Choose Leadership
As the demand for PAs increases, so should their role in administration and leadership.
Health care is changing rapidly and PAs are an essential part of its future. The DMSc makes you a better advocate for the PA profession and prepares you for a place at the boardroom table, where you can make decisions that impact your career, your patients, and the future of health care.
The Lynchburg DMSc offers PAs a clinical experience in their desired specialty, as well as education in executive leadership, research, health care law, and global health. The program includes a yearlong research project that gives PAs the knowledge, experience, and skills needed to publish original research in scholarly journals.
The 12-month DMSc program can be completed simultaneously while you work as a PA. It fits into the life you’ve already created for yourself, regardless of where you are in your career or the world.
“The DMSc has allowed me to advance my career in ways I never would have imagined. I wanted a rewarding academic program that was practical and designed for PAs. Because of my degree I have been able to practice at the highest levels of emergency medicine, be a faculty member for masters and doctoral level programs, and now be the CEO of the hospital that I started to work at as my first job in high school.”
– Andrew Porter, DMSc ’19, Chief Executive Officer, Wayne General Hospital
DMSc Core Attributes
Lynchburg has designed the Doctor of Medical Science (DMSc) degree to align with the following core attributes of an advanced practice clinical doctorate.
- Degree option: The DMSc degree is the second or third professional degree for PAs who have earned their entry-level PA professional degree at the master’s or bachelor’s level, respectively.
- Admission requirements: Prior entry-level PA degree, master’s degree, and active state licensure or certification as a PA are required.
- Curriculum: Integrates clinical practice, application of medical research, and course work in leadership and management that develops the PA professional and advances the PA profession.
- Clinical Component: Integrated into the curriculum through the practicum experience with assessment of competency in the PAs’ area of practice.
- Research Component: Focuses on the application of current medical research to the improvement of clinical practice and patient care.
- Professional Alignment: The Lynchburg DMSc degree was created by PAs for PAs based on a needs assessment of the profession and aligning with the overall mission of the Lynchburg Department of PA Medicine.
Reference: Seegmiller JG, Nasypany A, Kahanov L, et al. Trends in doctoral education among healthcare professions: an integrative research review. Athletic Training Education Journal. 2015;10(1):47-56.
Doctor of Medical Science Mission Statement
To educate postgraduate PAs to advance their current compassionate health care delivery while emphasizing clinical proficiency, executive-level leadership, and scholarship.
School of PA Medicine Mission Statement
To educate PAs to become compassionate health care providers with an emphasis on teamwork, communication, human diversity, and patient-centered care.
