About the Program

The Physician Assistant program at Point Loma Nazarene University is unique to the PA profession in several ways. As a faith-based university, our aim is to produce competent, professional clinicians who practice evidence-based medicine, demonstrate cultural sensitivity, and have the opportunity to manifest their faith through service to the community. The program blends service experiences into the curriculum throughout both the didactic and clinical phases, including a dedicated month each year allowing domestic, national, or international medical exposures through the extensive networks and local connections in Southern California.

Accreditation

The ARC-PA has granted Accreditation-Provisional status to the Point Loma Nazarene University Physician Assistant Program sponsored by the Point Loma Nazarene University.

Accreditation-Provisional is an accreditation status granted when the plans and resource allocation, if fully implemented as planned, of a proposed program that has not yet enrolled students appear to demonstrate the program’s ability to meet the ARC-PA Standards or when a program holding Accreditation-Provisional status appears to demonstrate continued progress in complying with the Standards as it prepares for the graduation of the first class (cohort) of students. Accreditation-Provisional does not ensure any subsequent accreditation status. It is limited to no more than five years from matriculation of the first class.

The program’s accreditation history can be viewed on the ARC-PA website.

Program Learning Outcomes

1. Gather a history and perform a physical examination.

2. Prioritize a differential diagnosis following a clinical encounter.

3. Recommend and interpret common diagnostic and screening tests.

4. Enter and discuss orders and prescriptions.

5. Document a clinical encounter in the patient record.

6. Provide an oral presentation of a clinical encounter.

7. Form a clinical question and retrieve evidence to advance patient care.

8. Give or receive a patient handover to transition care responsibilities.

9. Collaborate as a member of an interprofessional team.

10. Recognize a patient requiring urgent or emergent care and initiate evaluation and management.

11. Obtain informed consent for tests and/or procedures.

12. Perform general procedures of a physician assistant.

13. Identify system failures and contribute to a culture of safety and improvement.

Service-Minded Mentality

The PLNU PA program deeply embraces the idea that “Service is an expression of faith.” We seek to enroll mission-centered students who have a faith that inspires them to go out and serve the world.

We also seek to make sure a service-centered mindset is embedded and expressed through all aspects of our program and curriculum. One way we do this is by having one month out of both the didactic year and clinical year spent focused on service. 

“We have a very clear mission to underserved and underrepresented populations. And, because we live in an area with a wide variety of languages and cultures, along with large numbers of homeless, refugees, and minority populations who need our care, we are able to place our students with such patients over the course of their time with us. The mission and values of service at PLNU are expressed in the service mission of the PA program and what we’ve done is to create an environment in which service is an integral part of the curriculum.”
- Dana Sayre-Stanhope EdD, PA-C Emeritus

PANCE

The Point Loma Nazarene University Physician Assistant Education Department will publish first-time Physician Assistant National Certifying Exam (PANCE) rates for the five most recent graduating classes as provided by the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA) when this information becomes available.

Program Start Date(s):

• Fall 2026 - August 31, 2026

Application Deadline(s):

• October 1, 2025

The 2025 CASPA Cycle opens April 24, 2025.

Application Process

Application to the program can only be made through the Centralized Application Service for Physician Assistants (CASPA). Please visit the CASPA website for more information. In addition, students must complete the PLNU Supplemental Application. In order for a candidate to be considered, both the verified CASPA and the PLNU Supplemental applications must be received by the October 1, 2024 deadline. 

CASPA (Central Application Service for Physician Assistants)

Telephone: (617) 612-2080
Email: apply@caspaonline.org

CASPA Application Login

Your application will be reviewed when the CASPA application has been verified and your PLNU PA Program Supplemental Application received.  Applications must be verified by CASPA by the October 1, 2025 deadline. All prerequisites must be completed before submitting your application as we will not consider any application with outstanding prerequisites. Interviews will be conducted in the fall and winter either virtually or in person as safety dictates. All applicants will be notified of their admission status by March 1, 2026.

PLNU Supplemental Application

To begin your supplemental application please create an account on the Point Loma Nazarene Online Application Portal. Please make sure to create your account using the same email address as your CASPA application and follow the following steps to locate the Physician Assistant Supplemental Application:

1. Click here to login and create an account using your CASPA email address.
2. Select Graduate 
3. Please select "Physician Assistant" for the initial questions of "I want to study"
   • From there you will be able to select the Physician Assistant, MSM major as well as the appropriate term.
4. To finalize click "Start Application"

PLNU Supplemental App Login

Please be sure to have your CASPA ID number ready as it is required for this supplemental application.

The PLNU Supplemental Application fee is $35. If you feel you are experiencing a financial hardship that renders you unable to pay the PLNU Supplemental Application fee, please contact the program at acourtne@pointloma.edu to inquire regarding a fee waiver.

Application Criteria

To view the complete admissions requirements, including required experience, prerequisite courses and more click the button below.

PA Application Criteria

About the PA Profession

Physician assistants are well-recognized and highly sought-after members of the health care team. Working interdependently with physicians, PAs provide diagnostic and therapeutic patient care in virtually all medical specialties and settings. They take patient histories, perform physical examinations, order laboratory and diagnostic studies and develop patient treatment plans. In California as well as all other states, PAs have the authority to write prescriptions. Collectively they treat over 9 million patients per week with responsibilities as diverse as the physicians with whom they collaborate, including patient education, team leadership, medical education, administration and research.

According the NCCPA Statistical Profile of Certified Physician Assistants 2022, just over one quarter of PAs provide primary care in Family Medicine, Internal Medicine or Pediatrics (25.8%) with another 21% in surgery and its subspecialties and 13% in Emergency Medicine.

As autonomous members of the health care team who contribute to all aspects of patient care, non-clinical tasks have been integrated into the PA role, particularly in the institutional and larger clinic setting. For example, PAs in the tertiary care setting are often involved in the acquisition, recording and analysis of research data, the development of patient and public education programs, and the administration of their departments’ clinical and educational services. Involvement in these other services has provided job advancement for PAs in these settings.

Physician assistant educators use their strong clinical background to ensure the highest quality education to their students. Physician assistants with backgrounds in public health contribute their clinical expertise to the improvement of population medicine both domestically and internationally while PAs with administrative backgrounds bring these skills to their hospitals and clinics.

PLNU Licensure and Professional Certifications Information

Point Loma Nazarene University has determined that completion of the Masters of Science in Medicine – Physician Assistant degree prepares graduates to apply for licensure in any of the 50 states. Licensure is required for physician assistants and each state sets its own requirements for a license as a physician assistant. To obtain a license, an individual must graduate from a U.S. PA program accredited by the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA) and pass the Physician Assistant National Certifying Exam (PANCE) administered by the National Commission on Certifying of Physician Assistants (NCCPA).

Click the button below for a list of states in which the PLNU Physician Assistant Program meets the academic requirements for state licensure:

View the List of State Approvals

The American College of Lifestyle Medicine has approved this program as a Partial Academic Pathway course. This means that if you receive a B- or above in this course, you will be eligible for a waiver meeting partial prerequisites to take the ACLM Certification Exam. This course will substitute for the 20-hour live event requirement.

View the estimated cost of attendance for the Physician Assistant program. 

For information about the courses required for the Physician Assistant, M.S.M. program, view the PLNU Catalog. 

Course Information

Students can enroll in this online course to meet the anatomy prerequisites requirement.

Anatomy Prerequisite