Welcome to the Physician Assistant Program

Click here for general Information for those interested in the RRCC PA program.

The Red Rocks Community College Physician Assistant Program is accredited by the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA). The RRCC Program offers courses leading to a Certificate in PA Studies and prepares the student for the national certifying exam. The Physician Assistant National Certifying Exam (PANCE) is given by the National Commission for the Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA). PANCE pass rates for the last five years for RRCC PA Program graduates and the national pass rates are presented below.

Physician Assistants (PAs) are health professionals authorized by law to practice medicine under the supervision of a licensed physician. Physician assistants are qualified by graduation from an accredited physician assistant educational program and certification by the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants.

Within the physician/PA relationship, physician assistants often exercise delegated autonomy in decision-making and provide a broad range of diagnostic and therapeutic services. The clinical role of physician assistants includes primary and specialty care in medical and surgical practice settings in rural and urban areas. Though physician assistant practice is primarily directed toward patient care, PAs also provide leadership in educational, research and administrative settings.

The Red Rocks Physician Assistant Program

The Red Rocks Physician Assistant Program is a rigorous, state-sponsored, nationally accredited curriculum that recruits adult learners who already have experience in health care and who wish to become PAs. Our mission is to train clinically competent and compassionate PAs who will provide care to medically underserved communities and patient populations under the supervision of licensed physicians.

The Program was created in 1998 after several years of needs assessment and after community support was determined to be strong. The first class was admitted in January of 1999; subsequent classes were admitted in August of each year thereafter beginning in 1999.

Our students have already been successful in such careers as nursing, physical therapy, emergency services, exercise physiology, medical assisting, radiographic technology, respiratory therapy and audiology, among many others. Their average age is about 34 years. Some students hold a master's or doctoral degree; all have a baccalaureate degree. Approximately 28 - 30 students are enrolled in each class. Admission to the Program is extremely competitive.

Our training partners include virtually every major health care system on the Front Range of Colorado. We have existing affiliation agreements with Centura, Exempla, Kaiser and HealthONE hospitals, among many other institutions, in metropolitan Denver and across Colorado.

At the conclusion of an intensive twenty-four month curriculum, graduates take the Physician Assistant National Certifying Examination (PANCE). Upon passage of the PANCE, graduates are eligible for licensure in any state.

Students admitted to the RRCC PA program may elect to co-register at St. Francis University to pursue a fully-accredited master's degree.

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If you have questions about the PA profession, a great web site for info is www.aapa.org. We do not schedule individual transcript reviews or appointments with program faculty.

Check back for dates and times of upcoming information sessions.

Check back for dates and
times of upcoming
information sessions.

Contact

Red Rocks Community College
P.A. Department
Box 38
13300 West Sixth Avenue
Lakewood, Colorado 80228

303.914.6386

pa.program@rrcc.edu

The P.A. department is located at the Lakewood campus, 1st floor, Room 1535. We are open Monday through Friday,
9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

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