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PORTLAND, Maine

UNE Physician Assistant Students to provide key role in health care reform; national organization celebrates profession Oct. 6-12

With the passing of the Patient Protection and Affordable Health Care Act, physician assistants are poised to help bridge the gap in the shortage of primary care physicians and help deliver quality health care to the approximately 32 million new patients projected to have access to services.

National Physician Assistant Week, to be held October 6-12, is observed each year by the American Academy of Physician Assistants.  The week serves to celebrate the significant impact PAs have made and continue to make in health care, to expand awareness of the profession and to salute the outstanding growth of the PA profession.

As the sole physician assistant program in the state of Maine, the mission of UNE's program is to prepare master's level primary care physician assistants who practice with physicians and other members of the health care team. Special emphasis is placed on educating clinicians who will provide health care to rural and urban under-served populations. 

As part of their comprehensive responsibilities, PAs prescribe medication, conduct physical exams, diagnose and treat illnesses, order and interpret tests, counsel on preventive health care and assist in surgery. Without PAs, hospitals, private practices, nursing homes, correctional institutions and many other health care settings would be unable to serve ill patients.  PAs contribute in general practice settings and in a variety of specialty settings, such as emergency medicine and oncology. 

UNE's PA program emphasizes an inter-professional approach not only to disease management and treatment, but to health promotion and disease prevention. 

The Class of 2012, consisting of 45 students, has plans underway this year to explore innovative primary care initiatives such as the medical home model of health care delivery.Exploration and awareness of their own health - mind and body - is also emphasized.  "Training of UNE's physician assistants is instituted under the umbrella of mindfulness.  We learn to take better care of ourselves so that we can take better care of others," said Dr. George Bottomley, UNE's PA Program Director. 

There are more than 74,000 PAs in clinical practice in the U.S., with 577 practicing in Maine, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics expects the number of PAs to increase by 39 percent within the next decade - much faster than average for all occupations. There were nearly 250 million visits to PAs last year, and PAs have prescribing privileges in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and Guam.

For more information about UNE's Physician Assistant Program visit www.une.edu.

About the University of New England

The University of New England is Maine’s largest independent university, with two beautiful coastal campuses in Maine, a one-of-a-kind study abroad campus in Tangier, Morocco, and an array of flexible, accredited online degrees. In an uncommonly welcoming and supportive community, we offer hands-on learning, empowering students to make a positive impact in a world full of challenges. The state’s top provider of health professionals, we are home to Maine’s only medical college, Maine’s only dental college, a variety of other interprofessionally aligned health care degree programs, as well as nationally recognized programs for marine science degrees, natural and social sciences degrees, arts and humanities degrees, and business degrees.