The mission of the Randolph-Macon College Physician Assistant Program is to address gaps in healthcare delivery and equity by producing highly-qualified, compassionate PAs, prepared through a blended biomedical science and liberal arts education, equipped to impact health system, provider, and patient needs.

VALUES

Reflecting the curriculum goals of Randolph-Macon College, our PA Program faculty, staff, and students espouse the following core values:

  • Ongoing provision of a professional and effective learning environment.
  • Personal accountability for our impacts on the world around us.
  • Flexibility and resilience when facing new challenges, uncertainty, or unexpected results.
  • Advancement of diversity, equity, and inclusion within each space we occupy.
  • Shared dedication to serve others through the delivery of equitable health care.
  • Humility, kindness, and compassion in our partnerships with patients, their families, and colleagues.
  • Meaningful reflection in support of ongoing improvements in ourselves and our PA Program.

think. feel. know. do. The Educational Philosophy of the RMC PA Program

PA Dir Erich Grant stands in a suit with a female PA student in a white coat shaking hands in front of a red curtain, marking the start of an exciting program.
PAs are welcomed into the program at a White Coat Ceremony in Blackwell Auditorium, alongside family and friends, as well as faculty and staff.

The immersive RMC PA curriculum is uniquely designed to prepare today’s learners for tomorrow’s medical practice environment. Our experienced team of medical educators actively apply guidance from ARC-PAAAPAPAEA, and NCCPA, translating the evolving requirements of medical practice proficiency into four primary learning themes that define RMC PA’s 24-month learning experience: Think. Feel. Know. Do.

Each theme serves as a guidepost, signaling our commitment to holistically preparing each PA learner for current and evolving areas of practice, leadership, and community involvement. These practical descriptions of our central educational pillars provide prospective students, faculty, potential employers and accrediting bodies with clear and measurable performance qualities for each RMC PA graduate.

Think.

The modern medical provider must be a critical thinker, able to consistently apply evidence-informed, patient-centered clinical decisions across evolving medical information and diverse patient populations. The core of such readiness is established by immersing RMC learners within increasingly complex clinical problem solving activities and metacognitive practice – facilitated by experienced medical educators and clinicians.

Feel.

Patient-centered medical practice requires cultural humility, empathy, curiosity about the burdens, fears, beliefs and expectations of others, alongside self-reflection and the practical skill to develop therapeutic connections with patients across the lifespan. In addition, medical trainees and providers are reporting increasing rates of near-burnout or burnout, which can be reduced via attention to self-care practice. We will support each RMC learner in developing patient engagement and self-care strategies that can be translated into sustainable, flexible approaches to clinical practice environments.

know.

Safe and effective patient care requires the ongoing acquisition and application of biomedical, regulatory, and health system knowledge in order to address the current and emerging challenges faced by patients, their families, and the medical landscape. Through self-directed learning, synchronous and asynchronous learning environments, practical training sessions, and immersive clinical rotations, each RMC PA graduate will demonstrate mastery of core knowledge consistent with readiness for entry into clinical practice and ongoing knowledge acquisition. 

Do.

PAs are and have always been people who do: going above and beyond the minimum to support high-quality patient care, community engagement, health system effectiveness, and forward evolution of medical care models. The expanding role of the PA means that each RMC PA graduate will be equipped with a wide set of procedural skills, commensurate with projected employment environments. In addition, practical action within community service, leadership spaces, and within each opportunity for provision of equitable health care requires a developed self-awareness and skillset applicable to a variety of medical and professional situations.

Program Overview (STRUCTURE AND CALENDAr)

Timeline

Structure 

  • Cohort Size: 32 students
  • Program Duration: 24 months (12 months preclinical immersion, plus 7 six-week clinical rotations)
  • Credits: 124 total
  • Degree: Master of Science in PA Studies (MSPAS)

Core Competencies

The RMC PA Program adopted the PAEA core competencies and sub competencies as follows:

Patient-Centered Practice Knowledge

1.1 Recognize normal and abnormal health states
1.2 Discern among acute, chronic, and emerging disease states
1.3 Elicit and understand the stories of individual patients and apply the context of their lives (including environmental influences, cultural norms, socioeconomic factors, and beliefs) when determining healthy versus ill patients
1.4 Develop meaningful, therapeutic relationships with patients and their families
1.5 Partner with patients to address issues of ongoing signs, symptoms, or health concerns that remain over time without clear diagnosis despite evaluation and treatment
1.6 Demonstrate application of clinical skills considered essential for entry into practice.
1.7 Demonstrate appropriate performance of technical skills based on current practice.

Society and Population Health

2.1 Recognize the cultural norms, needs, influences, and socioeconomic, environmental, and other population-level determinants affecting the health of the individual and community being served
2.2 Recognize the potential impacts of the community, biology, and genetics on patients and incorporate them into decisions of care
2.3 Demonstrate accountability and responsibility for removing barriers to health
2.4 Understand the role of structural disparities in causing illness
2.5 Engage members of the health care team in the surveillance of community resources to sustain and improve health
2.6 Engage the health care team in determining the adequacy of community resources
2.7 Reflect on personal and professional imitations in providing care
2.8 Exercise cultural humility
2.9 Elicit and hear the story of the individual and apply the context of the individual’s life (including environmental influences, culture, and disease) when determining healthy versus ill patients
2.10 Understand and apply the fundamental principles of epidemiology
2.11 Recognize the value of the work of monitoring and reporting for quality improvement
2.12 Use appropriate literature to make evidence-based decisions on patient care

Health Literacy and Communication

3.1 Establish meaningful, therapeutic relationships with patients and families that allow for a deeper connection and create space for exploration of the patients’ needs and goals to deliver culturally competent care
3.2 Interpret information so that patients can understand and make meaning out of the information conveyed to them
3.3 Recognize the need for and governing mandates that ensure patients have access to interpreters and appropriate resources when barriers to communication arise
3.4 Demonstrate insight and understanding about emotions and human responses to emotions that allow one to develop and manage interpersonal interactions
3.5 Communicate effectively with patients, families, and the public
3.6 Provide effective, equitable, understandable, and respectful quality care and services that are responsive to diverse cultural health beliefs and practices, preferred languages, health literacy, and other communication needs
3.7 Organize and communicate information with patients, families, community members, and health team members in a form that is understandable, avoiding discipline-specific terminology when possible, and checking to ensure understanding

Interprofessional Collaborative Practice and Leadership

4.1 Articulate one’s role and responsibilities to patients, families, communities, and other professionals
4.2 Redirect the focus of the health care team to the needs of the patient
4.3 Assure patients that they are being heard
4.4 Ensure patients’ needs are the focus over self and others
4.5 Contribute to the creation, dissemination, application, and translation of new health care knowledge and practices
4.6 Recognize when referrals are needed and make them to the appropriate health care provider
4.7 Coordinate care
4.8 Develop relationships and effectively communicate with physicians, other health professionals, and health care teams
4.9 Use the full scope of knowledge, skills, and abilities of available health professionals to provide care that is safe, timely, efficient, effective, and equitable
4.10 Use unique and complementary abilities of all members of the team to optimize health and patient care
4.11 Engage diverse professionals who complement one’s own professional expertise, as well as associated resources, to develop strategies to meet specific health and health care needs of patients and populations
4.12 Describe how professionals in health and other fields can collaborate and integrate clinical care and public health interventions to optimize population health

Professional and Legal Aspects of Health Care

5.1 Articulate standard of care practice
5.2 Admit mistakes and errors
5.3 Participate in difficult conversations with patients and colleagues
5.4 Recognize one’s limits and establish healthy boundaries to support healthy partnerships
5.5 Demonstrate respect for the dignity and privacy of patients while maintaining confidentiality in the delivery of team-based care
5.6 Demonstrate responsiveness to patient needs that supersedes self-interest
5.7 Demonstrate accountability to patients, society, and the profession
5.8 Exhibit an understanding of the regulatory environment

Health Care Finance and Systems

6.1 Recognize that health care is a business
6.2 Articulate individual providers’ value-add to the health care team in terms of cost
6.3 Appreciate the value of the collaborative physician/PA relationship

*For more information, check out our Admissions section!

PA Tuition and Fees

Tuition and fees for all RMC programs of study are located on the College’s Business Office website, linked below. 

PA Student Handbook

The material in the PA Student Handbook below, on referenced webpages, and within institutional documents is periodically updated, therefore it is important for readers to attend to communications from the PA Program or the College regarding changes to policy or procedures. 

The Dean of Students Office publishes and regularly updates a Student Handbook, primarily for undergraduate students. However, this handbook references College policies and resources applicable to graduate PA students, and should be reviewed as directed by the PA Student Handbook. 

Program Goals and Outcomes

Outcome data will be published here as it becomes available. For each area below, the PA Program will analyze trends over time in order to monitor and inform specific areas in need of improvement.

Goal 1: Maintain overall PANCE pass rates at or above the national average each year.

Goal 2: Foster student and faculty engagement in leadership or advocacy roles. 

  • Benchmark: At least 50% of students and faculty will be engaged in institutional, professional or community efforts.
  • Outcomes: Data related to this goal will be published here via a table showing faculty and student involvement in leadership or advocacy roles, with high-level areas represented.
Class of 2024Class of 2025Class of 2026Class of 2027
Students12/22 (55%)12/22 (55%)18/32 (56%)
2024202520262027
Faculty*8/11 (73%)

*This includes principal and instructional faculty working within the PA program and excludes clinical preceptors and adjunct faculty.

Goal 3: Students and Faculty will be trained in implicit bias reduction, diversity, and inclusion.

  • Benchmark: 100% of faculty and students will receive and successfully complete training for implicit bias reduction, diversity, and inclusion.
  • Outcomes: Data related to this goal will be published here, representing faculty and student cohorts.

Goal 4: Development of a diverse student body of academically-qualified PA matriculants.

  • Benchmark: 20% of matriculants will align with at least one of the following categories: 1) From counties identified as a medically-underserved area (MUA)* or health professions shortage area (HPSA)*, or 2) “first in their family to attend college”.
  • Outcomes: Data related to this goal is published here via a table showing cohort-level composition of MUA matriculants / HPSA matriculants and “first in family to attend college.”
Class of 2024Class of 2025Class of 2026Class of 2027
First in family to attend college5 / 24 (21%)8 / 24 (33%)6 / 32 (19%)
From MUA / HPSA7 / 24 (29%)6 / 24 (25%)14 / 32 (44%)
Total number of matriculants meeting at least one of the above categories**11 / 24 (46%)13 / 24 (54%)16 / 32 (50%)

*Information regarding MUA and HPSA sites can be found at HRSA.gov
** Total number of matriculants meeting at least one of the above categories includes those who meet both categories.

PANCE Pass Rates for the PA Program

Click here for the most recent PANCE information.

Attrition Outcomes for the PA Program

Data will be provided here, using the table required by the ARC-PA. Updates to this data will occur by April 1 of each year (following graduation of the first cohort).

Class of 2024Class of 2025Class of 2026
Maximum entering class size (as approved by ARC-PA)404040
Entering class size242432
Graduates22
*Attrition rate9%
**Graduation rate91%

*Attrition rate: Number of students who attritted from cohort divided by the entering class size.

**Graduation rate: Number of cohort graduates divided by the entering class size.