Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center New Orleans Physician Assistant Program prerequisites

2 semesters · 8 credits · lab

The two-semester sequence with lab. Around a fifth of programs want only one semester or skip general chemistry entirely and start at organic or biochemistry.

4 credits · lab

Most PA programmes ask for 1 semester · 3 credits.

Heavier than the baseline and the laboratory is required with either option: "Organic Chemistry or Biochemistry (with lab), 4 credits." One semester of either answers it. Both subjects appear on the PA-CAT syllabus regardless of which you take.

No English composition or writing course appears in LSU's prerequisite list. The non science requirements here are college algebra, statistics, and six credits of behavioral sciences. The writing the program does assess is the personal narrative, "a brief statement expressing your motivation or desire to become a physician assistant," which it expects to be "written at a graduate level," and personal statement quality is one of the committee's scored factors.

1 semester · 3 credits

Three credits, but with a content condition most programs do not impose: "Statistics (with analysis of variance and/or multiple regression), 3 credits." A purely descriptive introductory statistics course may not qualify. It is separate from the college algebra requirement and cannot answer both.

1 semester · 3 credits

"College algebra or higher, 3 credits." A mathematics course in its own right, separate from the statistics requirement, and statistics does not answer it because "Pre-requisite coursework is mutually exclusive and cannot fulfill multiple requirements."

2 semesters · 6 credits

Most PA programmes ask for 1 semester · 3 credits.

Six credits rather than three, and the discipline is open within a pair: "Behavioral Sciences, 6 credits. Sociology or Psychology courses." Either subject can fill the whole block, so six credits of sociology answers it with no psychology at all, and the six credits are recorded on this line to avoid double counting against the sociology line. Behavioral sciences are tested on the PA-CAT.

1 semester · 3 credits

Sociology counts fully toward the same six credit behavioral sciences block as psychology, not on top of it: "Behavioral Sciences, 6 credits. Sociology or Psychology courses." Recorded here as recommended because the six credits are already carried on the psychology line; do not add these three credits to that total.

1 semester · 3 credits

"Genetics, 3 credits," required by name with no laboratory. It sits separately from the eight credit biological science elective block and cannot double count against it. Genetics is also one of the subject areas the PA-CAT tests.

8 credits

Eight credits of upper division biology, defined by prefix, level and subject matter: "Biological Science Electives, 8 credits. These courses should have a biological science prefix, be 300/3000+ level courses, and be related to medicine or the human body in some form or fashion." One exclusion is explicit: "Professional courses (i.e. occupational therapy, physical therapy, medical lab sciences) will not fulfill this requirement." Because prerequisite coursework here "is mutually exclusive and cannot fulfill multiple requirements," the genetics, microbiology, anatomy and physiology courses you take for their own lines cannot be counted again toward these eight credits.

2 semesters · 8 credits · lab

Eight credits with labs, as in the baseline, but LSU is unusually permissive about the animal and unusually strict about the sequence. "Anatomy (with lab) (human or comparative), 4 credits" and "Physiology (with lab) (general, human, or comparative), 4 credits." A combined sequence works only whole: "Anatomy & Physiology I & II (with labs) may be taken to meet this requirement, the courses must be taken in sequence, and all 8 credits must be completed to fulfill the pre-requisite requirements." For the physiology line the program adds that "A 3000 or 4000 level physiology course (with lab) will also meet this requirement," and names Biol 2160 for LSU A&M students. Science majors' courses only, and within ten years.

1 semester · 4 credits · lab

"Microbiology or Bacteriology (with lab), 4 credits." Four credits with lab as in the baseline, with bacteriology accepted as an equivalent. It must be the science majors' version: "ALL science courses must be for science majors."

Medical terminology is not listed among LSU's prerequisites, so the baseline's recommendation does not reflect this program's published requirements.

500+ hours

Most PA programmes ask for 500+ hours and list it as required.

LSU does not split patient care from healthcare experience. It publishes one combined figure under the heading Healthcare Experience, recorded on that line rather than here, so no patient care minimum should be read into this program. What the program does say about the quality of those hours is that the experience "should include exposure to advanced practice providers," and that the descriptions matter: "We reward healthcare experience based on your CASPA application descriptions, so it is important that you carefully follow the CASPA guidelines when describing the type of experience you have accumulated."

80+ hours

Most PA programmes ask for 500+ hours and list it as recommended.

The single combined experience number, and it is strikingly low next to most PA programs: "The program requires a minimum of eighty hours of documented healthcare experience; however, more hours are highly recommended. This experience may be either paid or volunteer." It is a genuine gate, since "Failure to accumulate 80 hours minimum of healthcare experience" is on the published list of reasons an application is eliminated, and the same 80 hours is separately restated as a requirement for out-of-state applicants. Treat 80 as the floor and nothing more: the amount of hours acquired is one of the factors the committee scores. LSU names the roles it accepts: "Emergency Medical Technician, Licensed Vocation Nurse, Medical Assistant, Medical Scribe, Medical Technologist, Military Medical Corpsman, Nursing Assistant, Paramedic, Psychiatric Technician, Radiologic Technician, Respiratory Therapist, Chiropractor."

40+ hours

Most PA programmes ask for 20+ hours.

Whether this is a requirement or a suggestion depends entirely on where you live. "Physician Assistant Shadowing Experiences are not required for applicants who are Louisiana residents, but highly recommended," while "Applicants who are not Louisiana residents are required to have at least 40 hours of PA shadowing experience." Either way it is scored, since PA shadowing experience is one of the committee's ranking factors. For Louisiana residents who skip it the program suggests a substitute: "it is recommended that you research the profession and talk about the PA profession with a Physician Assistant before interviewing. Your knowledge of the profession and your reasons for selecting this career are likely to play a role in the interview process."

1 letter

Most PA programmes publish no minimum.

Academic writers are one of the three relationships LSU names, "academically, personally, and/or professionally," but no faculty letter is mandatory and no discipline is specified. Three references in total, all through CASPA.

1 letter

Most PA programmes publish no minimum.

No writer is required by title. LSU asks for three references, one more than CASPA's own minimum: "Although CASPA only requires two (2) letters of reference to consider an application complete, LSUHSC-NO PA Program requires three (3) references. All three MUST be submitted before your application will be considered complete." The guidance is about breadth rather than credential: "References should be from a variety of sources."

1 letter

Most PA programmes publish no minimum.

Not named by title. The standard is length and depth of acquaintance: "References should be selected from individuals who are well-acquainted with the applicant academically, personally, and/or professionally over a period of time." One hard exclusion, "References from family members are STRONGLY DISCOURAGED," and one procedural trap, "Unsolicited information or letters of recommendation sent directly to the program will not be added to any application." Quality of references is one of the committee's scored factors.