University of Washington MEDEX Northwest Physician Assistant Program prerequisites

General chemistry is not a MEDEX prerequisite. The required list is exactly four items: A&P (two courses), biochemistry or organic chemistry (one), microbiology (one), statistics or biostatistics (one). You will still likely need general chemistry as the prerequisite for whichever chemistry course you use.

1 semester · 3 credits

"Biochemistry or Organic Chemistry, 1 course." Either satisfies the requirement, and only one course is needed. "Biochemistry courses may include the study of biomolecules, enzymes, and metabolism. Organic chemistry courses should emphasize carbon-based compounds, functional groups, and reaction mechanisms." Survey-level courses do not count, and the accompanying lab is recommended, not required.

No English, composition or writing course appears on either the required or the recommended list.

1 semester · 3 credits

"Statistics or Biostatistics, 1 course," no credit minimum published. It should "cover probability, descriptive methods, sampling, inferences, interpreting data, hypothesis testing, and regression," and survey-level courses do not count.

1 semester · 3 credits

Most PA programmes ask for 1 semester · 3 credits and list it as required.

Not required at MEDEX. Psychology appears only among the recommended courses, and then as one of three interchangeable options: "Social Science (Sociology, Psychology, or Anthropology)."

No published minimum

Not required. Genetics heads the program's short list of courses "highly recommended to help strengthen an application," alongside a social science, medical terminology, and the biochemistry/organic and microbiology labs.

2 semesters · 8 credits

Most PA programmes ask for 2 semesters · 8 credits · lab.

Two courses, "May be completed as A&P I + A&P II or as separate Anatomy and Physiology courses," with "Combined lecture/lab or separate lecture and lab formats accepted." No credit figure is published: "Credit amounts vary by institution; MEDEX accepts the full sequence as awarded." The lab rule is in transition and this is the line to read carefully: "Labs waived for the 2026-2027 application cycle. Labs required for the 2027-2028 application cycle." Courses must cover "the skeletal, muscular, integumentary, respiratory, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, reproductive, and nervous system specific to the human body," and "Survey-level courses do not meet these requirements."

1 semester · 4 credits

Most PA programmes ask for 1 semester · 4 credits · lab.

One course, no credit minimum published. The lab is recommended rather than required: "Microbiology Lab" appears on the recommended list, not the required one. The course should cover "microbial cell structure and function, including their roles in health and disease. Study of bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites should be included. An understanding of transmission, immunity, response, control, and prevention." Survey-level courses do not count.

1 credits

On the program's own list of courses "highly recommended to help strengthen an application," with no credit figure and no requirement attached.

2000+ hours

Most PA programmes ask for 500+ hours.

"Applicants must have no less than one (1) year, equivalent to 2,000 hours, of paid, recent experience," completed by the application deadline: "Hours accrued after the application deadline will not be considered." Paid only, with one exception: "Experience must be from paid position(s) and not volunteer work. The only exception is work as a paramedic or EMT when all emergency services are provided only on an all-volunteer basis. Clinical experience gained through a training program, as a student, does not count." MEDEX reads the CASPA job descriptions to judge each position, so a concise description of direct patient care duties is required for every entry. "Competitive examples include: military medicine (corpsman, healthcare specialist, medic, etc.), emergency medicine (paramedic, EMT, ER tech), nursing fields (RN, LPN/LVN), and international medical graduates." Medical assistants, surgical and patient care technicians, radiology, anesthesia and respiratory techs, athletic trainers, PTs and PTAs, phlebotomists, mental health counselors, dieticians, community health aides and clinical research all commonly count, as do scribes if "in patient care room (not telemedicine), and work directly with the provider."

Healthcare work without hands-on care does not count toward the 2,000 hours. The positions that "will NOT fulfill the MEDEX clinical prerequisite" include "Anything Administrative in Nature" (medical billing, records, transcription, scheduling, reception, front office medical assistant, health educator), "Strictly Assisting with Activities of Daily Living" (caregiver, caretaker, nursing assistant, personal care attendant), unpaid or training roles (volunteer, intern/extern, medical mission, research for academic credit, clinical rotations, shadowing), and roles with "No Patient Contact or Hands-on Care" (bench lab work, non-clinical research, transporter, interpreter, veterinary technician). Community service and leadership still strengthen an application, but "Volunteer experience does not replace required paid clinical experience."

20+ hours

No hour figure published, and it earns nothing toward the 2,000: "MEDEX Northwest strongly encourages spending time shadowing physician assistants. Shadowing experience is valuable in adding an understanding of the PA role in healthcare and expands the understanding of primary care. Shadowing experience is a great way to supplement experience but does not replace any required paid clinical time." Shadowing is listed by name among the positions that will not fulfill the clinical prerequisite.

No published minimum

Only a handful of programs require a science faculty letter by name. An academic letter is welcome nearly everywhere and mandatory almost nowhere.

1 letter

"MEDEX also prefers references from both a physician and a mid-level provider; specifically, a PA. Ideally, these should be from people who have worked closely with the applicant in a medical setting and are able to evaluate clinical skills." Preferred, not mandated: three references are required and MEDEX names no compulsory writer.

1 letter

Most PA programmes publish no minimum.

Preferred rather than required: "MEDEX also prefers references from both a physician and a mid-level provider; specifically, a PA." Three references are required in total and MEDEX mandates no particular writer.

1 letter

Most PA programmes publish no minimum.

"CASPA will accept up to five (5) references however MEDEX only requires three (3)." No writer is compulsory, but the program is explicit about what it wants to read: "Preferred letters of reference come from clinicians who have supervised the applicant in a health care setting, and can thoroughly address patient care abilities as well as speculate on prospects for becoming a successful PA in the future." MEDEX advises setting each evaluator's deadline at least two weeks before the application deadline.