Interservice physician assistant program

[valiant619]

Hi there,

I just need a question answered relating to PA programs and the ARNG/ military, specifically in the Army/ Force National Guard... does anyone know of any one who can answer this sort of recruitment question?

Could, or would, the ARNG guarantee OCS and then timely admittence into the Interservice PA program (in San Antonio, TX), if I already have a Political Science/History Bachelors Degree and the necessary Science, math, etc. pre-reqs, without having 3 years of prior Federal service (as it states on the website http://www.armypa.info)? Are there waivers or something else available..

So far, I have been getting mixed answers from folks...

Thank you,

Tod

tod_work@yahoo.com

[matthew.ritchie]

IPAP has nothing to do with OCS. Speak with your State's AMEDD Strength Manager, which is MAJ Scott MacLeod (scott.macleod@us.army.mil).

[BoopMD]

The Army National Guard currently has a nation wide physician assistant program that gives you active duty pay and food/housing allowances as well as direct commission you an 01, Lieutenant, while you attend PA civilian school of your choice. (Depending on where you live, you could make >40K/year).

IF

You have a PA acceptance letter to an accredited Master's granting PA program, you can start the paperwork toward commission. This NG PA program does not specifically pay for tuition, but Federal tuition assistance and state tuition assistance may help.

You can do this as a civilian, with no previous military background.

IPAP is an extremely difficult curriculum and time consuming to get into 1 of the few slots for NG. It may take you years. This other program could be much faster for you, but it depends on you, your GPA/academic background and how competitive the school is that you choose. (Also, if you choose a school with rolling admissions this could speed things up.)

This new ADSW PA program may not be around forever. It is important to get excellent grades in your prerequisites for any PA program, a bachelor's in the social sciences is usually not enough. Often, but not always required for civilian PA school's is sufficient shadowing or medical work experience.

Contact your AMEDD NG recruiter to see if he/she knows about this new program for PAs and if you should consider this route. This is a brand new ADSW/ASR program.