Physician assistants (PAs) are health professionals licensed to practice medicine with the supervision of a physician. PAs work in a variety of practice settings including hospitals, clinics, nursing homes, and research centers. PAs are qualified to take medical histories, examine patients, order and administer diagnostic tests, make diagnoses, treat illnesses, and assist in surgery. The care they provide might otherwise be provided by physicians. PAs can provide care as generalists in primary care situations or in subspecialty areas of medicine. Common specialties in which PAs practice include family practice, internal medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, emergency medicine, orthopedics, surgery, and pediatrics.

The PA Program represents a partnership between the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, Gundersen Medical Foundation, Mayo School of Health Sciences, and Marshfield Clinic Health System. The graduate-level professional curriculum is 24 months in length and involves classes on the campuses of all four partner institutions. The curriculum includes a 12-month pre-clinical year consisting primarily of classroom and laboratory activities. A 12-month clinical year follows and involves rotations in a variety of clinical specialties. These clinical experiences are provided primarily using Gundersen, Mayo, and Marshfield Clinic Health System, and other practice sites.

Upon completion of all degree requirements, students are awarded a Master of Science degree in physician assistant studies from UWL and a certificate of completion from the program’s institutional partnership. The program is accredited by the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA). To be licensed for practice, graduates must pass the Physician Assistant National Certification Exam (PANCE) administered by the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA).

The rigor and intensity of the program and the level of skills and responsibility necessary for practice as a PA require the program to accept candidates who have demonstrated a strong academic background along with excellent interpersonal skills and maturity. Prior health care experience is expected as an indicator of a career commitment suitable to clinical practice. The program's admission process considers each applicant's strengths and selects for admission those best qualified to meet the program's mission. Application to the program is very competitive with a class of 28 students accepted annually.