Physician Assistant

Diagnostic skills build critical thinking and decision-making competencies in physician assistants managing patients across the life span. Students demonstrate techniques of physical diagnosis to complete a comprehensive physical examination of the relevant regions and systems of the body. Through group practice, students master techniques necessary to complete a comprehensive physical examination.

Diagnostic skills build critical thinking and decision-making competencies in physician assistants managing patients across the life span. Students demonstrate techniques of interviewing, physical diagnosis, and documentation to complete the comprehensive physical examination of the relevant regions and systems of the body. Through group practice, students further master techniques necessary to complete a comprehensive physical examination.

Medical Anatomy and Physiology is the foundation of providing medical care to patients as a physician assistant. Through the laboratory setting, students correlate anatomic and physiologic variations across the lifespan from fetal development to geriatrics.

Medical Anatomy and Physiology is the foundation of providing medical care to patients as a physician assistant. Through the laboratory setting, students continue to correlate anatomic and physiologic variations across the lifespan from fetal development to geriatrics.

Clinical experiences build interpersonal communication skills and clinical reasoning competencies in physician assistants managing patients across the life span. Students practice techniques of interviewing, physical diagnosis, and documentation in a variety of community clinical sites. This is a pass/fail course.

As a supplement to the lecture sequences, students will meet weekly for case-based laboratories. These will be small group labs, facilitated by faculty group facilitators. The facilitator will have students work through case studies that correspond to current lecture sequences. The students will be given introductory information and must elicit the necessary information from a facilitator to lead to the formulation of an appropriate differential diagnosis, diagnosis and management plan. This lab will require that students incorporate patient history, physical assessment, scientific concepts, and diagnostic studies to ultimately come to a logical differential diagnosis and final diagnosis. Students will then be required to utilize their knowledge of clinical therapeutics and diseases to develop a rational plan of management. Medical decision making and logic will be a key focus in lab sessions. Pass/Fail

This is the first course in a three-course sequence designed to enhance and support student learning during the clinical phase of the Physician Assistant Program. The course provides instruction in areas of clinical practice essential for developing entry-level PA competencies with opportunities for both formative and summative assessment of skills and knowledge. Core professional topics are addressed concurrently with clinical topics that are adapted to the evolving needs of each cohort, as determined through various assessments. This is a pass/fail course. 

This is the second course in a three-course sequence designed to enhance and support student learning during the clinical phase of the Physician Assistant Program. The course provides instruction in areas of clinical practice essential for developing entry-level PA competencies with opportunities for both formative and summative assessment of skills and knowledge. Core professional topics are addressed concurrently with clinical topics that are adapted to the evolving needs of each cohort, as determined through various assessments. This is a pass/fail course. 

In this culminating course of a three-course sequence, students complete the comprehensive summative evaluation, a requirement for program graduation. The summative evaluation assesses mastery of the graduate competencies: medical knowledge, interpersonal skills, clinical skills, technical skills, clinical reasoning and problem-solving abilities, and professional behaviors.

Students will engage with essential professional practice and medical topics identified through comprehensive assessments, developing practical expertise crucial for their healthcare careers. This is a pass/fail course.

This capstone course serves as the final course in the physician assistant curriculum. A comprehensive review of core medical topics through a systems-based approach, reinforcing essential concepts for clinical practice is provided. Students will participate in extensive didactic review and structured evaluations designed to ensure mastery of the graduate competencies: medical knowledge, interpersonal and communication skills, clinical skills, technical skills, clinical reasoning and problem-solving, and professional behaviors. This is a pass/fail course.