Page 41 - WesternU View Summer 2019

programs,” Crone said. “The number of physicians who Physician assistants (PAs) are referenced with nurse
are retiring each year is greater than the number of new
physicians who are graduating from residency. One of our
primary goals is to expand residency opportunities in
partnership with hospitals and health care systems.”
COMP is leveraging programs such as its Longitudinal
Tracks, community service learning and community health
initiatives to improve community health, immerse students
in population-based care, and cultivate relationships
among academic, clinical and community partners.
The College also is strengthening the diversity of the future
workforce and providing culturally competent care to
diverse populations through WesternU’s Master of Science
in Medical Sciences (MSMS) program, Crone said.
Graduate College of Biomedical Sciences Professor and
Associate Dean of Academic Affairs Christina Goode,
PhD, said WesternU’s 12-month Master of Science in
Medical Sciences (MSMS) program helps prepare
underrepresented and diverse students for careers in
health professions by helping them gain acceptance to
professional schools, with an ultimate goal of increasing
the number of health professionals in underserved areas.
“MSMS alumni that transition to COMP are leaders and
have spearheaded efforts such as the Latino Medical
Student Association and the Student National Medical
Association, medical Spanish classes and community
health clinics,” Goode said. “MSMS alumni that have
now graduated from COMP are largely practicing in
primary care and serving in health shortage areas.”
practitioners (NPs) throughout the report. With more
than 11,500 PAs in California, the profession is also one
of the fastest-growing occupations in the nation. A survey
from the California Office of Statewide Health Planning
and Development indicated that WesternU’s PA program
has provided the most PAs from any program who enter
California’s PA workforce.
“PAs are medical professionals that diagnose disease
states, develop, initiate, and manage treatment plans, and
prescribe and follow up on medications,” said WesternU
College of Health Sciences Department of Physician
Assistant Education Chair Roy Guizado, MS, PA. “PAs
serve as a patient’s primary provider and increase a
patient’s access to health care. Through all these actions,
PAs have, are, and will be a viable solution to the health
care shortage.”
Another proposal in the report recommends allowing
nurse practitioners (NP) to work independently of doctors.
College of Graduate Nursing Dean Mary Lopez, PhD,
RN, said the NP primary care workforce is outpacing the
growth of the primary care physician labor force. NPs
provide primary care of equal quality compared to
physicians, are more likely to work in rural areas, and are
more likely to serve poor and vulnerable Americans, who
already need more primary care providers. NP services
also cost less.
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