This course is an overview of the major healthcare systems and medical industry in the United States to include the physician assistant (PA) profession and the role of PAs in the health care field. This course includes instruction in the PA profession, historical development, and current trends. Students will receive instruction in PA professional issues, physician-PA team relationships, political issues that affect PA practice, and PA professional organization. This course includes many aspects of being a successful student as well as practitioner. Students will be taught a variety of study skills along with receiving instruction on intellectual honesty and appropriate academic and professional conduct. Students will be taught how to use common medical databases to access medical literature. Students will receive instruction in quality health care with special consideration of the impact of racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic health disparities on health care delivery. Students will receive instruction in the different health beliefs, values and expectations of patients and other health care professionals that can affect communication, decision-making, compliance, and health outcomes. The concepts of public health as they relate to the role of the practicing PA including an appreciation of the public health system and the role of health care providers participating in disease surveillance, reporting, and intervention are delivered in this course. In addition to the PA practice, students will receive instruction in the roles and responsibilities of various health care professionals, emphasizing the team approach to patient centered care beyond the traditional physician-PA team approach. Medical ethics, PA licensure, credentialing, laws and regulations regarding professional practice, patient safety, quality improvement, prevention of medical errors, and risk management are introduced topics in this course.

The Basic Fundamentals of Medical Science course is designed to provide the first-year physician assistant student with a baseline level of established and evolving biomedical science knowledge in which to build upon during the study of health and human diseases. This course includes instruction in the following areas of applied medical sciences and their application in clinical practice: biochemistry, immunology, microbiology, infectious diseases, genetics, and molecular mechanisms of health and disease.

This course is designed to develop an understanding of normal human anatomy with an in-depth examination of anatomical structures and functions. Emphasis is placed on the relationship of normal structures and normal variants with clinical correlation to pathology and disease processes. Human structural features are taught through demonstration, dissection, cross section, radiographs, MRI and CT scans, and ultrasonography. Lectures are complemented by laboratory study of real dissection, prosected cadavers, anatomical models, and 3D anatomic software. A regional approach will be used to study the integument, trunk, head, neck, nervous system, and extremities.

This course comprises the basic concepts and principles that are essential in comprehending the fundamental mechanisms of human physiology at the cellular, tissue, and organ levels. This course will focus on basic human physiology concepts to include: cellular, cardiovascular, respiratory, gastrointestinal, and nutrition physiologies.

This course teaches the fundamentals of medical history-taking, physical examination, and patient counseling across the lifespan including adolescent, adult, and elderly populations. Physical examination of the patient is approached using a systematic model. Primary skills include performing complete and focused physical examinations, recognizing normal and abnormal findings, developing a diagnostic and treatment plan, counseling patients, medical documentation, and professional conduct. This course content builds a foundation for the development of the clinical reasoning skills and problem solving necessary to formulate differential diagnoses. Students will use common medical databases to access medical literature in support of medical treatment plans. Instruction in counseling in patient education skills is patient centered, culturally sensitive, and focused on helping patients cope with illness, injury, and stress, adhere to prescribed treatment plans, and modify their behaviors to more healthful patterns. This course also teaches awareness of differing health beliefs, values, and expectations of patients and other health care professionals that can affect communication, decision-making, compliance, and health outcomes. This section of the course will focus on patient communication, counseling, determining patient vital signs, and physical examination of the integument, cardiac, and pulmonary systems. Patient presentations, simulations, standardized patients, case studies, role-play, and electronic medical record completion are additional components of this course.

This course is a study of the applied medical sciences of pharmacology and pharmacotherapeutics and their application in clinical practice. Students will be taught the appropriate selection and rational use of drugs for the prevention and treatment of diseases. This course will include instruction in the acute and longitudinal management of infectious, dermatologic, hematologic, cardiac, and pulmonary diseases to include the preventive, acute and chronic patient care situations. Students will be instructed in problem solving and medical decision-making skills while developing patient centered pharmacologic management plans for adult populations, with consideration of socioeconomic differences. Students will be instructed on the delivery of patient education and the counseling of patients about medication adherence. This course follows along with the Clinical Disease and Prevention Course PAMS 6530.

This course will provide an overview of commonly utilized diagnostic tools, including laboratory studies, minor procedures, and radiologic procedures based on current professional practices. Students will learn the appropriate application and interpretation of diagnostic tests related to infectious diseases, dermatology, hematology, cardiology, and pulmonology. Electrocardiograph utilization, application, and interpretation will be taught in this section. Students will apply problem solving and medical decision-making skills when selecting laboratory and diagnostic studies in conjunction with the Clinical Disease and Prevention Course PAMS 6530.

This course follows an organ system-based delivery of instruction in patient evaluation, diagnosis, and management of clinical diseases and disorders covering all organ systems. Emphasis will be placed on instruction in the pathophysiology of diseases common to the organ system. Students will be taught to recognize the patient history, physical signs, and symptoms of diseases in order to generate a differential diagnosis, ordering and interpreting diagnostic studies, and diagnosis. Students will be instructed in problem solving and medical decision-making skills while developing acute and longitudinal management plans for the adult population. Management plans will be taught to be inclusive addressing medical issues, patient education, and referrals when needed. Students will receive instruction in delivering patient centered, culturally sensitive patient information focused on helping patients cope with illness, injury, and stress. Additional instruction will be given on behavior modification, lifestyle medicine, and prevention. This semester will focus on infectious, hematologic, dermatologic, cardiac, and pulmonary diseases to include preventive, acute, chronic, and rehabilitative patient care.

This course is a continuation of Human Anatomy I and is designed to develop an understanding of normal human anatomy with an in-depth examination of anatomical structures and functions. Emphasis is placed on the relationship of normal structures and normal variants with clinical correlation to pathology and disease processes. Human structural features are taught through demonstration, dissection, cross section, radiographs, MRI and CT scans, and ultrasonography. Lectures are complemented by laboratory study of real dissection, prosected cadavers, anatomical models, and 3D anatomic software. A regional approach will be used to study the musculoskeletal, head, neck, spine, genitourinary, reproductive, and neuroanatomy.

This course is a continuation of Human Physiology I and comprises the basic concepts and principles that are essential in comprehending the fundamental mechanisms of human physiology at the cellular, tissue, and organ levels. This course will focus on basic human physiology concepts to include: renal, genitourinary, musculoskeletal, neurologic, reproductive, and endocrine physiologies.

This course is a continuation of Patient Assessment and Counseling I. This course continues to teach the fundamentals of medical history-taking, physical examination, and patient counseling across the lifespan including adolescent, adult, and elderly populations. Physical examination of the patient is approached using a systematic model. Primary skills include performing complete and focused physical examinations, recognizing normal and abnormal findings, developing a diagnostic and treatment plan, counseling patients, medical documentation, and professional conduct. This course content builds a foundation for the development of the clinical reasoning skills and problem solving necessary to formulate differential diagnoses. Students will use common medical databases to access medical literature in support of medical treatment plans. Instruction in counseling in patient education skills is patient centered, culturally sensitive, and focused on helping patients cope with illness, injury, and stress, adhere to prescribed treatment plans, and modify their behaviors to more healthful patterns. This course also teaches the awareness of differing health beliefs, values, and expectations of patients and other health care professionals that can affect communication, decision-making, compliance, and health outcomes. This section of the course will focus on medical history-taking, physical examination, and patient counseling to include the following systems: gastroenterology, genitourinary, rheumatology, musculoskeletal, and neurology. Patient presentations, simulations, standardized patients, case studies, role-play, and electronic medical record completion are additional components of this course.

This course is a continuation of Pharmacotherapeutics I as the curriculum progresses through the body/organ systems. This course is a study of the applied medical sciences of pharmacology and pharmacotherapeutics and their application in clinical practice. Students will be taught the appropriate selection and rational use of drugs for the prevention and treatment of diseases. This course will include instruction in the acute and longitudinal management of gastroenterology, genitourinary, nephrology, rheumatology, orthopedics, and neurology diseases to include the preventive, acute, and chronic patient care situations. Students will be instructed in problem solving and medical decision-making skills while developing patient centered pharmacologic management plans for adult populations, while considering socioeconomic differences. Students will be instructed on the delivery of patient education and the counseling of patients about medication adherence. This course follows along with the Clinical Disease and Prevention Course PAMS 6630.

This course is a continuation of Laboratory Medicine and Diagnostic Studies I. This course continues to provide an overview of commonly utilized diagnostic tools, including laboratory studies, minor procedures, and radiologic procedures based on current professional practices. Students will learn the appropriate application and interpretation of diagnostic tests related to gastroenterology, nutrition, genitourinary, nephrology, rheumatology, orthopedics, and neurology. Students will apply problem solving and medical decision-making skills when selecting laboratory and diagnostic studies in conjunction with the Clinical Disease and Prevention Course PAMS 6630.

This course is a continuation of the Clinical Disease and Prevention I course. This course continues to follow an organ system-based delivery of instruction in patient evaluation, diagnosis, and management of clinical diseases and disorders covering all organ systems. Emphasis will be placed on instruction in the pathophysiology of diseases common to the organ system. Students will be taught to recognize the patient history, physical signs, and symptoms of diseases in order to generate a differential diagnosis, ordering and interpreting diagnostic studies, and diagnosis. Students will be instructed in problem solving and medical decision-making skills while developing acute and longitudinal management plans for the adult population. Management plans will be taught to be inclusive addressing medical issues, patient education, and referrals when needed. Students will receive instruction in delivering patient centered, culturally sensitive patient information focused on helping patients cope with illness, injury, and stress. Additional instruction will be given on behavior modification, lifestyle medicine, and prevention. This course will provide opportunities for students to apply the principles of interprofessional teams in the medical management of shared patients. This semester will focus on gastroenterology, nutrition, genitourinary, nephrology, rheumatology, musculoskeletal, and neurology diseases and disorders to include preventive, acute, chronic, and rehabilitative patient care.

This course is a continuation of Patient Assessment and Counseling II. This course continues to teach the fundamentals of medical history-taking, physical examination, and patient counseling across the lifespan including infant, children, adolescent, adult, and elderly populations. Physical examination of the patient is approached using a systematic model. Primary skills include performing complete and focused physical examinations, recognizing normal and abnormal findings, developing a diagnostic and treatment plan, counseling patients, medical documentation, and professional conduct. This course content builds a foundation for the development of the clinical reasoning skills and problem solving necessary to formulate differential diagnoses. Students will use common medical databases to access medical literature in support of medical treatment plans. Instruction in counseling in patient education skills is patient centered, culturally sensitive, and focused on helping patients cope with illness, injury, and stress, adhere to prescribed treatment plans, and modify their behaviors to more healthful patterns. This course also teaches awareness of differing health beliefs, values, and expectations of patients and other health care professionals that can affect communication, decision-making, compliance, and health outcomes. This section of the course will focus on medical history-taking, physical examination, and patient counseling to include: oral health, otolaryngology, ophthalmology, women’s health, endocrinology, and pediatrics. Patient presentations, simulations, standardized patients, case studies, role-play, and electronic medical record completion are additional components of this course.

This course is a continuation of Pharmacotherapeutics II as the curriculum progresses through the body/organ systems. This course is a study of the applied medical sciences of pharmacology and pharmacotherapeutics and their application in clinical practice. Students will be taught the appropriate selection and rational use of drugs for the prevention and treatment of diseases. This course will include instruction in the acute and longitudinal management of otolaryngology, ophthalmology, endocrinology, women’s health, mental health, pediatrics, emergency medicine, surgery, geriatrics, and palliative care conditions to include the preventive, emergent, acute, chronic, palliative, and end-of-life patient care situations. Students will be instructed in problem solving and medical decision-making skills while developing patient centered pharmacologic management plans for pediatric (infant, children, adolescent), adult, and elderly populations, while considering socioeconomic differences. Students will be instructed on the delivery of patient education and the counseling of patients about medication adherence, drug abuse, misuse, and treatments. This course follows along with the Clinical Disease and Prevention Course PAMS 6930.

This course is a continuation of Laboratory Medicine and Diagnostic Studies II. This course continues to provide an overview of commonly utilized diagnostic tools, including laboratory studies, minor procedures, and radiologic procedures based on current professional practices. Students will learn the appropriate application and interpretation of diagnostic tests related to otolaryngology, ophthalmology, endocrinology, women’s health, pediatrics, emergency medicine, surgery and geriatric/palliative conditions. Students will apply problem solving and medical decision-making skills when selecting laboratory and diagnostic studies in conjunction with the Clinical Disease and Prevention Course PAMS 6930.

This course is a continuation of the Clinical Disease and Prevention II course. This course continues to follow an organ system-based delivery of instruction in patient evaluation, diagnosis, and management of clinical diseases and disorders covering all organ systems. Emphasis will be placed on instruction in the pathophysiology of diseases common to the organ system. Students will be taught to recognize the patient history, physical signs, and symptoms of diseases in order to generate a differential diagnosis, ordering and interpreting diagnostic studies, and diagnosis. Students will be instructed in problem solving and medical decision-making skills while developing acute and longitudinal management plans for prenatal, infant, children, adolescent, adult, and elderly populations. Management plans will be taught to be inclusive addressing medical issues, patient education, and referrals when needed. Students will receive instruction in delivering patient centered, culturally sensitive patient information focused on helping patients cope with illness, injury, and stress. Additional instruction will be given on behavior modification, lifestyle medicine, and prevention. This course provides additional opportunities for students to apply the principles of interprofessional teams in the medical management of shared patients. This semester will focus on otolaryngology, ophthalmology, oral health, endocrinology, women’s health, pediatrics, emergency medicine, surgical disease, and geriatrics associated diseases and disorders to include preventive, emergent, acute, chronic, rehabilitative, palliative, and end-of-life patient care.

This course is designed to provide the students with an overview of normal and abnormal characteristics of human psychological development and behavior. This social and behavioral science course includes detection and treatment of substance abuse; human sexuality; issues of death, dying and loss; response to illness, injury, and stress; principles of violence identification and prevention; and psychiatric/behavioral conditions. The course will provide skills needed for clinical evaluation and assessment of children, adolescent, adult, and elderly populations with psychiatric/behavioral conditions and disorders. Instruction in this course will prepare students to provide preventative, emergent, acute, chronic, rehabilitative, palliative, and end-of-life care for patients with psychiatric disorders.

This course is designed to introduce the physician assistant student to common clinical skills and procedures following current professional practices. Students will utilize problem solving and medical decision-making skills as well as technical skills to perform in-office or bedside procedures. Certification for Basic Life Support (BLS) and Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support (ACLS) will occur during this course. The course will include instruction in interpersonal and communication skills as well as basic counseling over clinical procedures and informed consent. Students will be instructed over constructing and documenting a post-procedure care plan.