Course Descriptions
PA 4110. Humana Anatomy with Lab
The course is designed to study human anatomical structures and their correlations with normal function, as well as clinically-relevant observations made during physical diagnosis in disease states. The course is accomplished through lectures and laboratory-based studies using prosected human cadaver specimens. Anatomical structures are emphasized through the use of relational concepts and medical terminology. Regional and topographical findings are also correlated with the underlying structures.
PA 4112. Human Physiology
This course is an advanced study of the physiology of human organ systems and cellular function focusing on endocrine, nervous, cardiovascular, muscular, respiratory, digestive, reproductive and excretory systems. Understanding of this material provides students the physiological principles to apply to clinical medicine, disease processes, and pharmacotherapeutics.
PA 4211. Medical Interviewing
This course is based upon a series of lectures and application exercises designed to teach medical interviewing techniques and communication skills. Learning activities focus on patient centered and provider centered interviewing processes useful in obtaining subjective information, defining symptoms, organizing data and documenting the patient chart. The course will incorporate the use of medical terminology in medical understanding and documentation.
PA 4212. Physical Exam Skills
This is a lecture and laboratory course that focuses on the accurate acquisition of objective findings from a screening physical exam of the average patient. Psychomotor skills for performing exams, as well as verbal descriptions of exam findings are equally emphasized. The course also includes the proper documentation of the physical exam and the use of appropriate medical terminology in the documentation.
PA 4222. Physical Diagnosis
This course is designed to expand on the Medical Interviewing and Physical Exam Skills courses taken previously in the curriculum. Physical diagnosis will focus on organizing medical information around prototypical common diseases, using the specific historical and physical findings typically encountered in practice with these problems. Disease scripting and clinical decision making will be introduced here.
PA 4532. Health Promotion and Disease Prevention in Practice
This is an interactive course that stresses the role of the physician assistant in health promotion and disease prevention in medical practice. Students are encouraged to consider the social, psychological, spiritual, economic, cultural and ethical aspects of health promotion within the challenges of the modern health care delivery system. Emphasis on the practical application of health promotion and preventive medicine principles and goals is included.
PA 5107. Principles of Epidemiology and Evidence-Based Medicine
This is a course dedicated to the knowledge base and skills needed by clinicians for the critical analysis of clinically related journal articles and the practice of medicine as it relates to the evidence in the literature.
PA 5201. Introduction to PA Master’s Project
This course is designed to introduce the requirements of the MPAS Master’s project and to ensure PA students acquire the necessary research knowledge and skills to implement their projects. In this course, PA students will identify an area of interest and develop a feasible prospectus for their Master’s projects.
PA 5202. Introduction to Medical Practice
This course provides an introduction of the history of medicine and the physician assistant (PA) profession. Students examine the historical development of the PA profession and the PA role in healthcare delivery. Discussions focus on professional and social issues, including ethics and professionalism.
PA 5212. Underserved Primary Care
This is a course designed to prepare the physician assistant for underserved primary care practice by examining issues specific to underserved patient populations, underserved health care delivery settings, and underserved community health needs.
PA 5301. Introduction to Disease
This course introduces the basic etiologies and pathogenesis that underlie all diseases. The course describes the mode of origin and development of most diseases, emphasizing pathophysiology in the areas of tissue inflammation, dysplasia, micro-organisms, immunity, genetics and metabolism. The course also includes an overview of common laboratory tests and how the pathophysiology of disease may be manifested in lab test results.
PA 5303. PA Master’s Project
The goals of this course are to initiate students’ independent study attitude and to familiarize students with formats of scholarly activities by implementing their own Master’s projects. In this course, PA students will be required to conduct, complete and present their master’s projects for program completion. Program and institutional faculty guide and monitor the student’s progress and assess the quality of the work presented.
PA 5304 Introduction to Electrocardiography
A clinical medicine course designed to educate the Physician Assistant student on the utilization and interpretation of the electrocardiogram. This course will utilize lecture, reading assignments, and practice workshops. Course content includes an overview of the electrophysiology of the heart, basic approach to the evaluation of an electrocardiogram, obtaining a 12 lead electrocardiogram and rhythm strip, and the recognition of common cardiac abnormalities.
PA 4441. Supervised Practice I
This course is designed to introduce the student to direct patient care through supervised clinical experiences and provide a venue for the practice of medical interviewing and physical exam skills. The primary focus is to elicit and document a complete history and physical exam on actual patients.
PA 4450. Professional Issues for Medical Practice
This course is a series of lectures and small group discussions of current topics on professional, legal, and ethical issues in health care that effect Physician Assistant practice. Topics important to the Physician-PA health care team are included, such as PA professional credentials and marketing, medical jurisprudence, health care organizations, health care policy, reimbursement issues, and office management skills. The course will also focus on ethical situations and dilemmas relevant to clinical practice and its relationship with the unique role of the Physician-PA team."
PA 4542. Supervised Practice II
This course provides supervised clinical experiences for the purposes of problem oriented patient data gathering and reporting on real or simulated patients. Clinical decision making and differential diagnostic skills, as well as disease scripting are further refined in this course through practical experiences and case presentations in small group discussion settings.
PA 5502. Emergency Medicine (Year 2)
This course introduces the student to common problems encountered in emergency medicine. Attention is given to evaluation, diagnosis, and treatment of common conditions seen in emergency room settings. The course includes clinical integration labs (CILs) conducted in workshop formats that allow for learning patient management skills through case studies, patient presentations, and evaluation of outcomes. Effort is made to guide the students in developing skills of medical problem solving and self-directed patient management.
PA 5602. Fundamentals of Behavioral Science
This course is designed to introduce the student to common psychosocial disorders encountered in primary care practice. The focus of this course is the clinical presentation, differential diagnosis, clinical pharmacology, and opportunities for prevention of the most common presenting psychosocial disorders.
PA 5603. Introduction to Clinical Therapeutics
This course introduces the student to basic principles of pharmacology and focuses on the major drug classifications discussed in the Integrated PA Clinical Medicine courses, including mechanisms of action, side effects, and commonly prescribed medications in each category. Students also learn prescription writing skills and drug calculations to insure appropriate dosage.
PA 5609. Integrated Clinical Medicine I with Clinical Integration Labs
The course presents a multidimensional approach to the understanding of the most common clinical disorders in the following areas: dermatology, ophthalmology, otorhinolaryngology , the pulmonary system, the cardiovascular system, the musculoskeletal system, the neurological system, obstetrics and gynecology, and the endocrine system. Attention will be given to diagnosis, pathophysiology, treatment and outcome measurement of common disease processes encountered in primary care. The course will include clinical integration labs, conducted in workshop/laboratory formats, allowing maximum participation. Attention in the labs will be given to learning patient management through case studies, incorporating patient presentations, the development of differential diagnoses, the clinical approach to patient diagnosis, treatment options and outcome measurements. Effort is made to guide the students in the skills of medical problem-solving and self-directed patient management.
PA 5702. Clinical Skills
This course is designed to teach students the basic clinical skills utilized in primary care practice. Areas of focus include suturing, sterile technique, casting, venipuncture, injection technique, IV s, and intubation. Students will be certified by the American Heart Association in Advanced Cardiac Life Support.
PA 5712. Integrated Clinical Medicine II with Clinical Integration Labs
The course presents a multidimensional approach to the understanding of the most common clinical disorders in the following areas of clinical practice: the urinary/renal system, the gastrointestinal system, multisystem diseases, geriatrics, and pediatrics. Attention will be given to diagnosis, pathophysiology, treatment and outcome measurement of common disease processes encountered in primary care. The course will include clinical integration labs, conducted in workshop/laboratory formats, allowing maximum participation. Attention in the labs will be given to learning patient management through case studies, incorporating patient presentations, the development of differential diagnoses, the clinical approach to patient diagnosis, treatment options and outcome measurements. Effort is made to guide the students in the skills of medical problem-solving and self-directed patient management.
Clinical Practica
PA 650. Elective Practicum
This is a supervised clinical experience in an area chosen by the student, according to the student’s individual clinical interest and approved by the Vice Chair, Clinical Services. Students are responsible for developing their own educational goals and objectives for this practicum.
PA 651. Underserved Primary Care Practicum
The focus of this practicum in the underserved primary care track will be on the unique relationship between the primary care provider and the patient population in an underserved setting. Students will learn the special aspects of providing care in these settings, as well as the health care resources available in underserved communities.
PA 653. Internal Medicine Practicum
This is a supervised clinical experience that focuses on the adult patient population by concentrating on the evaluation and ongoing treatment of patients with complex medical problems and/or chronic illness. This practicum contains experiences in both the outpatient and inpatient setting for the discipline.
PA 654. Pediatric Practicum
This is a supervised clinical experience that focuses on the patient population that includes infants, small children and adolescents to age 18. Students will learn to evaluate, monitor and manage common pediatric problems and emergencies and act as a guide and resource to patients and their families as they progress through the growth and development from infancy through childhood and adolescence.
PA 655. Family Medicine Practicum
This is a supervised clinical experience that encompasses the treatment of patients from pediatrics to geriatrics. It focuses on important aspects related to health maintenance and preventive care, and the traditional aspects of primary care as it relates to the patient, family and community. Students will develop the skills necessary to evaluate, monitor and manage common health problems.
PA 656. Psychiatry Practicum
This is a supervised clinical experience that focuses on the evaluation and management of patients with a variety of psychiatric problems. The practicum will provide students with the opportunity to develop an understanding of the role of physician assistants, psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers and nurses in the care of psychiatric patients. There will be opportunities for students to practice the skills necessary to perform a psychiatric interview and mental status examination and make referrals for specialized psychiatric treatment.
PA 657. Surgery Practicum
This is a supervised clinical experience that focuses on the evaluation and management of the pre- and post-surgical patient. Students gain experience in operating room, including proper sterile technique, the efficient use of surgical instruments, and surgical techniques. This practicum contains experiences in general surgery and specialty surgery settings in outpatient and inpatient areas of the discipline.
PA 658. Obstetrics & Gynecology Practicum
This is a supervised clinical experience that focuses on the impact of disease processes related to the reproductive system of female patients. Students will develop the skills and knowledge necessary to evaluate, manage and educate patients in the areas of women’s health, human sexuality, birth control, infertility, pregnancy, pre- and post-natal care, and menopause.
PA 659. Emergency Medicine Practicum
This is a supervised clinical experience that focuses on the skills and knowledge necessary to recognize conditions that have the potential to progress to life threatening or potentially disabling conditions. The student will learn to triage and stabilize patients with life threatening or potentially disabling conditions, utilize lab and imaging studies, and interact with other health care professionals and victims’ families in times of extreme stress.
PA 660. Clinical Selective Practicum
This supervised clinical experience provides students with opportunities to hone patient care knowledge and skills in specialized settings, such as in federally sponsored community health clinics, rural-health clinics, geriatric-focused institutes, specialty-practice clinics, and specialized hospital services, to name a few. This unique practicum will also provide an additional focus on professionalism, practice-based learning, and business systems that support and facilitate healthcare delivery. Besides patient care experiences, students also learn through attendance at medical education lectures, by conducting research in the specialty area, through completion of on-line assignments, and by conducting reviews of jurisprudence and business-related issues.
PA 690. Senior Seminar
The senior seminar is a capstone course designed to assess the graduate competencies required for entry into the PA profession in the areas of knowledge base, patient management skills, written and oral communication skills, and professionalism, through the use of specifically designed assessment mechanisms and the review of comprehensive student portfolios. Presentations, lectures and workshops are also provided during the course to assist in students in preparing for the PA National Certifying Examination (PANCE) after graduation.
This page last updated May 20, 2008
