For the fourteenth consecutive year, DeSales University physician assistant (PA) graduates have a 100 percent first time pass rate on the Physician Assistant National Certification Examination (PANCE).
The graduating class of 2015 was composed of 51 students who graduated on September 1, 2015 and three who will graduate on January 23, 2016. This is the first expansion class for the PA Program.
PANCE, the nation-wide examination given to graduating physician assistants, must be passed in order to be eligible for licensure in all 50 states. While the DeSales Class of 2015 had a 100 percent pass rate, the national average last year was 96%. In the last 5 years, with DeSales consistent at a 100% pass rate, the national average for the same time period was 94 percent.
“We are really proud of our students and the hard work they have put in to achieve this wonderful result,” said Dr. Wayne Stuart, director of the physician assistant program. “We are very happy that these results show we have maintained the quality of the program while expanding to provide more physician assistants for the health care needs of the Lehigh Valley and the nation. These outcomes certainly support the concept that the DeSales PA Program is one of the best in the nation.”
The PA Program at DeSales first admitted students in 1997. Physician Assistants are licensed medical professionals who work under the supervision of licensed physicians. They practice in both general and specialty medicine and surgery, and perform routine duties normally reserved for physicians.