HSU’s Physician Assistant Program Granted Provisional Accreditation

(Abilene, Texas) Hardin-Simmons University is proud to announce that its Physician Assistant (PA) Program has been officially granted provisional accreditation by the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA).

All new Physician Assistant programs must go through the multi-year Provisional Accreditation pathway to be eligible for ongoing/continuing accreditation long-term. Achieving this status means that the ARC-PA has certified that the program is approved to enroll the first cohort of students and begin this fall. The program is planning for a class size of 30 students per year.

Program Director Dr. Jennifer Eames said the provisional accreditation status is the next step forward for the program.

“To prepare for this endeavor, HSU began planning over five years ago with prayer, development of an advisory committee, and building acquisition and renovation to house the program,” she said.

PA jobs are in demand. They were named by US News & World Report as one of the top five jobs of 2017 and by Bloomberg in March as one of the top 25 best-paying jobs in the US.

HSU’s PA program fills a big need in Texas. There are currently only eight other PA programs in the state of Texas and approximately 210 programs nationally.

“This is the first new PA program in the state of Texas in 18 years,” said Eames. The last new PA program in Texas to gain accreditation was the Texas Tech program in the 1990s.

Additionally, in the state of Texas, no developing program has been founded with a woman director to date, making this a historic move for Hardin-Simmons University.

Dr. Christopher McNair, dean of the Holland School of Sciences and Mathematics, said the program will be an asset to the school.  

“The Holland School of Sciences and Mathematics is excited about the addition of a physician’s assistant program to our school,” he said. “The success in developing this program is a reflection of the commitment of HSU faculty, staff, alumni, and administrators to providing excellence in Christian higher education. We look forward to preparing future clinicians on our campus to serve Abilene and the Big Country, Texas, and beyond.” 

Eames said achieving the Accreditation-Provisional status from the ARC-PA required years of planning, financial resources, and completion of a rigorous screening process. The Hardin-Simmons University PA Program accreditation is pending approval by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges.

A full staff has been hired by the program to teach students including experienced educators and outstanding clinicians. An open house for the PA program is planned for May.

Learn more about PA program at Hardin-Simmons here: https://www.hsutx.edu/academics/holland/graduate/physician-assistant/.