PA programs typically award a master’s degree upon completion. Therefore, students applying to these programs must meet the following requirements:

COMPLETED THE FOLLOWING COMMON PREREQUISITE COURSES:

 General Biology
 Human Anatomy and Physiology
 General Chemistry
 Organic Chemistry
 Genetics
 Psychology
 Microbiology
 Medical Terminology

Many programs also require certain healthcare experience or shadowing. Please contact programs directly to find out their individual application requirements.

SHADOWING

PA programs typically require a certain number of shadowing hours for applicants. There are several ways to find PAs to shadow:

Physician Assistant Shadow Online (pashadowonline.com) is an online program that matches prospective PA students with practicing PAs.

 Contact the volunteer department of your local hospital. They can screen you as a volunteer and match you up with PAs working in the hospital.

The Tennessee Department of Health maintains an online database of all healthcare licensees (https://apps.health.tn.gov/licensure/default.aspx). To find a PA in your area, visit this website and enter your city and state and select “Physician Assistant” in the profession drop-down menu. To get that PA’s contact information, click on the “Practitioner Profile” link on their record.