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DOD PA school among the best in country

  • Published
  • By John Ingle
  • 82nd Training Wing Public Affairs
SHEPPARD AIR FORCE BASE, Texas --  The Department of Defense Interservice Physician Assistant Program at Fort Sam Houston, Texas, got a shot in the arm recently when a national magazine ranked it in the top 7 percent of physician's assistant programs in the country.

According to a U.S. News and World Report study, IPAP was ranked 11th out of 148 similar programs, making the list with such notables as Duke University, N.C., George Washington University, Washington, D.C., the University of Washington and Baylor College of Medicine.

"It starts with a tremendous and experienced staff that really cares," said Lt. Col. Craig Rice, commander of the 381st Training Squadron at Sheppard Air Force Base. "We also get some of the best candidates. Not all candidates are medics either."

The Air Force's detachment at IPAP falls under the purview of the 381st TRS.

Colonel Rice said he wasn't surprised to see IPAP on the list of notable PA programs in the country. He said the program has been nationally ranked for years and is just as competitive to enter - - and complete --  as its civilian counterparts. He said the school might be even harder to complete.

After the first year of training, the colonel said students are awarded a Bachelor of Science degree, and then a Masters of Physician Assistant Studies upon graduation.

A testament to the success of the program - at least for Air Force students - can be measured by the certification test that's required before a PA can practice medicine.

"Our Air Force students score in the 93rd percentile," Colonel Rice said. "I guess you could say that of all the test takers, they are in the top 7 percent."

Capt. Victor Holmes, a 2000 graduate of IPAP and Independent Duty Medical Technician course supervisor at the 383rd Training Squadron, said his two years in the program were a constant learning process.

"It was pretty much two years of sympathetic shock," he said, describing eight to 10 hours of classroom time, followed by four hours of study time and not much sleep. But, he said, he wouldn't change a thing.

"No way. Are you kidding me?" he asked. "This is awesome."

Captain Holmes said not only did the program provide an educational means for him to earn his master's degree, but it also provided greater knowledge and insight to the other services and their cultures and missions. For example, by completing Phase II of his training with the Navy in San Diego, he understood there are some methods of treatment that didn't make sense to start if that individual was scheduled to depart on a ship within a week.

"In the last 10 years, I can't tell you how valuable it has been to interact (with other services)," Captain Holmes said. "Medicine is medicine, but learning about their cultures is where it's different."

IPAP has also offered a blue print on how an inter-service training facility can function, providing training for multiple branches of the military. The 882nd Training Group, Naval Schools of Health Sciences in San Diego and Portsmouth, Va., the Naval Hospital Corps School in Great Lakes, Ill., and the enlisted medical training mission at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., will combine forces in 2010 when the DOD consolidates all military medical training at Fort Sam. Officials held a ceremony July 10 to break ground on a new Medical Education and Training Campus at the post. The facility will host training for Air Force, Army, and Navy medical career fields

Captain Holmes said IPAP isn't just for those who already have some medical experience. According to data from the Air Force's IPAP "Frequently Asked Questions," of the 50 applicants for the March 2007 board, 28 were from medical career fields, followed by 10 from logistics, eight from operations and four support personnel.

Colonel Rice said an increased demand for physician assistants at deployed locations has prompted an increase in class size from 68 students to 80 by January 2009.