May 29, 2007
CONTACT:
Ken Ma
Office of Public Affairs
(954) 262-5354 Office
(954) 830-4177 Cell
kennma@nova.edu
David Kotun, Ed.D
Clinical Director of the Physician Assistant Program
NSU’s Orlando Student Education Center
W: 407-264-5156 or C: 321-262-2037
Nova Southeastern University starts Central Florida’s first
Physician Assistant Program
Orlando - FL. - Central Florida will have its first graduate school program for students hoping to become physician assistants when Nova Southeastern University begins its inaugural class on June 1. About 46 students are enrolled in the 27-month program at Nova Southeastern University’s Orlando Student Educational Center. The class will have 16 students from Central Florida and 25 students from the rest of the state.
“There is a shortage of physician assistants here in Central Florida,” said Dave Kotun, Ed.D (C), the program’s clinical director.
And that’s a problem, Kotun said, because the region’s population is increasing and aging, and Central Florida is home to a high concentration of migrant workers who don’t have access to affordable health care.
Right now, the nearest PA programs for Central Florida residents are at the University of Florida in Gainesville and Barry University’s branch campus in Clearwater.
“Orlando is an ideal location for such a program with the number of large teaching hospitals that are already here, and a new medical school on its way in a few years as well, and the willingness of the local medical community to be involved in the education of physician assistants,” said James R. Pace, chairman of the Florida Academy of Physician Assistant’s board of trustees. “The establishment of this program will do nothing but help to improve access to quality health care for Florida citizens.”
Kotun said many of Nova’s students will likely stay in Central Florida after they graduate because they are nontraditional students who are already established in the area.
“A school in this population center will allow access to these students with life experience who cannot uproot family to attend school at a distance,” he said. “Our goal is to not only educate top quality PAs, but to place them in markets here in Central Florida.”
Nova is currently working on affiliation agreements with several hospitals in Orange and other Central Florida counties for its students to conduct clinical rotations. The university is affiliated with Florida Hospital College of Health Sciences, Osceola Regional Medical Center and Central Florida Regional Hospital.
The Orlando PA program is accredited by the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant.
Physician assistants are health-care professionals licensed to practice medicine with a physician’s supervision. They can do many things that a traditional doctor can perform, such as evaluating patients, ordering tests, making diagnoses and prescribing medicine. They can also perform minor surgeries, casting, injections, electrocardiograms, sigmoidoscopy, and more. PAs work in ERs, obstetrics, cardiothoracic, orthopedic, gynecologic, ENT, vascular, intensive care units and surgery in all fields.
Physician assistants are the second fastest growing job in the country for college-educated workers, according the U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics. Full-time PAs in clinical practice earned a median income of $74,264 in 2004, according to the American Academy of Physician Assistants.
NSU’s PA program will be located at 4850 Millenia Drive, near the Mall at Millenia. Its central location will be convenient for students across the region.
About Nova’s Orlando Student Educational Center: Located in the Millenia Development off Interstate 4 and Conroy Road, the 60,000-square-foot building houses over 1,000 students from Orange, Lake, Seminole, Osceola, Volusia, Brevard and Polk counties. The center offers bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees in education, business, pharmacy, psychology, mental-health counseling, family therapy, speech-language pathology and nursing.
About Nova Southeastern University: Nova Southeastern University in Ft. Lauderdale is the largest independent institution of higher education in the Southeast, and it is the 6th largest independent institution nationally. NSU awards associate’s, bachelor's, master's, educational specialist, doctoral, and first-professional degrees in a wide range of fields. The university is comprised of undergraduate, graduate and professional schools of osteopathic medicine, pharmacy, optometry, allied health and nursing, medical sciences, dental medicine, law, marine biology and oceanography, business and entrepreneurship, computer and information sciences, humanities, conflict resolution, family therapy, interdisciplinary studies, education, psychology and counseling, and family programs.
