![\"Two](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sites.udmercy.edu\/alumni\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/88\/2025\/10\/UDM-PA-Program.jpg?resize=1024%2C485&ssl=1\")
University of Detroit Mercy\u2019s Physician Assistant (PA) Program was recently recognized as the top PA program in the United States.<\/p>\nUniversity of Detroit Mercy\u2019s Physician Assistant (PA) Program was recently recognized as the top PA program in the United States.<\/p>\n
The Physician Assistant Education Association (PAEA) honored the UDM PA Program with its 2025 Excellence in PA Education Award. It is one of the highest national recognitions in the field.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis recognition affirms Detroit Mercy\u2019s place as a leader in shaping compassionate, knowledgeable and socially responsible healthcare professionals,\u201d said College of Health Professions Dean Ahmed Radwan.<\/p>\n
Awarded annually, UDM is the only PA program in Michigan to have ever received this honor from the PAEA. There are more than 300 PA programs in the U.S.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo be in number one in the United States and in the ranks with these big-name colleges really says a lot for our program and for our University, all while living up to our mission and identity,\u201d Amy Dereczyk, associate professor and chair of UDM\u2019s PA Program, said.<\/p>\n
Established in 2003, the Excellence in PA Education Award recognizes the achievements and commitments of a PAEA member program that has made noteworthy contributions to promoting educational excellence.<\/p>\n
Criteria for the award includes:<\/p>\n
Students say they\u2019ve experienced first-hand the educational excellence that UDM\u2019s PA Program was recognized for.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe faculty here genuinely care about our growth and want the best for us as future providers,\u201d Kenneth Schmidtke said. \u201cThis award is a reflection of the hard work, compassion and support UDM’s PA program provides for its students.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rosemary Runstadler is proud to be a student in UDM\u2019s PA Program and is excited to serve people as a healthcare professional.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis award highlights our faculty’s dedication to the profession and their commitment to preparing us for a lifetime of service as healthcare providers,\u201d Runstadler said. \u201cIt deepens my pride in being a UDM PA and inspires me to carry that same legacy of excellence into my career.”<\/p>\n
UDM\u2019s PA Program offers both a traditional two-year graduate program as well as a three-year part-time program for working professionals.<\/p>\n
There are also several paths for undergraduate students to pursue the PA master\u2019s degree at UDM, including the Pre-PA Program, which guarantees an interview with the PA admissions committee, and an accelerated five-year program.<\/p>\n
For Dereczyk, being recognized by the PAEA affirms the PA Program\u2019s work and how it fulfills UDM\u2019s Jesuit and Mercy mission.<\/p>\n
\u201cReceiving the PAEA Excellence in PA Education Award is an affirmation of our program\u2019s commitment to academic excellence, compassionate service and advancing access to care,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Learn more about UDM\u2019s\u00a0PA Program<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0College of Health Professions<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" University of Detroit Mercy\u2019s Physician Assistant (PA) Program was recently recognized as the top PA program in the United States. The Physician Assistant Education Association (PAEA) honored the UDM PA Program with its 2025 Excellence in PA Education Award. It is one of the highest national recognitions in the field. …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":66,"featured_media":8576,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[17,30],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sites.udmercy.edu\/alumni\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/88\/2025\/10\/UDM-PA-Program.jpg?fit=1900%2C900&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8Kcng-2ej","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8575"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/66"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8575"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8575\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8577,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8575\/revisions\/8577"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8576"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8575"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8575"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8575"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}