Physician Assistant

The purpose of this course is to introduce students to health promotion, wellness, screening, and disease prevention across the lifespan, as well as to guide clinical interventions and education in patient care. Students will learn about the role of nutrition, immunizations, pediatric and adult health screening and management, dental health, and modifiable risk factors in preventative medicine. The information delivered in this course will be further expanded upon in Clinical Medicine courses throughout the didactic year and reinforced on clinical rotations.

The purpose of this course is to create an awareness and understanding of the ’’art” of interviewing and proper documentation. The focus will be on obtaining a patient history, communicating with patients in different age groups, learning appropriate use of medical terms and abbreviations and understanding general principles of communication. The skill of interviewing a patient to obtain a history is one of the foundational skills a physician assistant should possess. Additionally, the student will be introduced to legal considerations of documentation and various forms of documentation including hospital notes.

The Clinical Medicine series is a sequence of three courses. The courses introduce students to clinical conditions commonly encountered in practicing primary care medicine in pediatric and adult populations. Lectures will emphasize the epidemiology, pathophysiology, clinical presentation and course, as well as diagnostic and treatment modalities of each disease topic. Students will participate in case group sessions and standardized patient encounters. During the encounters, students will have the opportunity to develop competencies in history taking, performing physical exams, developing differential diagnoses, ordering and interpreting laboratory and diagnostic studies, and formulating an assessment and plan. Additionally, students will gain experience in prescription writing and medical documentation. 

The Clinical Medicine series is a sequence of three courses. The courses introduce students to clinical conditions commonly encountered in practicing primary care medicine in pediatric and adult populations. Lectures will emphasize the epidemiology, pathophysiology, clinical presentation and course, as well as diagnostic and treatment modalities of each disease topic. Students will participate in case group sessions and standardized patient encounters. During the encounters, students will have the opportunity to develop competencies in history taking, performing physical exams, developing differential diagnoses, ordering and interpreting laboratory and diagnostic studies, and formulating an assessment and plan. Additionally, students will gain experience in prescription writing and medical documentation.

The Clinical Medicine series is a sequence of three courses. The courses introduce students to clinical conditions commonly encountered in practicing primary care medicine in pediatric and adult populations. Lectures will emphasize the epidemiology, pathophysiology, clinical presentation and course, as well as diagnostic and treatment modalities of each disease topic. Students will participate in case group sessions, standardized patient encounters, and high-fidelity simulations. During the encounters, students will have the opportunity to develop competencies in history taking, performing physical exams, developing differential diagnoses, ordering and interpreting laboratory and diagnostic studies, and formulating an assessment and plan. Additionally, students will gain experience in prescription writing and medical documentation.

The purpose of this second-year master's course is for the second-year physician assistant student to develop the skills for professional development in an independent fashion.

The Clinical Assessment Day (CAD) I offers an opportunity for the program and the student to assess student progress and to ensure students are meeting program learning objectives and academic milestones. The CAD I consists of an individual primary care-based practical examination, medical documentation, an individual skills assessment and lecture.

The Clinical Assessment Day (CAD) II offers an opportunity for the program and the student to assess student progress and to ensure students are meeting program learning objectives and academic milestones. The CAD II consists of an individual primary care-based practical examination, medical documentation, an individual skills assessment and lecture.

This course is designed to evaluate students at the midpoint of the clinical phase of the Physician Assistant program. The Mid-Year Evaluation (MYE) offers an opportunity for the program and the student to assess student progress and to ensure students are meeting program learning objectives and academic milestones. The mid-year evaluation consists of an individual primary care-based practical examination, medical documentation and a comprehensive primary care-based multiple-choice exam.

The End-of-Year Evaluation (EYE) course is the summative evaluation of the student conducted at the end of the clinical phase. The course consists of lectures and assessments. It is designed to gauge the student’s readiness for the Physician Assistant National Certifying Examination (PANCE), as well as clinical practice. Graded components of EYE include individual performance during a primary care-based standardized patient examination, documentation of the encounter, and a comprehensive summative exam.

This course offered in the final academic quarter provides intensive review lectures focused on the fundamental knowledge and skills relevant to the Physician Assistant National Certifying Examination (PANCE). Additionally, a formative self-assessment examination is administered to identify areas of weakness in order for students to strengthen their preparedness for and performance on the PANCE.

The clinical year courses/rotations will provide overall instruction and supervised clinical practice experiences. The course(s) will cover common conditions and abnormalities encountered across the lifespan, with an emphasis on the conditions listed in the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA) Physician Assistant National Certification Examination (PANCE) content blueprint. 

The clinical year courses/rotations will provide overall instruction and supervised clinical practice experiences. The course(s) will cover common conditions and abnormalities encountered across the lifespan, with an emphasis on the conditions listed in the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA) Physician Assistant National Certification Examination (PANCE) content blueprint. 

The clinical year courses/rotations will provide overall instruction and supervised clinical practice experiences. The course(s) will cover common conditions and abnormalities encountered across the lifespan, with an emphasis on the conditions listed in the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA) Physician Assistant National Certification Examination (PANCE) content blueprint. 

The clinical year courses/rotations will provide overall instruction and supervised clinical practice experiences. The course(s) will cover common conditions and abnormalities encountered across the lifespan, with an emphasis on the conditions listed in the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA) Physician Assistant National Certification Examination (PANCE) content blueprint. 

The clinical year courses/rotations will provide overall instruction and supervised clinical practice experiences. The course(s) will cover common conditions and abnormalities encountered across the lifespan, with an emphasis on the conditions listed in the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA) Physician Assistant National Certification Examination (PANCE) content blueprint. 

The clinical year courses/rotations will provide overall instruction and supervised clinical practice experiences. The course(s) will cover common conditions and abnormalities encountered across the lifespan, with an emphasis on the conditions listed in the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA) Physician Assistant National Certification Examination (PANCE) content blueprint. 

The clinical year courses/rotations will provide overall instruction and supervised clinical practice experiences. The course(s) will cover common conditions and abnormalities encountered across the lifespan, with an emphasis on the conditions listed in the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA) Physician Assistant National Certification Examination (PANCE) content blueprint.