The faculty listed above are core faculty with the Primary Care Physician Assistant Program. A complete list of faculty in the Department of Family Medicine is found in the Bulletin of the USC School of Medicine, 1993-1996 . The Primary Care Physician Assistant Program, established in 1971, prepares men and women to practice medicine under the supervision of a physician. Graduates of the program receive a bachelor of science degree in physician assistant practice from the USC School of Medicine which prepares them to work in the physician assistant profession. Based in the Department of Family Medicine located on the USC Health Sciences Campus, the classroom curriculum is provided by physician assistant program faculty and faculty from other departments within the School of Medicine, as well as clinicians from the surrounding communities.
Emphasis is placed on primary care.
Opportunities to train in selected off-site settings, e.g., sites serving Native American populations in the Southwest, are available to some students. Throughout these clerkships emphasis is placed on obtaining necessary clinical skills as well as learning to provide primary care services as part of a health care team. The physician assistant program is committed to recruiting disadvantaged applicants and to preparing graduates to practice in medically underserved areas. The USC primary care physician assistant program is accredited by the Accreditation Review Committee on Education for the Physician Assistant which is sponsored by seven medical national associations including the American Medical Association. The program is approved by the Physician Assistant Examining Committee of the Medical Board of California.