Many students who are interested in medicine decide to go into physician assistant programs. Denver is home to several community colleges that offer degree programs in the medical fields, but Red Rocks Community College offers a comprehensive physician assistant program that is highly sought after by students who would like to earn a physician assistant degree. Denver students are invited to attend one of our three upcoming information sessions available this year, on February 21st, April 10th and May 24th, to give prospective students more information about our rigorous program.

Twenty-five months is the length of time most students require to complete the degree program at our PA school. Denver students will earn a degree in our nationally accredited program, and after this, will be ready to take the PANCE, Physician Assistant National Certifying Exam, after which you may become licensed to practice in any state. Students need to enter the program with four years of college as well as health care experience; for our program, you must have a bachelor’s degree, program course pre-requisites, as well as two thousand hours of paid healthcare experience. Completion of these programs in many cases also earn the student a Masters degree. At Red Rocks, in collaboration with St. Frances University, we offer a Master’s of Medical Science degree, which may be earned through distance learning concurrently with the training in the Physician Assistant program. Courses that students take in our program include, among others, problem-based learning, clinical medicine, history and physician exam, behavioral medicine, anatomy, biochemistry, physiology, pathophysiology, and pharmacology, which are offered in classes taking forty hours per week. In order to maintain their certification, they must also take one hundred hours of continuing education every two years, with qualifying courses available at Red Rocks Community College, and take a re-certification exam every six years.

For students who have a primary desire to provide patient care, the physician assistant program is a perfect fit. Physician assistants work in conjunction with a licensed physician, and offer primary and specialty care for patients in city as well as rural settings. They perform such jobs as conducting physical examinations of patients, diagnose and treat illnesses, order tests, prescribe medicine and provide preventative health care assistance. Physician assistants also often provide needed medical services to underserved areas, and it is a field that is believed will experience a great need for practitioners in the future. As part of our Physician Assistant program, students will take clinical rotations at training sites, at times in medically underserved areas.

There are four primary goals in Red Rocks physician assistant degree. Denver students will be tested and monitored to ensure their competency, compassion, ability to deliver primary care, and service. Quality curriculum is at the core of our program, and goes toward preparing students for the PANCE exam as well as giving the foundation so that students can provide quality care to their patients. Compassion is identified, developed and reinforced throughout the program. Primary care is a key component to our program, and students will receive education that gives them the experience and knowledge so that they are prepared to offer primary care across the lifespan to patients. Students will also be given clinical experiences that gives them the opportunity to serve underserved patients, and faculty sets an example of participating in community service as well.

We have campuses at Lakewood and Arvada offering courses for our physician assistant schools. Denver students apply to become students at our school by going through the admission process. You will begin by completing a college application, and as a resident of Colorado you may apply for private grants through the financial aid office to help defray the cost of higher education. The Red Rocks Foundation as well as guaranteed student loans may also have funding available to you. You may need to take assessment testing to help place you in appropriate courses, and then you may attend an orientation session. You will also go to the Advising Center to speak with an academic counselor. The counselors can help you sign up for courses, answer questions, and help you plan your academic career to lead to graduation.

We offer an award-winning faculty (Stephanie Bacon and the Service To Mankind Award), and our talented staff in this school is comprised of physicians, physician assistants, basic and behavioral medicine scientists and other health care specialists.

You can get current information about our physician assistant program by visiting our website at www.rrcc.edu.