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PAEA 50th Anniversary: Fast Facts About the Primary Care PA Program at the USC Keck School of Medicine

USC Keck School of Medicine PA Program faculty and staff at a summer 2022 program retreat.
Faculty and staff at a summer 2022 program retreat.

Fast Facts About the Primary Care Physician Assistant Program at the USC Keck School of Medicine

Courtesy of Claire Norman, Communications Strategist

Program Name & Location: Primary Care Physician Assistant Program at the USC Keck School of Medicine, Los Angeles, California

Program Mission, Vision & Values: The Primary Care Physician Assistant Program at USC is dedicated to the advancement of physician assistant education and emphasizes service to the medically underserved. The program is committed to preparing students from diverse backgrounds to positively transform the health care system. Students, graduates, faculty, and staff are committed to doing this through collaboration, inclusivity, innovation, integrity, excellence, and joy. Our values are service, leadership, DEI, and quality education.

What year did your program welcome its first class of students: 1972

Key milestones in your program’s history:

  • 1972: USC Keck School of Medicine welcomes its first cohort of PA students
  • 1977: The first class of USC PA students achieves a 100% board exam passage rate
  • 1983: PA program moves into the newly formed Department of Family Medicine at USC with Peter V. Lee serving as Program Chair
  • 2003: USC graduates its first class of master’s-level PAs
  • 2020: The USC PA Program becomes the highest-ranking PA school in California and the 10th ranked program nationally

Notable Program Alumni:

  • Congressmember Karen Bass: First PA to serve in Congress, representing California’s 37th Congressional District since 2011
  • Les Howard: Former President, AAPA African Heritage PA Caucus
  • Janice Tramel: First USC PA Clinical Coordinator and the program’s first African American faculty member
  • Dawn Fishback: First PA at USC Keck Medical Center; Fishback now works with USC’s Chief of Neurosurgery, who removed her brain tumor during her time as a USC PA student
  • Larry Rosen: Former TV writer turned PA, named PA of the Decade in 2006 by the California State General Assembly, and namesake of the USC Larry Rosen Memorial Scholarship Fund
  • Carrie Kowalski: Longtime mentor to USC PA students and one of the first PAs in Los Angeles to champion the expansion of health care for unhoused people through Venice Family Clinic’s street medicine program
  • Lee Slajer: The first PA to work in Emergency Medicine at the Los Angeles County + USC Medical Center
  • James E. Delaney: 2012-2013 AAPA President and 2022-2023 PA Foundation President