Grand Valley State University officials recently announced that a new scholarship will enter the picture next fall for physician assistant studies majors going into primary care.

Students who are accepted into the 18-month program have the opportunity to apply for the scholarship, which, if received, would pay for $22,000 of their education costs for two years. It covers tuition and awards a small stipend for other expenses.

The scholarship was created after GVSU received two grants totaling over $1.7 million. GVSU is one of the 28 universities that received the funding in the U.S. Nationwide, 149 college and universities applied for the grant.

The funding will allow the PAS program to expand its limited enrollment by three students each year, increasing from 35 to 48 by 2014. The grants were designed to increase the number of individuals majoring in physician assistant studies and specializing in primary care.

“Medical students and P.A. students are migrating towards the specialty areas,” Andrew Booth, a professor in the PAS program, said. “Only forty percent of those who have been graduating from our program have been

going into primary care.”

The national grant program was funded by the Health Resources and Services Administration as part of President Barack Obama’s health care reform bill.

“It will bode well for the community,” Roy Olsson, Jr., dean of the College of Health Professions, said.

Scholarship applications will be reviewed by a committee and evaluated based on criteria like grade-point average, Olsson said.

The PAS program expects to receive $88,000 from the grant next year. The remaining portions will be awarded in a series of payments.

The American Recovery grant will provide $300,000 for new equipment in the Simulation Center.

“The Simulation Center is designed to be a very interdisciplinary program, so all health professions and nursing students will be able to take advantage of this supportive technology,” PAS Director Wallace Boeve said.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported last year that physician assistant is the fastest-growing career across the country.

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