Rochester, New York has firmly established itself as a hub for physician assistant (PA) education and practice. With its cluster of highly-ranked training programs, robust employment demand from area health systems, and excellent pay benchmarking wider regional scales, the city offers prime prospects for those looking to break into this continuously growing allied healthcare profession.
The PA Profession‘s Rising Prominence in Rochester
Originally pioneered in the 1960s to support understaffed medical teams, the PA role has rapidly expanded in scope and stature across every U.S. state over recent decades. As of 2018, there were nearly 140,000 certified PAs practicing nationwide according to the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA) – representing a 185% increase over just 15 years prior.
This growth trajectory has been especially pronounced in the Rochester metropolitan area. As the city‘s population ages and large regional heath networks like the University of Rochester Medical Center and Rochester Regional Health move to broaden patient access, demand for PA support services has intensified.
Per projections from the New York State Department of Labor, PA jobs situated in the Rochester metro will swell 31.4% over the current decade compared to 19.9% average growth for all area occupations. This translates to an average of 35 new PA openings annually that will need qualified candidates to fill them.
Further underscoring these robust career prospects, the mean annual wage for PAs practicing in the Rochester metro stood at $123,530 as of May 2021 according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) – 17% higher than the national average. This earnings potential aligned with a wider Upstate NY region grappling with healthcare labor shortfalls positions PAs to command very competitive salaries into the foreseeable future.
Top-Ranked PA Programs Providing Local Talent
Rochester‘s educational institutions have moved swiftly over the past 15-20 years to ramp up specialized PA training programs supplying talent into this high-demand field. Ranging from graduate universities to an associate degree offering, these well-regarded local programs provide rigorous academics, extensive practical experiences, top-notch faculty, and excellent pass rates on the Physician Assistant National Certifying Exam (PANCE) – the field‘s foremost credentialing test.
We profile 5 of Rochester‘s most prominent PA programs below based on national rankingscompiled by U.S. News & World Report, student outcomes tracked by the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA), and graduate career placement success.
Roberts Wesleyan College Physician Assistant Program
As the Rochester area‘s first PA training offering earning ARC-PA accreditation back in 2008, Roberts Wesleyan College‘s 28-month master‘s program has firmly established itself as top regional choice and national leader.
Covering a comprehensive range of medical disciplines and returning excellent PANCE first-time pass rates, Robert Wesleyan notes these strengths:
- State-of-the-art simulation spaces replicating hospital settings
- Early patient contact and over 2,000 clinical hours
- 100% of graduates receiving job offers within 6 months
Ryan Smith, student in the college‘s current Physician Assistant Studies cohort, praised the curriculum‘s quality and experiential focus: “Between high-fidelity mannequins, virtual reality lesions, and patient actors, we gain invaluable practice gathering medical histories, conducting exams, ordering tests, and presenting treatment plans before ever stepping into real clinical environments."
Program leadership also spotlight close coordination with regional health systems as a key distinction. Dr. Igor Share, Clinical Coordinator and Associate Professor, states: "We maintain exceptional relationships and regular dialogues with Rochester Regional Health, UR Medicine, and other top area employers who provide rotations and enthusiastically recruit our graduates. These ties ensure students are trained on the latest medical techniques and hired seamlessly into local practice."
Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) Physician Assistant Program
As an innovative research university, RIT launched its PA program in 2017 to much regional fanfare. The program bills itself as offering students transformative medical education at the intersection of technology, creativity, and human need.
Dr. Maria Claver, founding chair and Program Director, spotlights RIT‘s pioneering approach: "Our 27-month curriculum leverages advanced simulation, virtual reality, informatics, and robotics applied through an interprofessional lens. This experiential learning model develops crucial critical thinking, emotional intelligence, and technical abilities."
She also cites strong post-graduate outcomes among early cohorts: "Inaugural graduates achieved a 97% first-time PANCE pass rate while 100% secured clinical employment – half right here in Rochester. Our students‘ academic and career success speaks volumes."
SUNY Brockport Physician Assistant Program
Dating back to the mid-1990s, The State University of New York‘s Brockport campus offers a reputable public graduate school option at the PA master‘s level.
The program firmly believes in exposing students early and often to practical environments, requiring over 2,000 hours of hands-on clinical training. Other advantages include:
- High PANCE first-time pass rate of 96% over past 5 years
- Interprofessional education through group case analyses
Brockport also uniquely allows students to specialize in Neurology or Pediatrics through focused electives – an offering which applicant Linda Park found appealing compared to other non-specialized programs. She shared: "I aspire to work in pediatrics, so having the opportunity to take dedicated course modules through Brockport‘s program while getting generalist experience too makes it the perfect fit."
Community College of Beaver County PA Program
While located across the Pennsylvania border from Rochester proper in the town of Monaca, CCBC‘s associate degree PA track has a strong reputation in nearby Southern Tier New York communities. The program notes the following strengths:
- Comprehensive 27-month curriculum
- Extensive simulation lab mirroring healthcare settings
- Clinical rotations at leading UPMC hospitals
CCBC also reports exceptional 100% first-time PANCE pass rates over the past decade alongside superlative in-state job placement figures, making it a hidden gem among options in western New York.
Le Moyne College Physician Assistant Program
Traveling slightly east, Le Moyne College located in Syracuse offers a private not-for-profit graduate school choice. While not Rochester-based itself, Le Moyne‘s program accepts many applicants from Rochester and greater Finger Lakes region.
Program advantages include:
- Suburban campus providing safety/livability
- Interprofessional education through medical model casework
- 100% PANCE first-time pass rate the past 5 years
The program also has a strong reputation among regional employers like St. Joseph‘s Health. Graduate Owen Marks who now practices there in specialty care commented: "Le Moyne prepared me thoroughly for the board exam while connecting me locally. I gained incredibly relevant experience paired with psychiatrists, cardiologists, and primary doctors through Syracuse-area rotations."
Beyond the profiled options above currently training 200+ future PAs collectively, other solid programs within or near to the Rochester metro include Alfred University, Nazareth College, St. John Fisher College, SUNY Upstate Medical University. I advise prospective students to thoroughly research all programs matching their academic and professional interests.
The Student Experience: Life in Rochester
Beyond delivering superb academic preparation and clinical skills training, Rochester‘s nationally accredited PA programs facilitate rich experiential learning and community immersion opportunities benefiting enrolled students.
Physician assistant students spend much of their first year hitting the books through dense coursework in medical sciences, ethics, and technical skills at their respective colleges or universities. But the city of Rochester itself – home to over 210,000 residents – also plays a lead role in their education.
Early patient interactions through shadowing and internships introduce students to delivering care across Rochester‘s economically, racially, and culturally diverse neighborhoods. This hands-on community work understanding patient populations persists through a focus on public health course modules and group capstone projects tackling regional healthcare access barriers.
But learning also occurs informally through the array of foodie, craft brewery, athletics, arts and cultural attractions making Rochester a richly textured place to live as young adult. Museums spotlighting local history, a vibrant music scene led by Eastman School of Music, and minor league sports franchises providing affordable entertainment all cater to busy – but socially-motivated – PA students.
Kat Matthews a Rochester native who graduated from Roberts Wesleyan‘s program in 2021 shares more on navigating school-life balance:
"My cohort and I worked incredibly hard during our clinical year logging long hospital shifts across rotating specialties. But we still made time on evenings or weekends to unwind and just be 20-somethings enjoying everything Rochester had to offer socially."
She continues, "My classmates who moved to Rochester all ended up staying after graduation because they fell in love with the city and put down roots spanning their whole PA journey there. Now we cheer the Amerks hockey team together years later!"
Entering the Rochester Healthcare Workforce
Following 27 months of rigorous education, over 2,000 hours of clinical rotations, and passing the PANCE board exam, graduates from Rochester-based PA programs stand poised to launch thriving medical careers right in their backyards.
Local networking contacts and name recognition for regional programs ease the complex licensing and job placement processes, though specific steps required do vary state-to-state. We outline core processes below for New York State – where most students seek to practice post-graduation:
Getting Licensed
Before treating any patients, PA program graduates must achieve proper credentials including:
- NCCPA Certification – Passing the PANCE exam
- State Licensure – Petitioning the NY State Education Department (NYSED)
- DEA Registration – Obtaining a federal Controlled Substances License
Next, working in collaboration with a supervising physician, newly certified PAs can provide autonomous diagnosis, treatment, triage, and specialty care aligned to arrangement terms. Signing agreements with individual doctors or entities like hospital networks, they can excel in diverse settings:
PA Career Settings in Rochester
- Primary Care Offices
- Emergency Departments
- Surgical Units
- Psychiatric Centers
- Colleges & Research Institutes
We spotlight experiences of two practicing PAs below in profiling how Rochester education experience fed into regional healthcare careers:
Profile #1: Hospitalist PA
Tim White works as a hospitalist PA locally based out of Highland Hospital, a large community hospital within the University of Rochester Medical Center system.
He completed clinical rotations at Highland before joining their residency program upon graduating RIT‘s PA track in 2020. Now as a fully licensed staff member, Tim conducts patient rounds, recommends treatment interventions, assists bedside procedures, and communicates care plan updates across the medical team.
Tim outlines his contributions: "By managing documentation, placements, and some direct care alongside attending physicians, I ensure our unit‘s 75 patients receive timely interventions. I feel fully empowered to use sound judgment guiding their hospital stays."
He continues discussing career choice factors beyond direct compensation: "I aspired to become a PA expressly to serve my hometown experiencing a devastating opioid epidemic. Rochester nurtured me professionally through superb clinical training at RIT. Now I feel so privileged to be healing and giving hope back to my community which educated me."
Profile #2: Orthopedics Surgical PA
Former SUNY Brockport graduate student Julia Wright works in Rochester General Hospital‘s orthopedic trauma unit as a surgical PA under the supervision of several staff physicians.
On typical days she conducts pre-operation evaluations assessing injury severity, confirms appropriate surgical approach with attending surgeons, assists directly in the OR suite with anesthesia and hardware installations, and oversees patient discharge processes ensuring proper at-home recovery protocols.
Julia emphasizes the latitude granted to maximize her impact, saying: "Whether leading stabilized fracture reductions or advising surgeons on robotic arm precision, I make high-level medical determinations requiring complex analysis. The attending doctors and residents I support provide guidance when needed, but largely trust my expertise honed through rigorous PA coursework and training here locally."
Why Train as a PA in Rochester?
As illustrated throughout this insider guide, Rochester offers an exceptionally high quality, high value destination for those seeking to establish careers as physician assistants – arguably one of medicine‘s most promising positions looking towards the future.
The region provides:
- Top nationally ranked PA programs
- Lower cost-of-living than major metros
- High graduate job placement rates
- Earning potential greater than national averages
- A vibrant, cultured, and livable city
Kat Matthews, who we have followed as example Rochester PA student turned practicing dermatology physician assistant, offers apt parting guidance:
"The smartest decision I made professionally was attending PA school in the place I envisioned launching my career. Rochester nurtured me academically through an amazing graduate program while letting me build essential relationships across the regional healthcare continuum. If you feel committed practicing here like I did, train in this fantastic city and lay roots for the long term!"
I hope this guide has provided helpful perspective and inspiration in your journey pursuing this massively rewarding PA career path. Please feel welcome reaching out if any other questions arise on Rochester‘s exceptional educational offerings or booming job market. I wish you the very best, future physician assistant!