Course Descriptions
University of
Master of Physician Assistant Studies (MPAS)
PA 4104. Basic Human Science
Basic Human Science is an integrated course offered by the departments of Pathology and Anatomy, Integrative Physiology, and Molecular Biology and Immunology. The course content consists of human anatomy, including radiographic anatomy, biochemistry and physiology. The approach used in this course is the study of body systems, relating structure and biochemical processes to the function of each system as it strives to maintain homeostasis.
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. The course is supplemented by video feedback experiences. Lectures focus on patient-centered and provider-centered interviewing processes useful in obtaining 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 (with lab)
This is a lecture and laboratory course that emphasizes inspection, palpation, percussion, and auscultation in a screening physical exam of the average patient. Psychomotor skills for exams and verbal descriptions of regular exams are equally emphasized. Accuracy, efficiency, thoroughness and reliability of a complete screening physical exam are stressed and carefully evaluated in this course. The course will also include the proper documentation of the physical exam and the use of appropriate medical terminology in the documentation.
PA 4222. Physical Diagnosis (with lab)
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 common disease processes and the specific historical information and physical findings typically encountered in practice with these problems. Disease scripting and clinical decision-making will be introduced here.
PA 4441. Supervised Practice I (with practicum)
This course is designed to introduce the student to direct patient care learning situations 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 and Ethics
A series of lectures as well as large and small group discussions of current topics on professional, legal, and ethical issues in health care that effect Physician Assistant practice. Professional issues include topics important to the Physician-PA-health care team, 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 4532. Health Promotion and Disease Prevention
This is an interactive course that stresses the role of the physician assistant in health promotion and prevention in medical practice. Students are encouraged to consider the social, psychological, spiritual, economic, cultural and ethical aspects of health promotion and challenges of the modern health care delivery system. Emphasis is added in the practical application of health promotion and preventive medicine principles and goals.
PA 4542. Supervised Practice II (with practicum)
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 skills and disease scripting are further refined in this course through practical experiences and case presentations.
PA 5107. Principles of 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
All PA students are required to complete a Master s project in order to graduate. This course is designed to introduce the requirements of a Physician Assistant Master s project and to ensure PA students acquire the necessary research knowledge and skills to implement their PA Master s 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 the PA Profession
This course provides an introduction to the Physician Assistant (PA) profession by examining the historical development of the profession, the role of the PA in healthcare delivery and the professional and social issues related to PA practice. In doing so, students are anticipated to begin establishing the foundations necessary for adopting a professional code of ethics.
PA 5212. Underserved Primary Care
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.
PA5222. Educational Strategies for PA s
A course designed to prepare the physician assistant to be a life-long learner and educator of patients and colleagues by examining the characteristics of the adult learner, and basic competencies and skills for developing educational activities, based upon the purposes and needs of the learning situation. This course will include the basic principles and tools for measuring whether learning outcomes have been achieved.
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.
PA 5303. Independent Study: PA Master s Project
All PA students are required to complete a major master s project in order to graduate. The goals of this course are to initiate students independent study attitude and to familiarize students with formats of scholarly activities by implementing their Master s projects. In this course, PA students will be required to conduct, complete and present their master s projects for program completion prior to graduation. Faculty will be made available to guide and monitor the student s progress and assess the quality of the work presented.
PA 5304. Introduction to EKG
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 laboratory experiences. 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, recognition of cardiac abnormalities such as dysrhythmias, ischemia, infarction, cardiac inflammatory conditions, conduction abnormalities, and chamber enlargement.
PA 5502. Emergency Medicine
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, 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, IV s, and intubation.
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 reproductive 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 an elective clinical practicum in an area chosen by the student, according to the student s individual clinical interest. Pending the approval of the clinical education coordinator and clinical preceptor, students are responsible for developing their own educational goals and objectives for this practicum.
PA 651. Underserved Practicum
The focus of this practicum in the Underserved Primary Care Track is on the unique relationship between the primary care provider and the patient population in under-served settings. Students 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
This practicum focuses on the adult patient population by concentrating on in-depth evaluation and ongoing treatment of patients with complex problems and/or chronic illness. Students learn the skills necessary to evaluate and manage the effects of chronic disease on multiple body systems and perform or assist in procedures commonly performed in internal medicine. This practicum contains experiences in both the outpatient and inpatient setting for the discipline.
PA 654. Pediatric
The patient population 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
This practicum encompasses the treatment of patients from pediatrics to geriatrics. It focuses on important aspects related to health maintenance and preventive care, and the tradition-al aspects of medical 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
Students will develop the skills necessary to evaluate and manage patients with a variety of psychiatric problems. The practicum will provide students with the opportunity to develop an understanding of the role of psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers and nurses in the care of psychiatric patients. Students will learn the appropriate use of selected psychoactive pharmaceuticals. There will be opportunities for students to practice the skills necessary to perform a psychiatric inter-view and mental status examination and make referrals for specialized psychiatric treatment.
PA 657. Surgery
Within the operating room, students learn to employ proper techniques related to scrubbing (hand washing), gowning and gloving, maintaining sterile fields, retracting, gentle tissue manipulation, hemostasis, various methods of wound closure and dressing application. Additionally, students will learn to recognize and manage common postoperative complications and wound care. Students will learn sterile technique, proper and efficient use of surgical instruments, and evaluation and management of the pre- and post-surgical patient. This practicum contains experiences in general surgery and specialty surgery settings in the outpatient and inpatient areas of the discipline.
PA 658. Obstetrics & Gynecology
The focus is on the impact of disease processes related to the reproductive system of female patients. Students will develop the skills and knowledge necessary to evaluate, man-age 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
Students will develop 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 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 students in preparing for the PA National Certifying Examination (PANCE) after graduation.
This page last updated Dec 21, 2006
