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MILLIGAN UNIVERSITY, Tenn. (July 26, 2022) — Milligan University’s Physician Assistant (PA) Program has achieved full accreditation status by their national accrediting body and is one of only 287 programs to achieve this accomplishment nationwide.
The Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant, Inc. (ARC-PA) has granted Accreditation-Continued status to the Milligan University Physician Assistant Program sponsored by Milligan University. Accreditation-Continued is an accreditation status granted when a currently accredited program is in compliance with the ARC-PA Standards.
“Milligan first publicly launched the Physician Assistant program in the Summer of 2017 and has continued to see tremendous success of the program,” said Milligan President Dr. Bill Greer. “This is a significant milestone and we take great satisfaction in equipping and preparing physician assistants who will enter the workforce not only as exceptional healthcare providers but also as servant-leaders who will serve their patients and their community.”
Accreditation remains in effect until the program closes or withdraws from the accreditation process or until accreditation is withdrawn for failure to comply with the Standards. The approximate date for the next validation review of the program by the ARC-PA will be June 2032. The review date is contingent upon continued compliance with the Accreditation Standards and ARC-PA policy.
“This has certainly been a team effort,” said Area Chair and Director of the PA Program, Andrew Hull. “We are grateful to our faculty, staff, healthcare organizations, alumni and so many others who have helped to make this program and achievement a reality.”
Milligan’s PA program welcomed its first class in 2018 with strong support and partnership from Mountain States Health Alliance, now Ballad Health, and it was developed to meet a critical healthcare need both regionally and nationally.
“We’re grateful to Ballad Health and other financial partners for their generous underwriting of the PA program and in making the Ballad Health Physician Assistant Education Center possible,” said Greer. “We deeply appreciate the value that our healthcare partners placed in this program as early as 2015 when we began securing our clinical rotation slots.”
Milligan PA graduates have an overall first-time pass rate of 97% on the Physician Assistant National Certification Exam (PANCE), well above the national average.
Milligan’s PA program was granted provisional accreditation by the (ARC-PA) in 2017 and since then has continued to meet rigorous requirements ensuring the continued success of the program. Accreditation-Provisional does not ensure any subsequent accreditation status and is limited to five years from the matriculation of the first class. Only after the initial five-year provisional status can full accreditation status be awarded.
“This major accomplishment wouldn’t have been possible without the invaluable leadership of Andrew Hull and our entire PA faculty,” said Greer. “We look forward to the program’s future growth and impact in the Appalachian Highlands region, our county and our world.”
The 28-month, 108-credit hour Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies program prepares highly trained healthcare professionals with a foundation in primary care to work with physicians and other members of the healthcare team in a variety of medical specialties.
The program’s accreditation history can be viewed on the ARC-PA website at http://www.arc-pa.org/accreditation-history-milligan-university/
Learn more about Milligan’s PA program at www.milligan.edu/pa.
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MILLIGAN UNIVERSITY is a Christian liberal arts institution in Johnson City, Tennessee, whose vision is to change lives and shape culture through a commitment to servant-leadership. The university offers more than 100 majors, minors, pre-professional degrees and concentrations in a variety of fields, along with graduate and adult degree completion programs. To learn more , visit www.milligan.edu or call 423.461.8700