Fast Facts About the University of New England PA Program
Fast Facts About the University of New England PA Program
Information Courtesy of Dennis Brown, DrPH, PA-C, Program Director and Associate Clinical Professor, University of New England PA Program
Program Name & Location: University of New England Physician Assistant Program
Program mission, vision & values:
The mission of the University of New England Physician Assistant Program is to prepare master’s level primary care physician assistants to be highly skilled members of interprofessional health care teams. The program is committed to developing clinicians who will provide compassionate, competent, and evidence-based patient centered health care to people of all backgrounds and cultures throughout their lifespans. The program places special emphasis on training clinicians who are knowledgeable about the health care needs of our aging population and have the skills and passion to provide health care to people in underserved rural and urban communities.
What year did your program welcome its first class of students?
1996
What are the key milestones in your program’s history?
1998 – Graduated first class of PAs
1999 – Granted ARC-PA accreditation continued status
2022 – Recipient of HRSA Rural Primary Care Clinical Training Grant
How have your faculty or students advocated for the PA profession?
The UNE PA program and its faculty alumni worked with the Maine Association of PAs (MEAPA) in successfully improving the practice act for PAs in the State of Maine. This work increased professional collaboration and allows PAs considerable autonomy in practice after gaining a set number of hours working in clinical practice.
How has your program impacted the community it serves?
Being in Maine, one of the most rural and aging states in the U.S., the UNE PA program prepares its graduates to practice in rural and underserved areas. We place an emphasis on training future PAs to care for the state’s aging population. Over half of our alumni remain in Maine and Northern New England upon graduation, and an equal percentage are practicing in underserved communities.
How do you envision the next 50 years of your program? We envision that the UNE PA Program will continue to grow as the primary educator for PAs in Maine and Northern New England, advancing medical care and practice through curricular emphasis on telehealth, geriatrics, rural medicine, and Medication-Assisted Treatment while remaining attuned to the latest developments in medical education. We seek to ensure that we are meeting the needs of the people of Maine and other communities where our graduates practice. The program will also continue to be a driver of interprofessional education.
