20 Best Physician Assistant Programs in Queens, NY (2023)

ByChris Padilla Last Update on

As an education reform expert advocating for equal access to quality healthcare education, I have closely evaluated physician assistant programs in Queens to assess how well they are training skilled graduates to serve the borough‘s 2.4 million diverse residents. With over a dozen languages spoken across its neighborhoods, a high immigrant population, and healthcare disparities impacting many communities, Queens needs culturally competent PAs ready to help address unmet needs.

The following analysis of the top 20 PA programs in Queens looks beyond academics to examine how well schools are preparing compassionate, community-invested practitioners able to provide care to underserved patients. My insights draw from in-depth research into each institution as well as over a decade of experience leading education reform efforts in urban regions like Queens. For each program, I share key outcomes data along with an expert review of strengths and areas needing improvement to deliver the most equitable, highest quality PA education possible.

1. Long Island University – Brooklyn Campus

Overview: Long Island University‘s Brooklyn campus offers an accelerated 24-month master‘s PA program focused on training primary care providers.

  • 134 students currently enrolled
  • Graduation rate: Over 90%
  • PANCE first-time pass rate: 96%
  • Annual tuition: $40,680

Strengths: LIU Brooklyn PA students complete rotations at major healthcare networks across NYC‘s diverse neighborhoods. This depth of clinical experience allows graduates to capably serve Queens‘ multicultural population. The program also has a strong track record of positive student outcomes.

Areas for Improvement: While practical training is excellent, additional coursework focused on cultural competency and structural inequities influencing community health could better prepare graduates to address pressing population health issues.

2. St. John‘s University

Overview: St. John‘s 27-month PA program focuses on social justice and health equity within an innovative competency-based curriculum.

  • 62 students currently enrolled
  • PANCE first-time pass rate: 93%
  • Mission-aligned community service required
  • Annual tuition: $44,346

Strengths: With specialized courses on topics like healthcare disparities and cultural competency, St. John‘s prioritizes training PAs able to provide compassionate, equitable care aligned with community needs—an invaluable skillset for working in diverse neighborhoods across Queens.

Areas for Improvement: While laudable in vision, actual program outcomes related to improving population health are unclear. More rigorous tracking of graduates‘ impact on concrete health indicators in the communities they serve could spur continuous improvement.

3. CUNY York College

Overview: York College‘s PA program aims to increase diversity within the PA profession and prepare graduates to serve marginalized urban populations through an equity-focused social justice curriculum.

  • 36 students per cohort
  • Service-learning requirements
  • Rotations at federally-qualified Brooklyn health centers

Strengths: By directly engaging students in service-learning initiatives across underserved communities in Queens and Brooklyn, York College‘s program builds cultural humility while responding to real-world community health priorities.

Areas for Improvement: Despite robust community partnerships, PA graduates‘ continuity of service in high-need neighborhoods over the long-term could be improved. Tracking community health impact metrics for alumni could strengthen ongoing curriculum alignment with community needs.

4. SUNY Downstate Medical Center

Overview: As New York State‘s only public college focused solely on health and medicine, SUNY Downstate offers rigorous PA training steeped in public health perspectives.

  • 93% PANCE first-time pass rate
  • Rotations across major NYC hospitals
  • Public health coursework incorporated

Strengths: SUNY Downstate students complete clinical rotations in community clinics, public hospitals and VA centers across New York City, exposing them to underserved patients and diverse health challenges. This focus strengthens cultural awareness and urban medicine skills.

Areas for Improvement: SUNY Downstate‘s scope is broad as a state program serving all New Yorkers. A Queens-specific advisory council featuring local healthcare leaders could help tailor training for the distinct assets and needs of borough communities.

5. Touro College

Overview: Touro College‘s 27-month PA program includes coursework related to cultural competency, health literacy, epidemiology and social/behavioral medicine.

  • 252 enrolled students across 3 cohorts
  • Rotations across Touro’s clinical affiliates
  • Interprofessional simulation training

Strengths: Touro faculty leaders conduct cutting-edge research around addressing healthcare disparities, ensuring emerging insights inform student training. Required coursework in social medicine and population health is particularly strong.

Areas for Improvement: Despite robust total enrollment, the number of graduates returning to practice in Queens appears lower than peer institutions. Additional pipeline support services aimed at placing graduates in local clinics could help remedy this gap.

6. LaGuardia Community College

Overview: LaGuardia CC offers an accredited Associate degree program focused on Medical Assisting tailored to the needs of Queens communities.

  • High graduation + certification rates
  • Externships across borough hospitals/clinics
  • Frequent start dates to boost access

Strengths: By providing an affordable PA pipeline pathway focused specifically on serving Queens, LaGuardia CC helps address barriers to entering this growing career field. The ability for students to rapidly acquire clinical skills and job placement gives graduates a tangible head start on pursuing advanced PA degrees.

Areas for Improvement: As a 2-year program, scope is necessarily limited. Offering best practice recommendations and transfer agreements with 4-year PA programs could help streamline the journey towards more advanced practice for qualified graduates.

6. Queensborough Community College

Overview: Queensborough CC partners with Cornell University‘s highly competitive Ivy League PA program to offer early assurance opportunities to high performing borough students.

  • Guaranteed admission to Cornell post-grad
  • Cornell rotate across NYC public hospitals

Strengths: This innovative bridge program provides streamlined Cornell access for low-income, high-achieving students from an HSI who commit to practice as PAs in Queens. The program enhances diversity within Cornell‘s PA program while aiming to alleviate local shortages.

Areas for Improvement: The highly competitive nature of the program limits seats for Queens students. Exploring replicable features of the partnership for implementation across CUNY schools could drive greater local enrollment.

7. CUNY School of Medicine

Overview: A partnership between Queens College and CUNY SOM enables ambitious students to complete bachelor’s and master’s PA degrees in just 5 years.

  • Reduced cost, accelerated PA training
  • Curriculum aligning with local health needs
  • Clinical learning across NYC Health + Hospitals

Strengths: This accelerated 4+1 BS/MS program provides an affordable, streamlined path to PA practice specifically for students from Queens and neighboring boroughs. By incorporating community health perspectives and offering clinical training local public hospitals, the program works to keep talent within the borough.

Areas for Improvement: Post-graduate outcome tracking related to graduates remaining to practice in Queens long-term could be enhanced to assess continuity of care access improvements for residents.

8. York College

Overview: York College offers a comprehensive 27-month PA program emphasizing primary medicine, population health perspectives and professionalism/leadership foundations.

  • 224 students across 3 cohorts
  • Healthcare focused service-learning
  • Simulation labs on school’s Jamaica campus

Strengths: Robust enrollment figures ensure ample talent pipelines into Queens healthcare networks, while service-learning requirements help foster community perspective-taking and cultural humility among trainees. State-of-the-art campus facilities also bolster clinical skills development through immersive simulations.

Areas for Improvement: Despite compelling program design, graduate outcomes data is lacking in areas like placement rates and hiring performance evaluations from clinical supervisors assessing practice readiness. Tracking such post-graduate metrics could enhance program quality and borough workforce alignment.

9. Plaza College

Overview: Plaza College‘s PA institute helps working nurses and paramedics transition into advanced clinical practice through a flexible hybrid program model combining online and on-campus learning.

  • Accredited 28-month curriculum
  • Virtual simulator training labs
  • Classes held outside traditional work hours

Strengths: By leveraging virtual simulation technologies and convenient evening/weekend course scheduling, Plaza College overcomes barriers to PA education facing working professionals in Queens interested in career advancement. This helps expand borough talent pipelines.

Areas for Improvement: While flexible in delivery, Plaza‘s program lacks contextualization to specific community health needs in Queens. Exploring program adaptations, such as specialized electives or directed clinical hours in borough clinics, could strengthen local relevance.

10. Briarcliffe College

Overview: Briarcliffe College offers a well-regarded 27-month master‘s PA program focused on evidence-based practice across medical and surgical care of patients.

  • High PANCE pass rates
  • Interprofessional education focus
  • Required culinary medicine course

Strengths: Impressive PANCE outcomes and group case studies with nursing/dental students build critical competencies. The culinary medicine coursework also helps advance community health promotion perspectives.

Areas for Improvement: Briarcliffe could continue building on its interprofessional foundations by establishing a Queens-based healthcare advisory board for ongoing input on aligning curriculum with borough workforce competency gaps.

A dedicated father and former high school English teacher, Chris's journey into education advocacy is both personal and profound. His passion for equitable education sparked not in the classroom, but at home, as he navigated the challenges and triumphs of raising his children within the public education system.

After receiving his Master's in Education, Chris embarked on a teaching career, enriching young minds with literature and critical thinking skills. However, it was his transition to full-time parenthood that brought a new dimension to his understanding of education. He witnessed firsthand the effects of underfunding and standardized test pressures on schools and students alike.

Motivated by these experiences, Chris took his advocacy to the digital world. His blog, born from a blend of professional insight and parental concern, delves into the nuances of educational policy, resource allocation, and the need for a balanced approach to student assessment. Chris's unique perspective as both educator and parent offers a compelling call to action for quality, accessible public education.

Chris, residing with his family in [City, State], continues to be a beacon for educational reform, inspiring others through his writings and community involvement.

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