Accelerated Physician Assistant Pathway

The Accelerated Physician Assistant Pathway (APAP) is a fast-tracked, three-year medical school curriculum leading to the Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO) degree.

Physician Assistants (PA) undergo rigorous didactic medically oriented curriculum, as well as at least one year of clinical rotations to obtain the entry-level master’s degree for the profession. Some PAs express an aspiration to return to medical school, citing the desire to practice independently, the need for professional growth and development, the need for increased medical knowledge and the ability to do more for their patients as reasons to do so. Cost and time away from clinical practice are identified as major barriers. By accelerating the medical school curriculum to three years instead of four years, LECOM reduces the cost by one quarter and decreases time away from clinical practice for PA-Cs within this pathway.

APAP currently has 12 slots for this pathway. Six slots are designated as “undeclared” meaning students enrolled may take a residency of their choice. The other six slots are “primary care” requiring the student to commit to undertake a residency and practice for five years in family practice, general internal medicine, pediatrics or OB/GYN. The APAP pathway is currently available at the LECOM at Seton Hill campus exclusively.

Application Requirements

Applicants to the program must:

  1. Be a Certified Physician Assistant.
  2. Have a minimal GPA of 2.7.
  3. Have completed at least one physics course with lab (4 credits) and one organic chemistry course with lab (4 credits).
  4. Be US citizens or have permanent residency.
  5. Have scored in the 40th percentile or higher on the Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) taken after January, 2015.*

*Recognizing that alternative measures can be used to demonstrate the ability to handle challenging curriculum and that GPA is more predictive of successful completion of medical school, we consider the LECOM Academic Index Score (AIS) as an alternative for outstanding applicants who have not taken the MCAT. The AIS uses the overall total for undergraduate and graduate GPA in formula calculation with ACT and/or SAT Critical Reading and Math scores in consideration of offering interviews. A minimum AIS of 110 is required.

Calculate your AIS score here.

Once you have submitted your AACOMAS application, please email the APAP Administrative Coordinator so that additional information can be gathered.