The master’s level programs for physician assistants and
nurses at the University of Nebraska Medical Center rank among
the top programs in the country, according to this year’s
rankings of seven health professions by U.S. News & World
Report.
The UNMC physician assistant program is ranked No. 5 among the
29 master’s level PA programs in the country. The UNMC
College of Nursing master’s program is ranked 32nd out of
more than 250 accredited master’s degree nursing programs in
the country.
The rankings will appear on newstands Feb. 23 in the 1998
"America’s Best Graduate Schools" issue of U.S.
News & World Report. The seven health professions ranked
in the issue are audiology, nursing, occupational therapy,
physical therapy, physician assistant, rehabilitation counseling
and speech pathology.
The rankings were compiled from surveys sent to deans, faculty
and administrators of accredited graduate programs. People were
asked to use a 5-point scale with 5 being the best score to rate
only the schools within their disciplines. Ratings were based on
scholarship, curriculum and the quality of the program’s
faculty and graduate students.
The UNMC PA program scored a 4.1 rating, while the College of
Nursing earned a 3.5 rating.
"This is exciting news," said James Somers, P.A.-C.,
Ph.D., director and associate professor of the UNMC Physician
Assistant Division. "We’re obviously delighted with the
high ranking."
He cited three factors for the rating — "an excellent
program and medical school faculty at UNMC, an outstanding
network of preceptor physicians around the state, and a great
bunch of students."
Students enrolled in the UNMC PA program must have completed
at least 90 hours of undergraduate work. Most of the 40 students
accepted into the program each year have already completed their
undergraduate degree, Dr. Somers said.
The PA program involves 28 consecutive months of study,
including 13 months of academic course work and 15 months of
clinical training in preceptorships held throughout the state. In
these preceptorships, students train under the guidance of a
physician, typically in smaller Nebraska communities. All
students are required to do preceptorships in emergency medicine,
family medicine, geriatrics, internal medicine,
obstetrics/gynecology, pediatrics, psychiatry and surgery. Each
preceptorship ranges from one to four months.
PAs practice the art and science of medicine under the general
supervision of physicians. As members of the health-care team,
they provide a wide variety of medical care from diagnosing,
treating and prescribing for common medical problems to assisting
in surgery. They are employed in all types of medical settings
and many serve as the only medical provider in small and remote
towns.
Dr. Somers said UNMC has been able to do a good job of
providing PAs for rural Nebraska. Of the 328 PAs working in
Nebraska, 50 percent are employed in small towns with populations
of 15,000 or less. He added that 19 of 24 PA students who have
graduated from UNMC’s Rural Health Opportunities Program are
now practicing in rural communities.
Another indicator of the quality of the PA program, Dr. Somers
said, is the high number of applicants. "We receive about
375 applicants each year and can only take 40 students, so
we’re able to select a quality group of students." Of
the 40 students selected each year, no more than four come from
outside Nebraska.
The UNMC PA program was tied with George Washington University
for the fifth spot. The top four programs were Duke University,
Emory University, Baylor College of Medicine and the University
of Iowa.
On the nursing side, the University of Washington was ranked
No. 1 followed by the University of California-San Francisco, the
University of Pennsylvania, the University of Michigan and Case
Western Reserve University. The UNMC College of Nursing was tied
for 32nd with six other schools — Duke University, Emory
University, University of Minnesota, University of Texas Health
Sciences Center and the University of Utah.
"With more than 250 accredited master’s degree
nursing programs in the country, we’re pleased to be rated
among the top 12 percent of those programs," said UNMC
College of Nursing Dean Ada Lindsey, Ph.D. "I think
Nebraskans can be proud of this high rating."
The UNMC College of Nursing is the largest nursing school in
the state with a total of more than 700 students enrolled in its
four campus locations in Omaha, Lincoln, Kearney and Scottsbluff.
It is the only nursing program in the state that offers all three
degrees: BSN, MSN and Ph.D.
Nurse practitioner students take classes via satellite
television or in UNMC classrooms and receive 500 to 600 hours of
clinically precepted practice. UNMC students are precepted by
nurse practitioners and
physicians from urban and rural settings near their homes.
This is useful for helping graduates find positions within
Nebraska. A large majority of nurse practitioner and clinical
specialist graduates continue to practice in Nebraska.
Current enrollment by campus is 284 in Omaha, 190 in Lincoln,
142 in Kearney and 107 in Scottsbluff. The doctoral program has
more than 20 students enrolled. Presently, more than 100
master’s degree students are enrolled in nurse practitioner
preparation and more than 50 master’s students are in other
specialty tracks.
Graduate nursing students are enrolled in one of the following
specialties: Primary Care Family Health, Health Systems Nurse
Specialists, Maternal/Women’s and Children’s Health,
Psychiatric/Mental Health, Adult Health and Illness, and
Gerontology and Geropsychiatric Nursing.
UNMC is the only public academic health science center in the
state. Through its commitment to research, education and patient
care, UNMC has established itself as one of the country’s leading
centers for
cancer research and treatment and solid organ transplantation.
More than $25 million in research grants and contracts are
awarded to UNMC scientists annually. In addition, UNMC’s
educational programs are responsible for training more health
professionals practicing in Nebraska than any other institution.