Curriculum

The Master of Medical Science Physician Assistant program includes a 7-semester program of study culminating in 129.5 credit hours. The program competencies and curriculum are aligned to provide the elements and experiences necessary to prepare new physician assistant graduates for entry into practice.

Program Competencies

Graduates of the program will demonstrate competency in:

  • patient care
  • medical knowledge
  • professionalism
  • interpersonal and communication skills
  • practice-based learning and improvement
  • systems-based practice
  • interprofessional collaborative practice
  • social, cultural, and community contexts of healthcare

SYSTEMS-BASED CURRICULUM (PDF)

Coursework and credit hours by semester

Required Clinical Experiences

You'll receive forty weeks of training in the core clinical areas of family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics, women’s health, general surgery, behavioral health, geriatrics and emergency medicine. Each required rotation is four weeks in length.

Required Clinical Rotations

  • MEDPA 5610 Family Medicine I
  • MEDPA 5611 Family Medicine II
  • MEDPA 5620 Internal Medicine I
  • MEDPA 5621 Internal Medicine II
  • MEDPA 5630 Emergency Medicine
  • MEDPA 5640 Women’s Health
  • MEDPA 5650 Pediatrics
  • MEDPA 5660 General Surgery
  • MEDPA 5670 Behavioral Health
  • MEDPA 5680 Geriatrics

These clinical experiences are under the supervision of assigned preceptors in approved clinical sites. You'll have the opportunity to examine and treat patients with urgent, emergent, acute and chronic medical conditions. Student clinical experiences include healthcare services that are provided in outpatient and inpatient settings (including surgical environments), and the delivery of healthcare for patients of all ages.

You'll gain proficiency and experience working as a member of an organized healthcare team, deliver patient education and participate in the continuity of healthcare for the patient.

You are required to complete eight weeks of elective clinical rotations ranging from two to four weeks in length.

Elective Clinical Experiences

This clinical experience is a student-selected experience that meets program defined expectations. The experience is chosen either from a site in the program’s database or from a site the student proposes that meets program approval. The program reserves the right to assign the student a specific elective to meet expected program clinical expectations and learning competencies.

The experience gives you an opportunity to enhance an area of interest and/or a potential location for future clinical practice. Generally, the elective is scheduled later in the clinical year of study.