The Mission of the Masters of Health Science Physician Assistant Program is to educate highly qualified physician assistants, preparing them to become competent, compassionate, and comprehensive health care providers for clinical practice in rural and urban areas, focusing on underserved communities. Our vision is that our graduates will be leaders in the health care community, continuously striving for excellence in their professional endeavors. Program goals and objectives are as follows:

1. The program seeks to prepare students to be successful health care providers empowering them to become competent, compassionate and comprehensive health care providers for our region, state and nation.
2. The program specifically identifies those students who have a strong interest and potential for a life long career as a Physician Assistant.
3. The program provides an ongoing focus on the importance of a lifelong path dedicated to continuous learning and self assessment.
4. The program promotes at the graduate level the importance of health maintenance, health education and the prevention of disease.
5. The program provides comprehensive evidence based medical education that focuses on the future delivery of excellent health care.
6. The program strives for educational excellence as it prepares its physician assistant students with critical inquiry, humanistic communication skills, and understanding the need for ongoing collaboration with the intra-disciplinary health care team while at the same time meeting the patient and family health care needs within an ever changing health care delivery system.