The BScPA Program received Accreditation Status from the CMA (Canadian Medical Association) in December 2011.

The BScPA Program is a distance and distributed education program with the majority of the program delivered on-line. It is expected that students will carry out the on-line learning at home in the first year. This requires the use of high-speed internet access. Students will be required to attend classes in person (‘residential blocks’) for specific time periods to integrate interprofessional education and simulation-based learning for skills development and for hands-on assessments.

The second year of the program is centered on clinical education, with experiences in both Northern and Southern Ontario. Residential blocks, with the requirement of students attending classes in person, will also occur.

Program Overview
Program at a Glance

Year 1 (3 semesters) is academically focused
– Completion of 15 courses in total, including 120 hours of longitudinal clinical experience is expected.
– 4 Mandatory Residential Blocks** will occur: 4 week blocks in each of January, April and August, and a 5 week block November/December. 

Year 2 (3 semesters) is clinically focused
– 40 weeks of supervised direct clinical contact in rural and urban settings.
– Half of the clinical practicum will be assigned in Southern Ontario, half in Northern Ontario. Three Mandatory Residential Blocks will occur: a 2 week block in March, a 2 week block in May/June a 2 week block in October.

Clinical Experiences in Ontario
The BScPA Program is designed so that students may remain in their home community for much of the Program. Although clinical placements occur during Year 2 of the program, students are expected to participate in clinical experiences throughout Year 1. All clinical involvement must occur in Ontario.

Home Training Location
For all students whose primary residence is in Northern Ontario, their Home Training Location will be in the North. For all students whose primary residence is in Southern Ontario, their Home Training Location will be in the South.

It is expected that, as much as possible, the student’s Home Training Location will be in the same community as their primary residence. However, if the community in which they usually reside is not suitable for PA student training, the student will be expected to relocate to a suitable community within their geographic region (North/South).


N-S Swap Training Location
ALL students will be allocated to an N-S Swap Training Location in the other geographic region (North or South) from their Home Training Location.

Northern Ontario is defined by communities affiliated with NOSM.


Full Time Status
The structure of the program requires that all students be registered in the program on a full-time basis. Attendance at all Residential and Evaluation components of the program and participation in all Distance components are mandatory. Employment while enrolled in the full-time professional degree program is strongly discouraged.


Advanced Standing/Transfer
The structure of the program requires that all students complete the entire 24 month curriculum from the beginning. There is no provision for advanced standing or transfer into the program. Prior Learning Assessments will not be considered to grant credits.

** Students are responsible for the cost of their travel and accommodation to the Academic centre (Toronto) during the Residential Blocks in both Year 1 and Year 2.