Physician Assistant Career Program accepts largest cohort  

Classes have begun for UTRGV’s Physician Assistant Career Track (PACT) Early Assurance Program’s largest cohort, which provides students with a conditional admission to the College of Health Professions Master in Physician Assistant Studies (MPAS).

On Sept. 15, UTRGV announced PACT selected eight first-year students for its program last spring. Only 10 high school seniors are able to enter the program each year. The previous cohort consisted of five students. 

PACT Program Coordinator Angelica Urbina said the program helps students avoid fierce MPAS competition.

“So, coming in as a PACT student, they have that seat waiting for them where they don’t have to compete against other people,” Urbina said.

To obtain a place in the MPAS after the PACT program, she said students need to meet certain requirements.  

“They can get any major,” Urbina said. “They just have to make sure they get their bachelor’s degree as well as … take all the prerequisites for PA school. And, they also have to maintain their honor status.”

Jacklyn Espinosa, a biomedical sciences sophomore from Hidalgo Early College High School, is part of this year’s cohort. Espinosa said that when she received the news of her acceptance into PACT, it gave her the motivation to become a physician assistant. 

“I’m very excited,” Espinosa said. “I actually didn’t think I was gonna get in the first place because, I think, like, ‘Oh, the interview didn’t go as great as I thought,’ but once, like, they sent me the email I was super excited. It’s inspiring me more to become a physician assistant in the future.”

Tori Villarreal, a biology junior from Edinburg North High School, said she was overcome with emotion about her acceptance. 

“I had found out right after our [South Texas College] graduation, so I had family with me, and when I got the email, I had literal, like, tears and everything, because it was something we had been waiting for since February, when I turned in the application,” Villarreal said. 

Urbina said it is important to grow the physician assistant population from the Rio Grande Valley because it will mean that students will most likely stay in the area and provide health care to the community. 

She also talked about one of the benefits PACT students have over others outside the program. 

“We invite them to be mock patients in some of our standardized testing,” Urbina said. “And, they get … a little bit of a taste in the practical examinations that our students go through.”

Jhoana Rivera-Ramirez, a senior in PACT Early Assurance Program, provided some words of advice to this year’s cohort.

“They need to have a very rigorous mentality, that, although they are accepted into PA school and they have these academic requirements, it’s important for them to continue growing their passion for the profession,” Rivera-Ramirez said.

To apply, students must be South Texas residents, graduate in their high school’s top 5% with a minimum 3.7 GPA and 3.5 or higher in science courses, and undergo interviews with UTRGV and College of Health Professions faculty and staff, according to its website. Students must also submit recommendation letters, a personal written statement and a video essay.