Community Engagement

Welcome to Morehouse School of Medicine’s Physician Assistant Program (MSM PA), where we are doing our part to lead the advancement of health equity. Community engagement at MSM PA Program increases the community’s capacity to shape outcomes in concert with advancing the academic goals of the MSM PA Program and the health equity mission of MSM.

Community Engagement at the MSM PA Program is faculty supporting our PA Students in action, engaged in service-learning. Service-learning activities that integrate meaningful community service with instruction and evaluation to enrich the learning experience, teaching social determinants of health through civic participation, and strengthening communities through improved health outcomes.

PA Community Events

Coming soon! Please check back regularly for updates.

Program Rural Health Initiatives

Advancing Rural Health Through Education and Innovation

Morehouse School of Medicine’s Physician Assistant (PA) Program is proud to lead three HRSA funded transformative initiatives— Physician Assistant Leadership Superstars (PALS), Georgia Rural Health Outreach Workforce (GROW), and Rural Mental-Behavioral Health Access in Primary Care Services (MAPS)—each designed to strengthen the rural and underserved healthcare workforce while advancing equity in access, education, and care delivery.

PALS (Physician Assistants Leadership Superstars)

Grant# D57HP35367
The PALS program prepares PA students to serve with compassion and cultural humility in medically underserved communities. Through community engagement, clinical training, and service-learning, PALS fosters leadership, resilience, and a deep commitment to health equity among future providers.

GROW (Georgia Rural-Health Outreach Workforce)

Grant# T9DHP45633
GROW expands the perspectives of PA students and preceptors by exploring how social determinants—such as culture, food insecurity, and limited access to care—shape health outcomes in Black, Brown, and rural populations. The program promotes a holistic understanding of conditions like eating disorders, empowering clinicians to identify and address them within the broader context of rural health disparities.

The purpose of the Georgia Rural Health Outreach Workforce (GROW) Training Program is to provide Morehouse School of Medicine PA students with an enhanced training experience in rural areas and increase the ability of rural primary care PAs to identify and address health disparities in rural communities. MSM PA students who are accepted into the Rural Healthcare Track (RHCT) will:

Gain hands-on experience as part of a rural health learning community.
Participate in experiential didactic learning and clinical training in rural communities nationwide.
Complete research projects on emergent and cutting-edge rural health issues.
Receive a stipend of $2,000 for every 4-week primary care (pediatrics, internal medicine, family medicine) clinical rotation at an approved rural site (up to $10,000).

Rural MAPS (Mental-Behavioral Health Access in Primary Care Services)

Grant# T8RHP53143
Rural MAPS builds pathways for rural student engagement and mentorship while enhancing PA training through telehealth integration, community partnerships, and experiential learning. By connecting students, faculty, and local health systems, Rural MAPS strengthens the rural health pipeline and supports sustainable models of care delivery in resource-limited areas.

Each grant focuses on providing preceptor and PA student training in the following areas: Transformative leadership, Medication for Opioid Use Disorder, Essentials for Practice Change Improvement, Patient and Family Centered Care, Quality Improvement, and Policy and Advocacy. Together, these grants reflect Morehouse School of Medicine’s commitment to cultivating a diverse, community-centered healthcare workforce dedicated to improving health outcomes for all.

For more information: https://www.msm.edu/physicianassistantprogram/admissions.php

PA Community Stakeholders and Partners

Coming soon.

Photo Gallery