Written & submitted by Alec Styer, PA-S
South College Asheville PA Program
Alec Styer is a Physician Assistant Student at South College Asheville. He has also served as the NCAPA Student Representative for his PA program.
The South College of Asheville launched their PA program in 2023, established with a goal of creating quality healthcare professionals to serve in urban and rural underserved communities. It is a 27-month program matriculating up to 85 students in January, with graduating a class in March. The campus is located about 10 minutes from downtown Asheville.
Currently, academics are split into 15 months of didactic education and 12 months of clinical education split into eight different rotations with seven core rotations and one elective rotation. Rotations are throughout the state of North Carolina, with additional sites throughout the continental United States. The didactic education component is split into 5 quarters, 11 weeks long in the first quarter foundations are built through Anatomy, Physiology, Laboratory Medicine, professional issues and the beginning of a Health and Physical exam class. The second quarter is the start of our Clinical Assessment class, which spans until the end of the fourth quarter. During these classes, we cover different body systems over the span of 2-3 weeks as they relate to clinical adult medicine.
We also begin pharmacology which spans until the end of quarter 4. Individual classes in Pediatrics, Women’s Health, Neurology, Emergency Medicine, Surgery and Geriatrics are also occurring over the course of the last three quarters. Each student in the program must also complete at least 20 volunteer hours prior to graduation leading to over 1,700 total hours of community service at the minimum.
It is a special time for South College PA program; of the three classes, each one is experiencing an exciting endeavor in their professional careers.
- The charter class of 2025 have pioneered their way through and are looking forward to finishing capstone projects, clinical rotations, and being the first graduating class in program history.
- The second cohort, class of 2026, of which I am part of, is finishing up didactic year and preparing to start their clinical rotations. We are excited to see what these experiences hold and connect everything learned into real practicing medicine.
- Lastly, the class of 2027 has recently matriculated and is very excited for the beginning of their educational career. Each class looks forward to the challenges and rewards of being a PA and can’t wait to see what the future holds for the profession.
Find more information on South College Asheville’s PA program here: https://www.south.edu/physician-assistant-studies-asheville/
