Marisol Villarreal 
Edinburg- UTRGV will soon be providing an extra year of education in Physician Assistant Studies. Medical students who have a bachelor’s and master’s degree will also have an opportunity to involve themselves in a clinical doctoral program.
“So now our focus is to provide additional training post the master’s degree in what we call a ‘clinical doctoral,’” said Frank Ambriz.
Frank Ambriz is the Department Chair for the Physician Assistant program. Having 40 years of advanced training under his belt, he works closely with students who are interested in advancing their medical studies. Ambriz said students who comply with the program won’t be disappointed.
“There was a shortage of physicians in the area, PAs were quickly embraced and a lot of physicians now have physician assistants working with them,” continued Ambriz.
The path to becoming a physician assistant first started off as a bachelor’s program, then, in 2010, it was offered as a masters degree. That means students could obtain an advanced medical degree in 6 years – 4 years as an undergraduate and 2-years of post-graduate training. The primary focus on the new doctoral program is in internal medicine, family medicine, pediatrics and other sub-specialty fields.
Click on the video below to watch the full story.
