's terms, a PA's responsibilities fall somewhere between that of an RN and an MD. They can do most things a doctor can do, but a doctor must be somewhere on the premises when a PA is working.

For more information, click here.

My Experience

I have applied to the Physician Assistant Education Program (henceforth known as PAEP) three times so far. My first time I applying was when I was in my third year of undergrad and I was waitlisted for an interview. Last year, I applied and was interviewed, put on a waitlist to be accepted, and then ultimately (and unfortunately) did not get in. This year, I was once again only waitlisted for an interview (there is still time...right? I have hope..).

The application is usually due February 1st of the year you would start the program. For applicants to PAEP schools in Ontario, the application is done through OUAC. Only McMaster and the University of Toronto offer this program in Ontario, and the requirements for each school are very different.

For McMaster, you need a minimum of two years of an undergrad to apply, and there are no prerequisite courses required. They only look at your GPA and your supplementary application (which you have to fill out through the McMaster website) when considering you for an interview. They interview about 72 people for 24 spots. This year (2014) they had about 560 people apply, and in 2013, they had bout 450. The average GPA to get an interview appears to be somewhere between a 3.5 to a 3.7 (on a 4 point scale).

They are a lot more strict with the criteria to get in to Toronto. I never applied there because I do not qualify. Anyone applying has to be a licensed healthcare professional or complete a minimum of 1800 hours of patient care (and they have pretty strict guidelines about this). I believe there is a supplementary application, and they look at your GPA as well.

The third school in Canada that offers this program is the University of Manitoba, which takes a whopping number of 12 students in per year. You have to apply on the University of Manitoba website. You have to have a four year undergrad to apply, submit a resume, essays, reference letter, etc, to be considered. The top ranked 30+ applicants are then invited to an interview. I applied there this year but didn't get an interview. They told me that the GPA to be invited to an interview was minimum of 3.87 on a 4.5 scale.