Our Mission
Our mission is to train outstanding physician assistant clinicians as generalist medical providers to serve communities in Manitoba and across Canada. Through leading the field in academic preparation of physician assistants, we nurture future leaders in the profession, meeting the needs of students, patients, the public, government and employers. We are proud to teach reflective medicine that considers the full patient narrative, always seeking to improve access to high-quality medical care by placing the patient first.
We are proud to offer Canada’s only graduate-level physician assistant (PA) educational program and a shadowing program for students wishing to pursue formal education as a PA. MPAS is committed to educating outstanding Physician Assistants as generalist medical providers and leaders committed to our communities' service, wellness, and healing.
About the Program
MPAS is a 25-month Faculty of Graduate Studies professional course-based degree program administered in the Max Rady College of Medicine of the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, an academic section in the Department of Family Medicine. The first cohort started in August of 2008 and graduated in September 2010. The Program's Graduates are awarded the Master of Physician Assistant Studies degree at the University's Fall Convocation.
The curriculum emphasizes engagement in our community, appreciating responsibilities for service, and the practice of patient-centred medicine. The approach embraces a spiral curriculum with horizontal integration of topics and revisiting materials at different difficulty and complexity levels. As educators, we have a responsibility to create conditions, provide tools and procedures for helping learners discover their "needs to know." Embracing and accepting the principles of andragogy, MPAS organizes clinical practice applications or Entrustable Professional Activities for the Physician Assistants (EPA-PA) tasks, categories and sequenced according to the learners' readiness to learn.
The curriculum prepares Physician Assistants, academically and clinically, to function as critical thinkers and medical generalists who practice medicine within a formalized structure with physicians. This structure is influenced by the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Manitoba (CPSM) and the National PA Competency Framework, defining the degree of autonomy required in the collaborative and clinical practice authorization.
EPA’s:
EPA 1 Practices patient-focused, safe, ethical, professional, and culturally competent medical care across the healthcare continuum.
EPA 2 Obtains histories and performs physical examinations, demonstrating the clinical judgement appropriate to the clinical situation.
EPA 3 Formulates clinical questions and gathers required clinical evidence to advance patient care and communicates those results to the patient and medical team.
EPA 4 Formulates and prioritizes comprehensive differential diagnoses.
EPA 5 Develops and implements patient-centered, evidence-based treatment plans within the formalized physician, clinical team and caregiver relationship.
EPA 6 Accurately documents the clinical encounter incorporating the patient's goals, caregiver goals, decision-making, and reports into the clinical record.
EPA 7 Collaborates as a member of an inter-professional team in all aspects of patient care including transition of care responsibility.
EPA 8 Recognizes a patient requiring immediate care, providing the appropriate management and seeking help as needed.
EPA 9 Plans and performs procedures and therapies for the assessment and the medical management appropriate for general practice.
EPA 10 Engages and educates patients on procedures, disease management, health promotion, wellness, and preventive medicine.
EPA 11 Recognizes and advocates for the patient concerning cultural, community, and social needs in support of positive mental and physical wellness.
EPA 12 Integrates continuing professional and patient quality improvement, life-long learning, and scholarship.
Contact Information
Please direct all inquiry to: MPAS@umanitoba.ca
You will receive a response within 2 business days.
Program Address:
260 Brodie Centre - 727 McDermot Avenue
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, R3E 3P5
Tel: (204) 272-3094
Fax: (204) 789-3929