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Physician Assistant Program–Phoenix (Master of Physician Assistant Studies)

If you’re driven to positively impact the lives of patients, our Master of Physician Assistant Studies (MPAS) program could be a perfect fit. Applications are accepted through the CASPA website.

The mission of the Creighton University physician assistant program is to foster a tradition of excellence by transforming learners into compassionate physician assistants who are dedicated to exemplary patient care. Rooted in our Ignatian heritage, we empower students to realize their full potential through a commitment to professional growth and service to humanity.

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Program Details

U.S. News & World Report rates the physician assistant profession as the #2 healthcare profession. Creighton’s program can help you earn your credentials, serve your patients well and lead in the field. The physician assistant program aims to develop student competencies in:

  • Patient-Centered Practice Knowledge: Provide compassionate, patient-centered, and evidence-based medical care that is effective for the treatment of health problems and the promotion of health while utilizing up-to-date scientific evidence to inform clinical reasoning and clinical judgment.
  • Health Literacy and Communication Skills: Demonstrate interpersonal and communication skills that result in the effective exchange of information and collaboration with patients, their families and health professionals while engaging in shared decision-making with patients and honoring the patients’ unique personal, cultural and social values.
  • Interprofessional Collaborative Practice: Demonstrate the ability to engage in an interprofessional team in a manner that optimizes safe, effective patient- and population-centered care.
  • Professionalism and Ethics: Demonstrate a commitment to professional behaviors and responsibilities and an adherence to ethical principles.
  • Systems-Based Practice: Demonstrate an awareness of and responsiveness to the larger context and system of healthcare to deliver high-quality, safe, patient-centered care.
  • Self-Assessment and Ongoing Professional Development: Demonstrate an awareness of personal and professional limitations and develop plans and interventions for addressing gaps.
  • Cultural Humility: Demonstrate the ability to exercise a state of openness toward understanding and respecting important aspects of other people’s cultural identities.

To learn more about the University, take a look at the Creighton University mission and the School of Medicine mission.

Graduation and attrition rates are forthcoming.

National Certifying Exam (PANCE) pass rate 5-year average are forthcoming. 

Curriculum

The PA program curriculum is a 28-month, two-phase curriculum–didactic and clinical. The curriculum for the Phoenix program is a systems-based model which includes active learning and content in ethics and humanities, consistent with the Creighton University mission.

View the Student Handbook.

Phoenix Campus

Students learn in a new, state-of-the-art facility located in the heart of the Phoenix Medical Quarter. The new, modern health sciences campus will be home to nearly 1,000 students across multiple professions bringing interprofessional practice and education to improve and innovate patient care. Learn more about the Phoenix Health Sciences campus.

By the Numbers

  • 36 students  
  • 25 from Arizona  
  • 33% are first-generation  
  • 8 states represented  
  • 6 languages  
  • 400 avg. leadership hours before admissions  
  • 339 average service hours before admissions

Admissions Requirements

All applicants for the PA Program–Phoenix will be reviewed based on several admissions requirements related to residency, holding a bachelor’s degree, minimum GPA, prerequisites, patient care experience and more. Students are not required to provide or solicit clinical sites or preceptors. Accreditation will be separate from the PA Program in Omaha, Nebraska, and admissions requirements may vary between the two programs. See full requirements.

Accreditation

The ARC-PA has granted Accreditation-Provisional status to the Creighton University Physician Assistant Program – Phoenix sponsored by Creighton University.

Accreditation-Provisional is an accreditation status granted when the plans and resource allocation, if fully implemented as planned, of a proposed program that has not yet enrolled students appear to demonstrate the program’s ability to meet the ARC-PA Standards or when a program holding Accreditation-Provisional status appears to demonstrate continued progress in complying with the Standards as it prepares for the graduation of the first class (cohort) of students.

Accreditation-Provisional does not ensure any subsequent accreditation status. It is limited to no more than five years from matriculation of the first class. The program’s accreditation history can be viewed on the ARC-PA website.

Dates & Deadlines

The CASPA (Central Application System for Physician Assistants) application cycle opens in April for applicants who wish to enroll in the program in August of the following year. All application materials must be received by CASPA by Sept. 1 the year prior to enrollment. Applicants may visit the CASPA website for more information. The supplemental application deadline is Oct. 1. Learn more about the admissions process including requirement details and deadlines.

Tuition & Financial Aid

Tuition rates are updated each year. Visit our financial aid site to learn more about the cost of attendance.

Financial Aid

Creighton University's Financial Aid Office administers over $200,000,000 in student aid each year from federal, state, institutional and private sources.

To help make your studies at Creighton University more affordable, we encourage you to file the FAFSA to apply for financial assistance. A variety of scholarships are also available.

Creighton in Phoenix

When our partners in Arizona asked us to open a campus in Phoenix to help solve the shortage of healthcare providers in the Southwest, we answered the call. Today, we’re educating the next generation of providers, in the Creighton tradition, which focuses on care and concern for others.

Our connections in the region mean students will have diverse opportunities for hands-on experiences. The program will be a part of the Creighton University Arizona Health Education Alliance with close relationships to Dignity St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center, Valleywise Health and District Medical Group, Inc.

Creighton’s new, modern health sciences campus will be home to nearly 1,000 health sciences students across multiple professions bringing interprofessional collaborative practice and education to improve and innovate patient care.

Faculty

  • Emily Babcock, DHSc, PA-C, DFAAPA
    Program Director, Associate Professor
  • Jennifer Feirstein, MPAS, PA-C
    Director of Didactic Education, Assistant Professor
  • Carla Shamblen, DMSc, PA-C, DFAAPA
    Director of Clinical Education, Associate Professor

Staff

  • Bree Stalhut, MEd
    Program Manager, Admissions Specialist
  • Susan Benton, MA
    Administrative Assistant III
  • Thomas Schechter, MS
    Program Analyst

Still have questions?

Contact the Physician Assistant Program. Call: 602.812.4972

Take the next step to becoming a physician assistant