Randolph-Macon College President Robert R. Lindgren is pleased to announce plans to establish a new Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies (PA) program. Erich J. Grant has been appointed as the founding Department Chair and Program Director.

Accreditation

RMC’s educational program adheres to the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA) accrediting Standards. Currently in the development stage for accreditation via the ARC-PA provisional accreditation pathway, Randolph-Macon anticipates matriculation of its inaugural cohort of Physician Assistant graduate students in January 2023. The PA program plans to accept applications through the Centralized Application Service for Physician Assistants (CASPA), beginning in April 2022.

Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies

Upon receiving accreditation, the Physician Assistant (PA) program at Randolph-Macon College will offer a Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies (MSPAS) degree. The MSPAS degree will consist of 124 credits earned over 24 months: 12 months will be allocated for the pre-clinical immersion curriculum and 12 months for clinical practice clerkships. The PA program will enroll cohorts of up to 40 graduate students annually, with a total of 80 students across both educational years.

“The new Physician Assistant program is mission-driven and builds on our long and successful record of preparing liberal arts-trained health care professionals,” says RMC President Robert R. Lindgren. “The addition of a PA program will further our commitment to support today’s expanding demand for these specialists in our community and is an outstanding addition to our growing healthcare offerings, including our outstanding pre-med and pre-health programs and our new Bachelor of Science in Nursing.”

Critical Role of PAs and RMC’s Impact

PAs are medical professionals who practice in every medical setting to diagnose illness, develop and manage treatment plans, prescribe medications, and increasingly serve as a patient’s principal healthcare provider. RMC educated PAs will be prepared to meet current and evolving health system needs through a robust, technology-rich learning environment, with blended interprofessional activities, supervised clinical practice experiences, and telemedicine training. The RMC PA Program will actively contribute to the community by strengthening existing healthcare partnerships, supporting local medical providers, and enhancing the regional PA presence.

The RMC Experience

The PA program is an outstanding complement to the College’s exceptional undergraduate academic programs and will reflect RMC’s liberal arts tradition as it prepares students to work as leaders and collaborative members of interdisciplinary healthcare teams. Randolph-Macon provides students with opportunities both inside and outside of the classroom to develop and refine their critical thinking skills, problem solving abilities, and capacity to communicate effectively. These are the hallmarks of a Randolph-Macon education, and will be central to the goals of the PA program.

“The new Department of PA Studies is an exciting opportunity for RMC to continue its long dedication to exceptional education and community-focused impacts,” says RMC Provost, Dr. Alisa Rosenthal. “The PA Program begins our strategic growth into graduate health science training programs, reflecting our continued focus on effectively serving the community. We look forward to developing PA leaders, prepared to provide evidence-based and compassionate care.”

Founding Chair and Program Director Named

Erich J. Grant, MMS, PA-C, has been appointed as the founding Department Chair and Program Director for the Department of Physician Assistant Studies at Randolph-Macon College.

Dr. Rosenthal states, “From the first reading of Erich’s application, the search committee and I saw a remarkable match between his qualifications, experience, and values, and what RMC was seeking in an inaugural Program Director. We especially appreciated his understanding of and commitment to the liberal arts, his experience innovating curriculum design and delivery, and his deep knowledge of the ARC-PA accreditation process.”

Grant formerly served as Assistant Professor and Vice Chair for Education and Curricular Innovation in Wake Forest School of Medicine’s Department of PA Studies in Winston Salem, NC.

Over the past 16 years at Wake Forest, Grant has been a driver of curriculum innovation, interprofessional education, and technology advancement. As an architect of the hybridized Problem-Based Learning (PBL) PA curriculum at Wake Forest, Grant has deep experience in adult learning theory and collaborative learning platforms – building interprofessional events with MD, CRNA, Business, Law and Chaplain students. Grant won the James F. Wilson Award, given to the graduate who shows the greatest aptitude and devotion to the profession, upon graduation from Wake Forest’s PA Program in 2004 and joined the faculty the same year. He earned the Preclinical Teaching Excellence Award in 2012 and has presented to local, national and international audiences. Grant’s current research and scholarly activities focus on interprofessional activity innovations and professional identity formation in underrepresented minority PAs, the latter with a multi-institutional team through a Don Pederson Research Award from the Physician Assistant Education Association.

“I’m deeply humbled to join the visionary team at Randolph-Macon,” says Grant. “From the moment I met members of the staff, faculty and current student body, it was immediately clear that RMC attracts highly talented, character-driven individuals. The PA profession was created to address access to care issues, and we are still working to bridge health disparities while meeting the challenges of new frontiers of telemedicine, novel public health crises and provider burnout. Through innovative leadership and a community-focused approach, RMC is ideally positioned to prepare future PAs to effect meaningful change through medical practice, community service, and collaborative leadership.”

Grant holds a bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a master’s degree in Medical Science from the Wake Forest School of Medicine. He has been a nationally certified PA since 2004 and has practice experience in the areas of HIV/AIDS and physical medicine and rehabilitation.

Individuals interested in RMC’s PA program should visit the PA Program Page or write to pa@rmc.edu for more information.

Randolph-Macon College is deeply grateful to the late Macon F. Brock, Jr., RMC Class of 1964, and his wife, Joan Perry Brock, for their extraordinary financial support to establish RMC’s PA program.