General Information

Description of the Program

The Stanford University School of Medicine is the Program's
sole sponsor for PA accreditation, including responsibility for admissions, curriculum development and evaluation, student evaluation, faculty and staff, and awarding the Certificate of Clinical Proficiency. The Program maintains an administrative relationship with Foothill College . Students enroll in Foothill College , pay tuition and fees and receive student services through Foothill.

The Primary Care Associate Program offers students an accelerated 16-month PA curriculum. Founded in 1971, the five-quarter curriculum features full-time classroom work during its first quarter and emphasizes clinical experience during the remaining four quarters. The program's curriculum emphasizes the skills necessary to recognize and treat common primary care problems that include acute, chronic, emergent or surgical conditions in patients of all ages. Our students are trained to:

Evaluate the health status of patients
Diagnose and treat common illnesses
Manage stable chronic diseases
Deliver preventive care
Counsel individuals on family psychosocial, and health related problems

Students receive classroom instruction and can access the medical library, learning resource center and labs at Stanford University, School of Medicine. Most clinical experiences take place in community preceptorships away from the School of Medicine.

Accreditation Status

The program was first accredited in 1976, and has since been continually accredited. The most recent decision of the Accreditation Review Commission on Education of the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA) was in March 2007, and the program received five(5) years of continuing accreditation.

Schedule

Quarter	Month	Didactic	Preceptorship
Fall	September October November December	Every week; Monday through Friday at Stanford
Winter	January February March	1 week per month; Monday through Friday at Stanford/San Diego*	12 days per month
Spring	April May June	1 week per month; Monday through Friday at Stanford/San Diego*	14 days per month
Summer	July August September	1 week per month; Monday through Friday at Stanford/San Diego*	14 days per month
Fall (5^th Quarter)	October November December	1 week per month; Monday through Friday at Stanford/San Diego*	14 days in October and November 10 days in December

*After the 1 st fall quarter, students in the San Diego satellite have five class weeks in San Diego (approximately one week/quarter). San Diego students travel to the Stanford campus for the remainder of the class weeks.

Community Satellites

The Primary Care Associate Program has established community-based recruitment, admissions and preceptorships in Kern, Monterey-San Benito, and San Diego-Imperial Counties with the ultimate goal of deploying graduates in these and surrounding communities.

Applicants who have a history of living in these areas and working with medically-underserved populations are advised to inquire about the community-based admissions process. Applicants who are admitted through community-based admissions must complete preceptorships in the counties corresponding to their admission site.

Academic Credit

All graduates earn a Certificate of Clinical Proficiency from the Stanford University School of Medicine. This certificate does not represent Stanford University Academic units. Academic credit is awarded by Foothill College at the Associate of Science degree level.

San Jose State University allows credit from the Program toward a Bachelor of Science in the Health Sciences. The amount of additional time and schooling involved in pursuing advanced degrees varies and depends on coursework completed by a student prior to entering the Primary Care Associate Program.

Master of Medical Science - Saint Francis University

Through a collaboration with Saint Francis University, students in the PCA Program are eligible to earn a masters degree concurrently with their clinical training. All of the masters curriculum is taught by distance learning, which allows PCA students to take Saint Francis course work without leaving their preceptorships. Successful completion of the masters curriculum permits the student to receive the Master of Medical Science (MMS) degree at the same time as the student graduates from the PCA program, or during the year following graduation. Students must hold a baccalaureate, apply to St. Francis University, enroll in St. Francis MMS courses, and maintain good student standing in the PCA Program.