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Department of Health Sciences

Student Orientation

Welcome to the Physician Assistant Studies Program! We look forward to having you in Chapel Hill. Below are initial steps to take as you prepare to begin the program.

ONYEN (Only Name You’ll Ever Need)

Create an ONYEN if you haven’t already done so. You will need this to access your student portal including information about registration, financial aid and billing.

UNC Email

Once you have created an Onyen and Onyen password, you need to manually signup for the email service by visiting the Email Self Service Tool (selfservice.unc.edu).

For more information, visit How do I get a UNC e-mail account? or contact the ITS Help Desk.

UNC School of Medicine Email

It is important for our students to create an @med.unc.edu email account to correspond with faculty, staff, peers, and preceptors due to the added layers of protection and HIPAA compliance measures for communications throughout the School of Medicine. Please wait 24-48 hours after creation of your UNC email before beginning this step.

The School of Medicine email account will provide a secure server for email exchange. This will be your primary email address and used for all correspondence upon matriculation. Additionally, many software and system components are tied to this email, therefore it is important to accurately establish your SOM email address.

@med.unc.edu Email Account Instructions

Upon creation of your @med.unc.edu email account, please email the program, paprogram@unc.edu, using your SOM email account.

All new students will need to create an account with a third party platform, Exxat, and complete on-boarding tasks prior to orientation. An invitation will be sent to UNC med email addresses to create an account and sign in. Instructions for completion of these tasks will be provided in Exxat.

Tasks include:

  • BLS certification
    • Students must maintain current BLS certification throughout the pre-clinical phase of the program (January – December of the matriculating year). Refresher courses including BLS, ACLS and PALS are scheduled during clinical phase orientation.
  • Background Check
  • Urine Drug Screen
    • A urine drug screen is required prior to matriculation to the program and prior to start of clinical rotations.
  • Immunizations
    • Documentation of required immunizations is a standard for all healthcare professionals, including physician assistants. Students at the UNC School of Medicine are required to meet immunization requirements set forth by the state of North Carolina. Additional requirements are established by the UNC School of Medicine, UNC Healthcare System, and the CDC: NC required immunization information and UNC Health Science student immunization information UNC Health Science student immunization information . Of note, UNC Health no longer mandates employees or matriculated students complete a COVID-19 vaccination series, however, individual clinical sites may require for rotations. Please email the program with any questions or concerns.
  • Student Handbook Acknowledgement
  • School of Medicine Training
    • Code of Conduct
    • Honor Code
    • Plagiarism

Students not in compliance by the provided deadline may forfeit their seat. Please email paprogram@unc.edu if you have any questions regarding any requirements.

OneCard

Obtain your OneCard

  • ONE cards can only be created after registration for courses
  • You must submit your photo for your OneCard to be printed. Please follow this link to upload your photo.
  • You will be given further instructions about card pickup and distribution at Orientation. Please do not contact the OneCard office about picking up your card.
  • Note: You must have DUO set up to submit your photo and sign the electronic agreement (see DUO instructions in OneCard photo link). If you do not sign the agreement, you will not be issued a OneCard.

Residency

Return to your supplemental application portal to view your residency status for tuition purposes. If you have an “undetermined” or “non-resident” status, you will be charged out-of-state tuition.

Students who wish to be considered for in-state tuition benefits will need to complete the Residency Determination Service (RDS) interview process (for initial requests, reconsideration requests, and appeals). Please visit your ConnectCarolina StudentCenter and click the NC Residency Reconsideration or Appeal link under the Personal Information tab. Once you complete the RDS process you must enter your Residency Certification Number (RCN) in your StudentCenter.

To access RDS directly, please visit ncresidency.org.

Review Policies and Procedures

As part of the Department of Health Sciences, it is essential for you to be familiar with the required policies of the department and resources available to you as a student. Please visit the Student Resources and Student Policies pages and review the material and links provided.

Supplies

Purchase Textbooks

  • A list of required and recommended textbooks can be found at the UNC Health Sciences Library.
  • Textbooks are available at the UNC Student Stores beginning in December and many are available in an electronic format for free through the Health Sciences Library.

Purchase Items for Patient Assessment Course

  • Stethoscope
  • Reflex Hammer
  • Tuning Fork (Frequency 256 or 512)
  • Diagnostic Kit (Otoscope, Ophthalmoscope)
  • BP Cuff (Adult size)
  • Medical Tape Measure
  • Handheld Eye Chart

The estimated cost of supplies can range from $300-$750, depending on brand purchased. Please reach out to the program with any questions regarding minimum requirements.

Computer Purchase and Requirements

  • Decide if you will purchase a laptop through Carolina Computing Initiative (CCI) or bring your own device.
  • Please see the Computer Requirements for information about purchasing a CCI Computer versus bringing your own device. Several devices on the market are not compatible with UNC systems (i.e. Chromebook)

Life in Chapel Hill