LCSC, ISU partner for north Idaho program to train physician assistants

Idaho State University will partner with Lewis-Clark State College to place a new physician assistant training cohort in northern Idaho, the schools announced.

ISU runs the state’s only physician assistant training program. Its PA students currently train in southern Idaho locations, including Pocatello, Meridian and the Treasure Valley.

The new cohort of 15 students will train in 21 clinical sites, including Lewiston, Moscow, Coeur d’Alene, Sandpoint, Bonners Ferry and Kooskia.

Idaho faces a severe provider shortage with some of the lowest numbers of physicians per capita in the country, according to a 2022 report by the Association of American Medical Colleges. Training mid-level practitioners, including PAs and nurse practitioners, is especially important, ISU President Kevin Satterlee said during an online news conference.

“They actually deliver more direct primary care to patients than doctors do in this state,” he said. 

According to the Idaho Department of Labor, physician assistant is the fourth most high-demand job in the state.

One of the biggest challenges Idaho doctors face, according to a survey by the Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and Idaho (WWAMI) medical training program at the University of Washington, is complexity of patient care. 

Complex health conditions often are caused when patients don’t get early intervention for less severe health problems, often because they lack a primary care provider.

Idaho is in a health care provider crisis, said LCSC President Cynthia Pemberton. The two institutions’ partnership can begin to address those needs.

“As of today, it will be possible for students living in North Idaho to pursue physician assistant graduate studies,” Pemberton said. “This is a tremendous opportunity for students and a critically important step for our state.”

In addition to the new cohort, Satterlee said, ISU and LCSC will be guaranteed interviews into ISU’s PA program and provide a seamless transition between undergraduate and graduate studies, Satterlee said.

The two institutions also will consider the expansion of LCSC undergraduate programs, namely physical and occupational therapy, which feeds into graduate-level studies at ISU, Pemberton said. 

“It’s not only a natural progression from our undergraduate through graduate education,” she said. “But, really, the potential is from the two-year program all the way up to the graduate level.”

However, Satterlee said, plans for hands-on training at clinical sites have yet to be developed. Satterlee is scheduled to retire in December. Pemberton is one of five finalists for his position.