The results speak for themselves: For the past 26 years, each class of PA program graduates has achieved a 100% pass rate on the Physician Assistant National Certifying Exam, or PANCE—a remarkable record of sustained excellence.
The 28-month PA program accepts 25 new students each year from a pool of 800–1,000 applicants. New students begin at the start of the fall semester; commencement for graduating students occurs in December. To date, 1,043 graduates have earned the Master of Physician Assistant Studies (MPAS) degree through the Carver College of Medicine.
“Because of our unique delivery, we attract the most outstanding applicants and, as a result, outstanding graduates who have done amazing things in their careers,” says Anthony Brenneman, MPAS, PA-C, director of the PA program. “Our faculty are known nationally through their scholarly work and service, which provides our students with additional perspectives that guide them in their careers.”
PA program faculty, staff, alumni, and the broader college and university community came together Sept. 24–26 as part of a four-day celebration of the program’s 50th anniversary. One highlight was the presentation of the Denis R. Oliver Endowed Chair Medallion to Asprey, who served as director of the program from 1997–2012.
Oliver, who preceded Asprey as program director from 1976–1997, taught biochemistry to the first class of PA students at Iowa. He would go on to serve as associate director of the program from 1973-76 before becoming director.
