MSU-Meridian physician assistant program added to meet demand

Published 12:05 pm Thursday, June 15, 2017

A physician assistant degree program is coming to Meridian.

Mississippi State University-Meridian has received approval from the Mississippi Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning to plan a Master of Physician Assistant Studies degree program. MSU-Meridian will become the first public institution in the state to offer the new program, according to information provided by Mississippi State University. A similar program exists at Mississippi College, a private college in Clinton, said Terry Dale Cruse, administrative director and head of campus at MSU-Meridian.

The program will be stationed at MSU-Meridian’s Riley Campus in downtown Meridian and will “prepare clinical practitioners to meet critical needs in rural healthcare,” according to information from MSU.

“There seems to be a market for that particular opportunity, and none of our eight public universities are providing that program now,” said C.D. Smith, president of the Board of Trustees for the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning. “We think it is a very good thing. There is a demand.”

Cruse said the approval paves the way to hiring a program director and “allows us to start the accreditation process, which is expected to take up to three years.” He called 2021 a target year for the program to begin.

Meridian provides a strong spot for the program, Cruse said, given the medical resources already in place, including two hospitals.

“We see this as a program that is a good fit for Meridian and for the advanced medical opportunities that we have here,” he said.

Cruse said support from the Riley Foundation in Meridian was crucial to beginning the program, and he noted the importance of the newly renovated Rosenbaum Building used by MSU-Meridian to house a kinesiology program, a digital cadaver lab and other features. The renovation was bolstered by an $11 million grant from the Riley Foundation.

Cruse noted, too, that poor physician-to-patient ratios in the state feed the need for physician assistants, particularly in rural areas.

Physician assistants serve under the supervision of doctors of medicine or osteopathy, according to information from Mississippi State University, and they have the authority to “make clinical decisions and to provide a range of diagnostic, therapeutic, preventative and health maintenance services.”

Referring to information provided by the University, Cruse said that more than 50 colleges and universities in the United States are pursuing accreditation for Physician Assistant programs. The information comes from the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant.

“We are thrilled with the IHL’s decision to grant our university permission to plan a Physician Assistant program,” MSU Provost and Executive Vice President Judy Bonner said in a statement. “We believe this program is a great fit for our Meridian Campus, particularly with the strength of the local medical community,” she added.

People seeking more information can check www.meridian.msstate.edu/.