Courses: Descriptions and Credit Values
A typical course schedule consists of the following. Additional course options may be available and listed below under Other Courses.
Didactic Component Courses
The Body, Mind and Spirit Seminar series is a five course series (Summer, Fall, Winter, Spring, and Summer) that exposes the student to seminal material germane to the role of the practicing physician assistant. Foundational topics in the following areas will be presented over the five terms in this course series: Professionalism (including intellectual honesty); Cross Culturalism and Care of Diverse Patient Populations; Interprofessional Team Concepts; Health Care Delivery Systems; Evaluation of the Medical Literature; Concepts of Public Health; Patient Safety and Prevention of Medical Errors; Ethical Practice; PA Professional Issues; Development and History of the PA Profession and Spirituality in Medicine.
It is important for the student to understand the relationships between material presented in this course and that presented in other courses and experiences in the curriculum. Material presented in one area should be recognized as complementary to and not apart from that presented in other arenas.
The course will present the student with opportunities to accomplish the stated objectives through a variety of methods that may include but are not limited to: lecture, discussion, simulated patient encounters, and performing case presentations. Collaborative and individual exercises will be used to promote retention of presented course material and also to simulate clinical situations to increase critical thinking skills.
The Clinical Medicine Practicum series is a four course sequence which places students in supervised clinical patient care settings throughout their didactic education. Students will learn the art of medicine from PAs, physicians, and other health care providers in a variety of care environments and specialities. Through a partnership with local rehabilitation centers, students will have the opportunity to complete comprehensive history and physical exams on patients with complex acute and chronic disease profiles, applying their didactic education as they learn. Students will provide readmission prevention patient education for cardiac patients and falls prevention for at-risk adults through ATSU’s Heart Failure Project and Falls Prevention Project.
Didactic Clinical Experiences
The Clinical Medicine series is an eleven course series that provides physician assistant students a systems-based education on health promotion and disease prevention, and patient evaluation, diagnosis and management across the life span. Building upon the material that is presented in the foundations of medicine courses, each course in the clinical medicine series will provide instruction covering a system body system, developing an understanding of the pathophysiologic basis of disease (including genetics and molecular mechanisms of disease), generating systems-specific differential diagnoses, ordering and interpreting diagnostic studies, and formulating and implementing pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic treatment plans. Special emphasis will be given to the major principles of pharmacology, including concepts of drug absorption, distribution, metabolism, and elimination. Medications covered will include those most commonly used in the care and treatment of the system-specific conditions.
Students will be challenged to apply their knowledge through problem-based case scenarios to develop problem solving and medical decision-making skills in addition to completing written examinations. This program of study will prepare physician assistant students to provide preventive, emergent, acute, chronic, rehabilitative, palliative, and end-of-life care to prenatal, pediatric, adult, and elderly populations.
The Clinical Medicine series has been carefully organized to present material system by system to promote interaction of material from parallel courses in the curriculum, i.e. History and Physical, Pharmacology and Body, Mind &, Spirit.
The Clinical Skills series is a four course sequence which provides hands-on training for clinical procedures common in current professional practice. Using low instructor-student ratios and medium- and high-fidelity manikins, students will gain familiarity with a range of clinical procedures while developing their bedside manner and confidence. Team-based care principles will be taught through formative simulation experiences. All students will obtain ACLS certification during this course sequence.
The Clinical Skills series has been carefully organized to present material system by system to promote interaction of material from parallel courses in the curriculum, i.e. Clinical Medicine, History & Physical, and Body, Mind, Spirit.
The History and Physical Examination series is a four course series that provides physician assistant students with techniques of taking a patient history and performing a physical examination. This course will also teach the PA student the proper use of medical diagnostic equipment, selected clinical procedures and effective skills for communicating with patients, their families and other health professionals. Students will learn and practice basic counseling and patient education skills. The courses will include classroom activities, laboratory sessions and clinical experiences.
Topics will be arranged on a systems basis and complement coursework in the clinical medicine lecture series to the extent possible by the logistics of scheduling. It is important for the student to understand the relationships between material presented in this course and that presented in other courses and experiences in the curriculum. Material presented in one area should be recognized as complementary to and not apart from that presented in other arenas.
The course will present the student with opportunities to accomplish the stated objectives through a variety of methods that may include but are not limited to: lecture, discussion, simulated patient encounters, writing the details of a complete history and physical examination, writing problem specific history and physical examinations in the SOAP note format, and performing case presentations and actual clinical experiences. Collaborative and individual exercises will be used to promote retention of presented course material and also to simulate clinical situations to increase critical thinking skills.
The History and Physical Examination series has been carefully organized to present material system by system to promote interaction of material from parallel courses in the curriculum, i.e. Clinical Medicine, Clinical Skills, and Body, Mind, Spirit.
Supervised Clinical Practice Experiences
Clinical experiences will average approximately 40 hours per week on site, in patient-related care. Some clinical experiences may involve slightly shorter (no less than 36 hours per week) or longer hours (no more than 80 hours per week), evening, weekend or on-call responsibilities. The preceptor will determine the student’s onsite schedule and clinical responsibilities. Students must adhere to each clinical experience schedule and to all assignments developed by the preceptor. If this is not possible in any given week at a specific clinical site, the student is to notify the clinical team in advance.
Patient-related care includes evaluating and treating patients, charting and appropriate paperwork (written or electronic), case presentations, discussions with the preceptor, and other duties as applicable.