Wagner College announced the appointment of Tracy L. Jackson, M.A., PA-C, to direct its program in physician assistant studies, beginning Jan. 2.
The college also announced that the P.A. program’s accreditation has been renewed until 2029.
Tracy Jackson has a deep and rich roster of professional affiliations. She currently serves as a member of the Governance and Ethics Board of the Physician Assistants Educators Association. From 2017 to 2018, she served as president of the New York State Society of Physician Assistants.
“I am honored to be joining the Wagner community as director of physician assistant studies,” Jackson said. “I look forward to getting to know our students and faculty, and working collaboratively to further the mission of the college and P.A. program.”
“We welcome Tracy Jackson to the Wagner community,” said Wagner College President Joel W. Martin. “Ms. Jackson is a highly qualified and impressive medical professional, educator, and leader. Wagner P.A. graduates are playing a critical role in addressing our country’s workforce needs in the medical services field. I have confidence that she will energize our well-regarded P.A. program and help lead our students to success in service to society.
“I also thank Professor Gail Tiburzi for her excellent interim leadership of the program.”
Tiburzi has served as interim director of Wagner College’s P.A. program since August.
Tracy Jackson, currently an adjunct assistant professor at Le Moyne College’s physician assistant program, was the interim dean and program director for the CUNY School of Medicine’s P.A. program from 2016 through 2018. Before that, she was clinical coordinator and medical lecturer in the Harlem Hospital P.A. program of the CUNY Sophie Davis School of Biomedical Education from 2008 to 2016.
Jackson’s clinical experience as a physician assistant began in 1997 as a pediatrics and adolescent medicine P.A. at the LBJ Health Complex School Health Program in Brooklyn. Since then, she has worked as a senior P.A. in the Harlem Hospital Center Department of Pediatrics School Health Program, from 1998 to 2008, and as a pediatrics and neonatology P.A. at Long Island College Hospital Center from 2009 to 2014.
Tracy Jackson earned her B.A. in health science from Lehman College, her physician assistant certificate from the Bronx Lebanon Hospital Center, and an M.A. in health promotion/disease prevention and her Certified Health Educational Specialist certification from the Lehman College School of Graduate Studies. She is presently a doctoral candidate in educational leadership administration and policy: urban education at the Fordham University Graduate School of Education.
About the P.A. program
Wagner College’s physician assistant program, created in the mid-1990s, currently has 200 students enrolled.
The program has more than 40 clinical affiliates in New York City and four international clinical sites.
The program has shown strong results for its students, with 94% of the students who initially enrolled in the program successfully completing their degrees.
Wagner P.A. graduates have an outstanding record on certification testing with the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants. Since 2014, Wagner graduates have had a 100 percent overall pass rate. In 2018, Wagner’s first-time pass rate was 100 percent, exceeding the national rate. Visit our website for more details.
Wagner P.A. students have also done very well in securing the employment they desire. For the last 5 years, all graduates have obtained employment as physician assistants in their chosen area of clinical interest.
The Wagner College physician assistant program is part of Wagner’s longstanding commitment to education in the health sciences. Wagner College’s Evelyn L. Spiro School of Nursing offers bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees in nursing practice and Family Nurse Practitioner certification.
Wagner College also offers a new health sciences major that lays the groundwork for careers in physical therapy, occupational therapy, genetic counseling, speech therapy and other health-related careers.
Accreditation renewed until 2029
Following a rigorous review process, the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant informed Wagner College on Nov. 6 that its P.A. program’s accreditation has been renewed until 2029.
The ARC-PA provided the following statement:
The Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant, Inc. (ARC-PA) has granted Accreditation-Continued status to the Wagner College Physician Assistant Program. … Accreditation-Continued is an accreditation status granted when a currently accredited program is in compliance with the ARC-PA Standards.
Accreditation remains in effect until the program closes or withdraws from the accreditation process or until accreditation is withdrawn for failure to comply with the Standards. The approximate date for the next validation review of the program by the ARC-PA will be September 2029. The review date is contingent upon continued compliance with the Accreditation Standards and ARC-PA policy.
