Tripler Army Medical Center graduates two Soldiers, Capt. Frances Lang and 1st Lt. Edwin Cuevas, from its Interservice Physician Assistant Program (IPAP) on October 2, 2014.
Historically, the development of the Physician Assistant originated from a lack of medical doctors in both the military and civilian health care systems and has only been recognized for 45 years.
"Today, Military PAs not only serve as the Soldier's primary care provider, but also stand alongside them at the point of injury on the battlefield and have the distinction of being the most deployed Area of Concentration in our Army Medical Department today," stated Rocco Laudadio, PA-C, Doctor of Health Science, TAMC.
The mission of IPAP is to educate and train Physician Assistants for the uniformed, where upon commissioning into their respective service can then take their place beside other military health care professionals in providing medical services to active duty military personnel, their dependents, and retirees.
"The Army offers well qualified Officers, Warrant Officers, Enlisted Soldiers, and ROTC Cadets an incredible educational opportunity to become a Physician Assistant (PA) through the Interservice Physician Assistant Program (IPAP). The training tempo is fast and requires students to be fully committed to the program and eliminate any distractions during training," stated Laudadio.
In order to graduate the IPAP program students must complete Phase 1 which consists of basic medical science courses intended to develop a student's knowledge of critical medical concepts and Phase 2 where they continue with their medical clerkships at one of the 21 medical Phase 2 sites across the country.
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