General Information

Message from the Director

Welcome to the University of Wisconsin - Madison PA Program website! We are delighted in your interest in our nationally regarded institution and program. Founded in 1975, we are proud to celebrate over a quarter century of excellence in PA education. For applicants, this site will provide you with all the information you need about our program and the application process. For alumni, we hope this site will keep you up to date and in touch with your alma mater.

Here are a few important facts about our program:

• The University of Wisconsin-Madison Physician Assistant Program is a professional program within the School of Medicine and Public Health.
• In September 2002, the program received the highest possible rating from the accrediting agency for PA programs. The program is being reviewed in the summer of 2009 by the Accreditation Review Commission on Education of the Physician Assistant for continuing accreditation.
• We invite you to compare our tuition, reputation, and the quality of our curriculum with any existing program.
• We are committed to providing quality, cost effective health care to Wisconsin and the nation's medically underserved populations.
• We are leaders in educational technology and one of the only PA programs in the nation to offer a distance education track, which allows selected students to remain in their home communities while completing their education as physician assistants.
• We have a beautiful lakeshore campus in a dynamic and progressive city. As part of the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, we benefit from the faculty and resources of the flagship University of Wisconsin - Madison campus and affiliated hospitals.

We thank you for visiting our web site and hope you will appreciate all that the UW-Madison PA Program has to offer. Please feel free to contact our office for more detailed information or to schedule an appointment with one of our academic advisors.

Our Program Newsletter

Our PA Program Newsletter features current student, alumni, preceptor, clinical instructor, faculty and staff activities. It is designed to build connections,
celebrate successes and inform all of us on current program initiatives and future directions.

CLICK HERE to view the Winter 2008-2009 PA Newsletter.

Archived Newsletters:

Summer 2008 PA Newsletter.

Master's Degree Transition

The UW Board of Regents approved the UW-Madison PA Program's transition from a baccalaureate to a master's degree on Friday, May 8th, 2009.  We are currently offering an application for the first Masters in PA Studies (MPAS) candidates to begin in May 2010.

Mission & Overview

The UW-Madison Physician Assistant (PA) Program has a rich history of excellence and innovation in PA education. Our mission is to educate primary health care practitioners committed to the delivery of comprehensive, preventive and therapeutic health care in a culturally sensitive manner. The program encourages scholarship, is responsive to changing health care and societal needs, facilitates personal and professional growth and promotes life-long learning.

Approximately thirty students are accepted each year into our full-time, 24-month campus-based professional program or our 36-month distance education track. We are an integral part of a world-class university, medical school and family medicine department. We have an experienced and committed faculty, a dynamic primary care curriculum with an emphasis on prevention, an innovative approach to community health and diversity and unique community-based clinical learning experiences.

Meet the Faculty and Staff

Virginia Snyder, Ph.D., PA-C
Program Director/Faculty Associate

Virginia Snyder, Ph.D, PA-C, is a 2001 graduate of the UW-Madison PA Program.  Ginny joined the Program as a Faculty Associate to coordinate OB/GYN and Emergency Medicine in 2003 as well as to assist in other instructional areas.  In 2006, she became the Interim Program Director, until accepting the official Program Director position in July, 2008.  In December 2008, Ginny was promoted to Associate Professor (Clinical Health Science) in the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health to serve as the PA Program Director in leading and collaborating with PA faculty/staff and students in the organization and administration, curriculum, clinical practice, evaluation and accreditation of the Program, while representing the Program at the departmental, SMPH and University levels and to the community at large.  Ginny continues to be quite active in student instruction, in outreach activities and in scholarly projects, including serving as the Principal Investigator for the 2008-2011 Title VII HRSA Grant to develop and implement PA training program initiatives at UW-Madison.  From 2001-2008, Ginny practiced in the Neurosurgery Program at Mercy Health System, Janesville, WI.  While at Mercy, she helped develop and served as Program Director of the Mercy Institute of Neuroscience, an integrated, interdisciplinary program for patients with spine and neurological disorders.   Ginny’s more remote background includes significant experience as Professor of Biology at UW-Platteville in teaching and advising pre-professional students, and she also served as Department Chair of the Biology Department.  Additionally, she has had healthcare experience in clinical lab science as a former medical technologist.

Jerry J. Noack, PA-C
Clinical Instructor

Jerry Noack joined the faculty in 1980 after spending several years in family practice in Edgerton and Madison. Current responsibilities include distance education and teaching in both the junior and senior years. He has previously served as Associate Director from 1991-1995, and Program Director from 1995-2001. For many years Jerry was the PA Program liaison with the Wisconsin Academy of Physician Assistants, having previously served on the Academy's Board of Directors. He is a member of the PA Council of the Wisconsin Medical Examining Board. In addition to his current involvement he has a historical perspective of the program, having graduated in the first class at UW-Madison.

John Beasley , MD
PA Program Medical Director

Dr. Beasley joined the PA Program as Medical Director in 2007 on a 20% time basis. He provides support to the PA Program by teaching, providing clinical guidance to the curriculum and serving as an advocate for the program within the medical community. He brings 35 years of experience as a Family Physician in academic, rural and international health care settings. He graduated from Harvard College and went to medical school at the University of Minnesota. Following internship, he served as a physician in the Peace Corps in Micronesia (Pacific Islands) and did full time family planning in Louisiana before coming to Wisconsin so he could take a Family Medicine Residency graduating in 1975. After residency, he remained on the DFM faculty. While on the faculty, he started a nurse-practitioner run clinic in Tigerton, Wisconsin, where he practiced one day a week. He also developed the UW's Family Medicine Medical Student program and served as Residency Director in Madison and Eau Claire. Active in maternity care until 2000, he co-authored (along with Jim Damos, MD) the Advanced Life Support in Obstetrics (ALSO) course that has now reached over 54,000 clinicians in 25 different countries. In addition to his Peace Corps experience, his international work has included consulting at medical schools in Pakistan. Dr. Beasley has also been active in Primary Care Research. He was the founder of the Wisconsin Research Network, and is immediate past-Chair of the International Federation of Primary Care Research Networks. His research has resulted in more than 25 publications on issues relating to Research Network operations, medical error reduction, quality of professional work life, quality of care, practice complexity and medical education. Dr. Beasley sees patients three sessions a week at the Verona Clinic and is staff for Family Medicine Residents one to five sessions a week at Verona and the Fox Valley Family Medicine Residency in Appleton. John is an active pilot, aviation medical examiner, and aviation author with over 40 articles in lay press.

Honorie Coté, PA-C
Director of Clinical Education

Honorie became interested in pursuing a PA degree during her four years of experience as an ophthalmic assistant, and she subsequently graduated from the UW-Madison PA Program in 1979. Honorie practiced as a physician assistant for 10 years, working in the Immediate Care Department of Physicians Plus in Madison. During a hiatus from clinical practice, she obtained experience in education through her position as a Regional Training Manager in the pharmaceutical industry. Honorie joined the faculty of the PA Program in 1995 and was appointed Director of Clinical Education in 2001. As the Director of Clinical Education, her primary responsibilities include the organization, development, administration and evaluation of the clinical year of the program. Honorie is currently working with the Information Specialist and the Clinical Year Assistant to establish a new, comprehensive database to track students and preceptors, and she is assisting the Regional Outreach Coordinator with grant initiatives to develop clinical sites in underserved areas of the state. Her didactic responsibilities include coordinating the Ophthalmology and ENT modules of Clinical Medicine and participating in the Physical Assessment courses. She is active on both the Admissions and Curriculum Committees. Honorie will begin pursuing an advanced degree at UW-Madison in Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis in the fall of 2006.

David Payne MPAS, PA-C
Clinical Instructor/Academic Director

David Payne joined the faculty in Spring 2009.  He recently made the move from Montana, where he served as Associate Director for the Rocky Mountain College Physician Assistant Program.  His clinical background includes work in urgent care and family practice settings.  As the Academic Director, his primary responsibilities include coordination of our Clinical Medicine courses as well as oversight and evaluation of curriculum content and delivery. 

Jackie Kazik, MA, PA-C
Outreach Coordinator

Jakie Kazik, MA, PA-C is a 1985 graduate of UW-Madison’s Physician Assistant Program.  She worked for two years in Pediatrics, and then 12 years in Women’s Health in Waukesha, WI.  In 2000, she joined the faculty fulltime at Marquette Universityas course director for Clinical Medicine.  She received her Master’s Degree in Education, with a focus on educational technology in adult education and became the Academic Coordinator in 2001 until she left fulltime academia in 2008 to return to clinical practice.  She is currently working part-time in emergency medicine at Waukesha Memorial Hospital.  She also lectures for CME Resources’ Certification/Recertification review course.  She joins the faculty as one of two HRSA Outreach Coordinators for the current grant project. 

Michelle Hauser, MPAS, PA-C
Community Education Coordinator

Michelle joined the UW PA program as Community Education Coordinator with funding support from the 2008-2011 HRSA Title VII, PA Training Grant. Michelle will assist the PA program in the development of rural primary care track curriculum. The goal is to increase the number of students who originate from underserved, rural settings or urban areas and show a strong interest in returning to their home community to practice primary care
medicine upon graduation. A second goal of Michelle’s is to further strengthen and expand the community-based distance education training programs in underserved rural settings, as well as promoting the PA profession by establishing clinical preceptorships in these areas.
Michelle graduated from UW-Madison PA program in 1991 and received her MPAS from the University of Nebraska in 2001. She has practiced family medicine at Medical Associates Family Practice Clinic in Darlington, Wisconsin since 1991. She is also involved with patients at the Memorial Hospital of LaFayette County, where she rounds on inpatients, assists with her patients’ surgeries in the OR, as well as staffs the Emergency Room on a regular basis. She has been involved with Lafayette County Board of Health, Southwest AHEC and has served as a Preceptor for PA students for 18 years.

Karen Brand Wendler, PA-C
Community Education Coordinator

Karen Brand Wendler, PA-C is the Pediatrics course coordinator for the PA program. A 1992 graduate of the PA program, she is employed in a family practice setting and also provides urgent care. She is a member of the Wisconsin Academy of Physician Assistants (WAPA) and the American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA).

Heide Schalch, PA-C
Outreach Coordinator

Heidi joined the UW PA program as Outreach coordinator with funding support from the 2008-2011 HRSA Title VII, PA Training Grant. Heidi will assist in developing Community Practice Advisory Committees (CPAC) in Federally designated Health Profession Shortage Areas  (HPSA) around the state of Wisconsin.  Our goal is to decrease the number of HPSAs in the state by 1) increasing the number of PA students who originate from underserved, rural and urban areas who will likely return to their home community to practice primary care medicine, and 2) by offering all PA students increased preceptorship opportunities in underserved areas, which may generate increased interest in an urban or rural primary care practice and will likely lead to employment opportunities within HPSAs.
Heidi graduated from UW-Madison PA program in 1998. Since that time, she has work at the UW-Comprehensive Cancer Center, managing the Melanoma Clinical Trials Research Program. As a member of a translational research group, with particular interest in developing novel immunotheraputic, agents.  Heidi has been involved in all aspects of the design, conduct , and analysis of clinical trials, as well as in providing medical care and support for those individuals receiving investigational agents, in both outpatient and hospital settings. In addition, Heidi is a Medic clinics volunteer.

Erin McCarthy Orth
Instructional Program Manager

Erin has been with the UW-Madison Physician Assistant Program since August 2000, first as a Program Assistant and then as Outreach Coordinator. She accepted the position as Instructional Program Manager for the PA Program in May 2004 and is responsible for curriculum management, pre-professional student advising, grants management, and special projects. Erin graduated with a degree in English Literature from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater.

Patricia Greene
Program Assistant of Data Management

Patricia Greene joined the UW Madison Physician Assistant’s Program in December 2008 and is responsible for reviewing and analyzing data collected from students, faculty and alumni associated with the program.  Pat graduated from the University of Texas at Austin, Texas with a degree in Psychology and Education.  She also attended Loyola University in Chicago, Illinois working towards her Masters degree in Psychology.  Pat brings over 20 years of experience working in the legal field analyzing objective data for attorneys.

Joey Johannsen, MAEd
Instructional Specialist

Joey happily joined the PA program staff in October, 2007.   In her role as Instructional Specialist, Joey is working with the team to plan and prepare for the upcoming transition of the program moving from a Bachelor of Science to a Master of Physician Assistant Studies degree program. In addition, she is coordinating preparation for the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA) 2009 site visit.  Having written, submitted, and now implementing the awarded HRSA Title VII training grant, she is committed to staying abreast of the literature and peer institutional activity, exploring development and training opportunities, and connecting with emerging technologies for ongoing systems enhancements.  Joey most recently served as Fellowship Coordinator with the UW-Madison Cardiovascular Medicine Division, and graduate medical education.  She brings 20 years of event and program design/ coordination, and utility player experience to the PA program.  Her training is in Higher Education Administration.

Don Huisheere, MS
Information Specialist

Don Huisheere joined the PA Program in October 1991, as an Information Specialist. He has a degree in Information Systems, and his background includes several years experience as a computer programmer and analyst. Don provides general computer support to the PA Program as well as continued development of systems used to monitor students' clinical activities and student/preceptor feedback and performance. His duties involve information organization and management, the development of our website, and general technical support. He also works closely with faculty and staff in providing on-line course materials and technical support for the students.

Lisa Olson
University Services Specialist

Lisa joined the UW-Madison Physician Assistant Program in August 2008 as a University Services Associate 2.  Her primary focus is supporting the didactic year and acting as direct assistant to the program director. Lisa recently relocated to Madison from St. Cloud, MN where she spent the past ten years as the Residency Program Specialist with the University of Minnesota/St. Cloud Hospital Family Medicine Residency Program.

Donna Egelski
University Services Specialist

Donna joined the UW-Madison Physician Assistant Program in November 2008 as a University Services Associate 2.  Her primary focus is supporting the clinical year and acting as direct assistant to the Director of Clinical Education. Donna relocated to Madison from Palatine, IL where she spent the past five years with the Health Careers Division at Harper College. Donna graduated from Illinois State University with a degree in Speech-Language Pathology and is proficient in American Sign Language.

PANCE Scores

Discussion and Analysis
UW-Madison PA graduates (first-takers) have consistently performed above the NCCPA national average in each of the last seven years. The UW’s total score means during this period ranged from eight to 60 points above the national mean during each of the years from 2002 to 2008. The gap between the UW-Madison first-taker total scores and national scores has narrowed over the years.

In the classes of 2002 through 2008, a high percentage of graduates (range 93-100%; mean 97.2%, 273/281) have passed PANCE on their first attempt to become certified. Two graduates (2/281 or 0.7%) did not pass the exam, making the overall pass rate 99.3%. Another six graduates (6/281, 2.1%) passed the exam on a subsequent attempt. The national pass rate for the first attempt has ranged from 90-94%. The UW-Madison Program certification pass rate is higher for first-takers than the national level for each year.

Tuition and Fees

For information on undergraduate and graduate tuition and fees, please go to the following link:

http://registrar.wisc.edu/students/fees_tuition/tuition.php?term=

Then select the most recent "Term/Semester" from the drop-down menu. 
For "Student Career" select "Graduate".  You will need to look at 8+ credits in the tuition and fees table to estimate tuition.

For information on cost of attendance, please go to the following link:

Graduate School Cost of Attendance

For information regarding the policy on student tuition and fees refunds, please go to the following link:

http://www.wisc.edu/grad/education/acadpolicy/guidelines.html#76

Contact Information