Maturing PA Program Charging Toward a Bigger, Brighter Future
By Bob Thomas FSU College of Medicine
Our Mission
Ben Smith, DMSc, PA-C, DFAAPA, joined the Florida State University College of Medicine faculty in 2016, a year before students in the first School of Physician Assistant Practice class arrived on campus. In roles ranging from principal teaching faculty to director of didactic education and associate program director, he’ s been instrumental in the program’ s growth.
Promoted to program director and associate dean in November 2022 after 11 months in an interim role, Smith has quantifiable evidence of the programs’ growth from the outset.
• More than 300 graduates have joined the health care workforce, practicing medicine as part of the physician-PA team.
• The first five graduating classes have a 100 % passing rate of the Physician Assistant National Certifying Exam( PANCE), which is required to enter practice.
• With 82 % of its alumni practicing in Florida – according to self-reported information – FSU-produced PAs are helping to shrink the state’ s gaping void of medical providers. Nearly a quarter practice in primary care.
“ Just like a child grows, we have grown from birth to reach a level of maturity that exceeds the number of years we have been established as a program,” said Smith.“ The experiences that we’ ve had and the opportunities that we have taken have allowed that maturation to occur.”
The path has not been without its challenges. The program was placed on Accreditation-Probation in September 2020. Smith, his colleagues and the current and recently graduated students were finally able to breathe a sigh of relief on Oct. 18, 2024.
That’ s when the FSU PA Program was notified it had been granted Accreditation-Continued status by the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant( ARC-PA), the independent body authorized to accredit 310 qualified PA educational programs across the nation leading to the professional credential, Physician Assistant.
The 49-month saga included a two-day site visit by the ARC-PA June 24-25, 2024, which was followed by a September commission review. The next validation review of the FSU program is scheduled for the fall of 2032.
“ While the experience has not been completely as expected, we have arrived at an accomplishment we knew we were going to achieve,” said Smith, who is already looking ahead after shepherding the program through the process.“ We know what we’ re going to accomplish far exceeds where we are now.”
Elijah Dorneval always had faith, too.
President of the PA Class of 2024, he and his classmates interviewed for seats in fall 2021 and began their intense, 27-month education in August 2022.
Continued on next page
Florida State University College of Medicine
17
A REPORT TO OUR COMMUNITY