Physician Assistant - Didactic Curriculum| Curriculum

Prerequisite: Admission to PA program

This course will expose students to the physician assistant field. It will cover a number of introductory topics such as the history, development, current status, and the projected future of the physician assistant profession. Other topics include scope of practice, health care delivery systems, interpersonal communication, medical decision making, medical ethics, licensing and certification, prescriptive authority, and employment issues.

Prerequisite: Admission to PA program

This course will provide an overview of the research process, research methods, and evidence-based practices (EBP). Problem analysis and evaluation techniques are presented. Students are shown methods for defining, researching, analyzing, and evaluating problems.

Students will be exposed to research tools and study approaches, design, data collection, analysis, and reporting methods. In addition, students will be exposed to EBP methods including critical appraisal of quantitative and qualitative studies and methods to apply EBP in clinical medicine. Health care delivery will be reviewed in the setting of evidence-based practice.

Prerequisite: Admission to PA program

This course is designed to familiarize the student to human and medical physiology.  The course will analyze and review general human and systems based physiology.   Human neurologic, hematologic, immune, lymphatic, respiratory, cardiac, circulatory, renal, gastrointestinal, integumentary, musculoskeletal, endocrine, reproductive systems will be reviewed, demonstrated, and analyzed.  Fetal and neonatal physiology will also be discussed.

Prerequisite: PAM 502 & PAM 505

This course is designed to familiarize the student with the range of child, adolescent, and adult psychiatric and addiction issues seen in clinical practice across the lifespan. Emphasis will be placed on diagnostic issues, etiology, and treatment-related to each of these conditions. Students will be provided a solid foundation in the fundamentals of the evaluation, diagnosis, pharmacotherapy, behavioral therapy, counseling, and appropriate referral of patients with mental health disorders.

Major psychiatric diagnostic categories will be addressed including affective disorders, mood disorders, psychotic disorders, substance abuse disorders, geriatrics disorders, child and adolescent disorders, somatization disorders, oppositional defiant disorder, autism, and personality disorders. Child development, learning disabilities, emotional responses, behavioral and social disorders, and violence will also be discussed.

Prerequisite: Admission to the PA program

This course will review medical genetics and the application to clinical medicine. The intent is to provide students the necessary background to understand ongoing developments in genetics and the application to clinical problems. Concepts learned in this class will be reinforced in the Clinical Medicine I, II, III series courses.  Students will learn to obtain a detailed family history and assess possible modes of inheritance. Principles of genetic screening, testing, and diagnosis will be discussed. Specific genetic disorders, the underlying etiology, clinical presentation, evaluation, diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment options will be reviewed.

The elucidation of the human genome, and the genomes of multiple other organisms, will change the way medicine is practiced. In order for physician assistants to understand these developments and utilize them for the benefits of their patients, they will have to be conversant with molecular genetic technologies and the technologies for acquiring, organizing, and interpreting genetic information.

Prerequisite: Admission to PA program

This course is designed to familiarize the student to gross anatomy and clinical correlations.  In a regional anatomy format, the course will identify, review, and analyze the structures in the head, neck, thorax, abdomen, pelvis, and upper and lower limbs.  Correlating pathologic conditions will also be discussed.  Students will complete a complete virtual dissection, which is important in understanding the human body as a 3-dimensional structure.

Prerequisite: PAM 505

The Clinical Medicine Series (I, II, III) presents anatomy, physiology, public health issues, epidemiology, pathophysiology, signs, symptoms, differential diagnosis, diagnostic studies, diagnostic criteria, staging, prognosis, treatment, management, and use of evidence-based medicine in a wide range of disease states. The Clinical Medicine Series is the cornerstone of the curriculum providing the foundation for other courses within the curriculum.

Other courses, such as Patient Evaluation, Pharmacology, Clinical Laboratory, and Diagnostic Medicine will further enhance and develop the student’s knowledge of the disorders covered. Information will be presented by lecture, demonstration, and audio-visual formats. Lectures are presented by the faculty member and invited guests.

Prerequisite: PAM 510

The Clinical Medicine Series (I, II, III) presents anatomy, physiology, public health issues, epidemiology, pathophysiology, signs, symptoms, differential diagnosis, diagnostic studies, diagnostic criteria, staging, prognosis, treatment, management, and use of evidence-based medicine in a wide range of disease states. The Clinical Medicine Series is the cornerstone of the curriculum providing the foundation for other courses within the curriculum.

Other courses, such as Patient Evaluation, Pharmacology, Clinical Laboratory, and Diagnostic Medicine will further enhance and develop the student’s knowledge of the disorders covered. Information will be presented by lecture, demonstration, and audio-visual formats. Lectures are presented by the faculty members and invited guests.

Prerequisite: Admission to PA program  

The Emergency Medicine course presents anatomy, physiology, public health issues, epidemiology, pathophysiology, signs, symptoms, differential diagnosis, diagnostic studies, diagnostic criteria, staging, prognosis, treatment, management, and use of evidence-based medicine in a wide range of emergency medicine presentations. Information will be presented in lecture, demonstration, and audio-visual formats.

Prerequisite: Admission to PA program  

The Care Across the Lifespan course presents anatomy, physiology, public health issues, epidemiology, pathophysiology, signs, symptoms, differential diagnosis, diagnostic studies, diagnostic criteria, staging, prognosis, treatment, management, and use of evidence-based medicine in a wide range of pediatric and geriatric presentations. Homeopathic medicine will also be discussed, as well as information on preventative care and public health. Information will be presented in lecture, demonstration, and audiovisual formats.

Prerequisite: Admission to PA program 

This course will cover information related to the care of the surgical patient, including preoperative assessment, post-operative management, surgical instruments, and sterile technique. The course will also review the technical skills required for entry-level practice, have students practice the applied skills, and assess students for their proficiency in order to be prepared for clinical rotations.

Prerequisite: PAM 520

The Patient Evaluation series (I, II, III) prepares students to perform comprehensive examinations and procedures on patients. Students will learn the knowledge and skills essential for performing a comprehensive medical history and physical examination. The course emphasizes patient interviewing, performing a comprehensive physical and psychological examination, accurately documenting and presenting findings, developing a differential diagnosis, listing possible tests and treatment plans, and providing patient education along with appropriate follow-up. Lectures, reading assignments, hands-on labs, and supplemental assignments emphasize core concepts.

Patient interaction and communication are essential skills that will be developed during the course. Over the entire semester, close interaction will occur between students, faculty, preceptors, and various other clinical personnel both inside the college and at external institutions.

The course is designed to provide information regarding the pharmacology of commonly used therapeutic options coupled with clinical information in a practical and systemic way so that the most appropriate drug therapy may be selected for a particular patient. The major focus includes general therapeutic principles (E.g. pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics) and a review of recommended drug therapy for common medical disorders.

Students will be instructed to develop a systematic approach to prescribing which will include identification of disease state, reviewing available therapeutic options for the state including the most current evidence-based medicine, and developing individualized therapeutic treatment plans. Students will also be instructed on contraindications, adverse reactions, safety, efficacy, therapeutic monitoring, and toxicity.

Prerequisite: PAM 502, PAM 505

The course is designed to provide information regarding the pharmacology of commonly used therapeutic options coupled with clinical information in a practical and systemic way so that the most appropriate drug therapy may be selected for a particular patient. The major focus includes general therapeutic principles (E.g. pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics) and a review of recommended drug therapy for common medical disorders. Students will be instructed to develop a systematic approach to prescribing which will include identification of disease state, reviewing available therapeutic options for the state including the most current evidenced-based medicine, and developing individualized therapeutic treatment plans. Students will also be instructed on contraindications, adverse reactions, safety, efficacy, therapeutic monitoring, and toxicity. Pharmacology lectures will be coordinated with the content delivered in the Clinical Medicine series so students can gain a more comprehensive understanding of the pathophysiology of conditions as they relate to therapeutic options.

Prerequisite: PAM 530

The course is designed to provide information regarding the pharmacology of commonly used therapeutic options coupled with clinical information in a practical and systemic way so that the most appropriate drug therapy may be selected for a particular patient. The major focus includes general therapeutic principles (E.g. pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics) and a review of recommended drug therapy for common medical disorders.

Students will be instructed to develop a systematic approach to prescribing which will include identification of disease state, reviewing available therapeutic options for the state including the most current evidence-based medicine, and developing individualized therapeutic treatment plans. Students will also be instructed on contraindications, adverse reactions, safety, efficacy, therapeutic monitoring, and toxicity. Pharmacology lectures will be coordinated with the content delivered in the Clinical Medicine series so students can gain a more comprehensive understanding of the pathophysiology of conditions as they relate to therapeutic options.

Prerequisite: PAM 503 & PAM 505

The Clinical Laboratory & Diagnostic Medicine (I, II, III) series provides a basic understanding of laboratory testing involved in the evaluation of common disease processes. Emphasis is placed on the pathophysiology, application, and interpretation of laboratory testing for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. Lectures correlate with the Clinical Medicine series courses and other courses within the Physician Assistant curriculum.

Prerequisite: PAM 540

The Clinical Laboratory & Diagnostic Medicine (I, II, III) series provides a basic understanding of laboratory testing involved in the evaluation of common disease processes. Emphasis is placed on the pathophysiology, application, and interpretation of laboratory testing for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. Lectures correlate with the Clinical Medicine series courses and other courses within the Physician Assistant curriculum.

Prerequisite: PAM 511

The Problem Based Learning (I, II) series reinforces medical concepts taught throughout the PA curriculum in preparation of clinical rotations. Working in groups, patient cases will be presented and students will gather a simulated history and physical exam, develop differential diagnoses, decide on appropriate diagnostic orders, analyze complete scenario to obtain the diagnosis, and evaluate appropriate diagnostic management plans.

During the process students must identify what they already know, what they need to know and how and where to access new information that may lead to resolution of the problem. Participation, preparation of patient notes, oral presentations, and professionalism will also be assessed. Instructors will facilitate learning by supporting, guiding, and monitoring the process. 6 weeks course.