Master of Health Science with Physician Assistant (PA) Certificate
Curriculum
The intensive curriculum consists of 117 quarter hours of professionally related coursework taken during a continuous period (the part-time option requires an additional calendar year) and gives students an understanding of both the health care system within which they will work and the functions appropriate to the role of the physician assistant. The curriculum is divided into a full year of didactic courses followed by an additional 15 months of supervised clinical practice.Training begins with four quarters of didactic education, which also integrates patient interaction in several of these earliest courses. The clinical training phase consists of six (6) five-credit, five week clinical rotations in medicine, surgery, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics, emergency medicine, and psychiatry.The clinical phase of the curriculum is completed on a full-time basis for both full and part-time students.
The final portion of the curriculum consists of two, 10-credit quarter-long, primary care practica (preceptorships). During the preceptorship phase, each student is assigned to two primary care sites for individualized clinical training with physician preceptors. Training sites during the clinical year are located throughout Pennsylvania and in other states. Students are expected to relocate during the clinical phase and are responsible for all associated financial costs, including transportation and living expenses.
The program is intensely challenging, both intellectually and physically, and requires stamina as well as personal and financial sacrifice on the part of the students. The program demands a high degree of integrity, self-sufficiency, motivation, and self-discipline, and highly developed study skills.
The Physician Assistant program has moved toward electronic documentation and communications. Therefore, all students are required to have laptop computers that have Web access capability.
Contact the Physician Assistant Program for more information on the sequencing for the part-time option.
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| Required Courses | Credits | |||
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| First Year, Fall Quarter | ||||
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| PA 545 | Physician Assistant Practice | 2.0 | ||
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| PA 543 | Ethics in PA Practice | 2.0 | ||
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| PA 542 | Patient Communication | 2.0 | ||
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| PA 541 | Advanced Anatomy | 4.0 | ||
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| PA 544 | Clinical Assessment | 5.0 | ||
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| Total credits | 15.0 | |||
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| First Year, Winter Quarter* | ||||
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| PA 548 | Principles of Medical Science I | 2.0 | ||
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| PA 556 | Clinical Medicine I | 5.0 | ||
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| PA 551 | Pharmacolology and Therapeutics I | 3.0 | ||
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| PA 559 | Clinical Skills I | 2.0 | ||
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| PA 547 | Epidemiology for Practice and Prevention | 3.0 | ||
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| Total credits | 15.0 | |||
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| *In this quarter, part-time students take either PA 636 Graduate Project I or an elective in addition to these other required courses. | ||||
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| First Year, Spring Quarter | ||||
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| PA 549 | Principles of Medical Science II | 2.0 | ||
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| PA 557 | Clinical Medicine II | 5.0 | ||
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| PA 552 | Pharmacology and Therapeutics II | 2.0 | ||
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| PA 560 | Clinical Skills II | 2.0 | ||
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| PA 554 | Biopsychosocial Issues in Patient Care | 5.0 | ||
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| Total credits | 16.0 | |||
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| First Year, Summer Quarter* | ||||
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| PA 550 | Principles in Medical Science III | 2.0 | ||
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| PA 558 | Clinical Medicine III | 5.0 | ||
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| PA 553 | Pharmacology and Therapeutids III | 2.0 | ||
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| PA 561 | Clinical Skills III | 4.0 | ||
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| PA 546 | Health Policy for PA Practice | 2.0 | ||
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| Total credits | 15.0 | |||
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| *In this quarter, part-time students take either PA 639 Graduate Project II or an elective in addition to these other required courses. | ||||
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| The Clinical Phase (Full-time for all students, 5 quarters) | ||||
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| Second Year, Fall Quarter | ||||
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| Rotation I | 5.0 | |||
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| Rotation II | 5.0 | |||
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| Total credits | 10.0 | |||
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| Second Year, Winter Quarter | ||||
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| Rotation III | 6.0 | |||
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| Rotation IV | 5.0 | |||
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| Graduate Project I | 3.0 | |||
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| Total credits | 13.0 | |||
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| Second Year, Spring Quarter | ||||
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| Rotation V | 6.0 | |||
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| Rotation VI | 5.0 | |||
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| Total credits | 10.0 | |||
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| Third Year, Summer Quarter | ||||
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| PA 635 | Primary Care Practicum I | 10.0 | ||
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| PA 638 | Graduate Project II | 3.0 | ||
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| Total credits | 13.0 | |||
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| Fourth Year, Fall Quarter | ||||
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| PA 637 | Primary Care Practicum II | 10.0 | ||
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| Total credits | 10.0 | |||
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| *Clinical Year Rotation Courses | ||||
| The sequencing of the six clinical rotations will vary for individual students, but all students must take all six rotations. | ||||
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| PA 629 | Medical Rotation | 5.0 | ||
| PA 630 | Pediatrics Rotation | 5.0 | ||
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| PA 631 | OB/GYN Rotation | 5.0 | ||
| PA 632 | Psychiatry Rotation | 5.0 | ||
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| PA 633 | Surgery Rotation | 5.0 | ||
| PA 634 | Emergency Medicine Rotation | 5.0 | ||
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