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February 2010 , Issue 5 |
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UofT’s Physician Assistant inaugural class
The program, housed in the DFCM, is a full-time professional, second-entry undergraduate degree in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto (UofT). The University of Toronto degree is delivered in collaboration with Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) and Michener. These three institutions formed the Consortium to collaboratively contribute in the development, administration and delivery of the UofT degree. The program Medical Director is a member of the DFCM faculty. Dr. Maureen Gottesman is an Assistant Professor in the DFCM and affiliated with NYGH. In his remarks Dr. Roger Strasser, Dean and CEO, Northern Ontario School of Medicine said, “This is a very important addition to the health system and mechanism for improving access to health care, particularly in underserved areas. It is, I think, a great step forward for Ontario that the Ontario government decided, as was said in 2006, to introduce Physician Assistants. I think Physician Assistants are really going to add an important dimension, providing medical and surgical services - a broad spectrum of services - under the supervision of licensed physicians.“ Speaking about the inception of the PA program, UofT’s Deputy Dean, Faculty of Medicine, Dr. Sarita Verma said, “The notion of having another profession along the continuum of health care was the first notion that was the elephant in the room - that had to be addressed and dealt with - from a philosophical and a curricular and a political perspective.” Dr. Paul Gamble, President and CEO, The Michener Institute for Applied Health Sciences, sees Michener as an educational institution trains health care professionals to do their job to the optimal level. Michener sees the PA as a logical extension to the health care professions and an essential ingredient in successful health care delivery, one, he says, that has been missing for a while. Learn more about Physician’s Assistants at:
To watch a video of the opening event: |
On Wednesday, January 6, 2010 at The Michener Institute for Applied Health Sciences (Michener), the Consortium of PA Education (Consortium) welcomed the first class in the Bachelor of Science Physician Assistant program (BScPA).