Physician Assistant Program - Elizabethtown College

Master of Science
in Physician Assistant Studies

Study for your Master of Science degree in Physician Assistant Studies at Elizabethtown College. We offer two entry options for incoming students to the program; a combined BS/MS degree over five and a half years for incoming first-year E-town students or a standalone master’s degree over 25 months for students with a bachelor’s degree from E-town or another institution. Learn more about how you can earn your MS in Physician Assistant Studies.

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2 Pathways, 1 Program:

Accelerated Pre-Physician Assistant Program

Graduate Program

Program Summary

The Physician Assistant (PA) program will provide you with an education that is centered on service and integrates interdisciplinary learning, ensuring that you have experience in a range of primary care and specialized healthcare settings.

At the culmination of the program, students will sit for the Physician Assistant National Certification Exam (PANCE). After successful completion of the exam, graduates will be able to work as a physician assistant in medical facilities across the nation in specialized areas of clinical practice, as well as in research occupations or academia.

Meet the Staff

Dr. Lynn Eckrote,
MPAS, PA-C

Founding PA Program Director

Lynn Eckrote began at Elizabethtown College in August 2018. She earned her bachelor of science degree in biology from Pennsylvania State University, her master in physician assistant studies from King’s College, and her doctorate in education from the University of New England. Lynn worked the majority of her clinical career in Internal Medicine and Psychiatry prior to entering academia. She had been in both a clinical director and program director position prior to founding the Elizabethtown Physician Assistant Program.

Dedicated to providing healthcare education to future providers and ensuring that Elizabethtown’s mission of Educate for Service continues in the physician assistant program, Lynn maintains a focus of looking for motivation, empathy, and critical thinking skills in her students. Lynn is committed to providing students with an education that is centered on service and integrates interdisciplinary learning.

Larissa D Whitney,
MHS, PA-C

Clinical Coordinator and Faculty Instructor

Larissa Whitney joined the Elizabethtown College Physician Assistant Program in 2019 and serves as the program’s clinical coordinator.

Larissa is a 2010 magna cum laude graduate of the Pennsylvania College of Technology Physician Assistant Program and honors graduate of Nova Southeastern University’s Master of Health Science Program. She has worked in higher education since 2015, and has co-authored chapters in two medical education textbooks. Larissa continues to maintain her clinical skills in trauma and acute care surgery.

Committed to educating compassionate and competent students, Larissa is eager to fulfill Elizabethtown’s mission of educate for service. Her clinical and teaching interests include clinical medicine, clinical procedures, diagnostic and imaging studies, critical care medicine, and end of life care.

Tiffani Russ

Medical Director

Dr. Tiffani Russ graduated from York College of Pennsylvania prior to attending medical school at Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine. Dr. Russ was born and raised in York County and after medical school decided to return to York to complete her residency in Emergency Medicine at York Memorial Hospital. Dr. Russ currently works as an Attending Physician for Lancaster Emergency Associates as well as York Memorial Hospital. Her research includes an “Evaluation of Application of Continuous Positive Airway Pressure of BLS providers for Generalized Respiratory Distress” (2014). When not working at the hospital, Dr. Russ enjoys spending time with her family, competing in triathlons, and she is a firefighter at Wrightsville and York Area United Fire and Rescue.

Dionna Rookey,
MS, PA-C

Faculty

Dionna Rookey joined Elizabethtown College in 2019. She earned a bachelor of science degree in biology from Valdosta State University, a master of science degree in medical microbiology from the University of Georgia and a master of science in physician assistant studies from Philadelphia University. Dionna has worked in family medicine since graduating in 2007. She has practiced in Alaska, Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Dionna additionally started work in education in 2013 and found a second love.

Dionna is dedicated to teaching students to embrace all of what makes people love, think and live. Dionna believes in education for service and is excited to both continue and discover new ways to integrate students and community together. Her teaching interests include clinical reasoning, patient communication and all aspects of primary care.

Stephanie VanderMey

Administrative Assistant

Stephanie began working at Elizabethtown College in September 2015. Prior to joining the Physician Assistant Program in the summer of 2019, Stephanie was an administrative assistant in the department of Business. Stephanie received her Associates in Administrative Specialist in Health from Robert Morris College in May 1989 and her Bachelor’s in Human Resource Management from St. Leo University in June 1999.

Are you ready to elevate your career? Get started now with an M.S. in Physician Assistant from Elizabethtown College.

Program Timeline

Timeline for Accelerated Students:

November 2019
Application due to the ARC-PA
Fall/Winter 2019
Interviews for accelerated students
February 2020
Initial Site Visit
August 2020
First cohort of accelerated students enters the undergraduate Bachelor of Science Biology/Allied Health Concentration curriculum
July 2022
Second Provisional Site Visit
December 2023
First cohort of accelerated students begins the PA program
May 2024
First cohort of accelerated students receive their Bachelor of Science Biology/Allied Health Concentration degree
January 2024-July 2024
Final Provisional Site Visit
January 2025
First cohort of accelerated students enters the clinical year of the PA program
December 2025
First cohort of accelerated students graduates with a Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies

Timeline for Graduate Students:

October/November 2019
CASPA Application opens
November 2019
Application due to the ARC-PA
February 2020
Initial Site Visit
May/June 2020
Interviews for first PA program cohort
December 2020
First PA program cohort begins didactic curriculum
January 2022
First PA program cohort begins clinical year
July 2022
Second provisional site visit
December 2022
First PA program cohort graduates with a Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies
January 2024-July 2024
Final Provisional Site Visit

Professional Accreditation

Elizabethtown College has applied for Accreditation-Provisional from the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA). Elizabethtown College anticipates matriculating its first class in December 2020, pending achieving Accreditation-Provisional status at the June 2020 ARC-PA meeting. Accreditation-Provisional is an accreditation status granted when the plans and resources allocation, if fully implemented as planned, of a proposed program that has not yet enrolled students appear to demonstrate the program’s ability to meet the ARC-PA Standards or when a program holding accreditation-provisional status appears to demonstrate continued progress in with the Standards as it prepares for the graduation of the first class (cohort) of students.

Master of Science
in Physician Assistant Studies

2 Pathways, 1 Program:

What does a Physician Assistant do?

Program Summary