Clinical Course Descriptions

PAS 701 BEHAVIORAL MEDICINE AND HEALTHCARE
During this six-week clinical clerkship the student will be exposed to and actively participate as a member of the behavioral health team, and function under the direct supervision of the assigned clinical preceptor, supervision of attending physicians, house staff, physician assistants or other credentialed providers for the specialty. The goal of clinical clerkship is to provide the student with practical clinical exposure to patients, including common behavioral health conditions, diagnostic procedures, interviewing and counseling techniques and treatments and technologies that are common for the behavioral health specialty addressing patients across the life span. Preceptors will guide the students’ learning activities to assist them in achieving the course learning objectives. It is likely that not all clinical conditions required for the mastery of this content area will be encountered during the clerkship. Student self-directed learning activities and clinical clerkship support materials will complement the preceptor directed activities (6 credits).

PAS 702 EMERGENCY MEDICINE
During this six-week clinical clerkship the student will be exposed to and actively participate as a member of the facility’s emergency healthcare team and function under the direct supervision of the assigned clinical preceptor, supervision of attending physicians, house staff and physician assistants. The goal of this clinical clerkship is to provide the student with practical clinical exposure to patients with emergent or urgent medical conditions, diagnostic procedures, treatments and technologies that are specific to the Emergency Medicine specialty addressing patients across the life span. Preceptors will guide the students’ learning activities to assist them in achieving the course learning objectives. It is likely that not all clinical conditions required for the mastery of this content area will be encountered during the clerkship. Student self-directed learning activities and clinical clerkship support materials will complement the preceptor directed activities (6 credits).

PAS 703 FAMILY MEDICINE
During this six-week clinical clerkship the student will be exposed to and actively participate as a member of a facility’s Family Medicine healthcare team and function under the direct supervision of the assigned clinical preceptor, attending physicians, supporting medical staff and physician assistants. The Family Medicine clinical clerkship will provide the student with practical clinical exposure to primary care patients, including common medical conditions, diagnostic procedures, treatments and technologies common to the Family Medicine healthcare environment. Preceptors will guide student learning activities to assist them in achieving course goals, learning outcomes and objectives. It is likely that not all clinical conditions required for the mastery of this content area will be encountered during the clerkship. Student self-directed learning activities and clinical clerkship support materials will enhance the learning experience of this course and complement the preceptor directed activities (6 credits).

PAS 704 INTERNAL MEDICINE
During this six-week clinical clerkship the student will be exposed to and actively participate as a member of the facility’s Internal Medicine healthcare team and function under the direct supervision of the assigned clinical preceptor, supervision of attending physicians, house staff and physician assistants. The goal of clinical clerkship is to provide the student with practical clinical exposure to patients, including common medical conditions, diagnostic procedures, treatments and technologies that are common for the healthcare environment specific to the Internal Medicine specialty. Preceptors will guide the students’ learning activities to assist them in achieving the course learning objectives. Students will be provided an education module regarding the management of patients with end of life conditions, addressing issues and concerns of patients, family and the multidisciplinary team involved in the palliative care planning and care of the terminally ill patient. It is likely that not all clinical conditions required for the mastery of this content area will be encountered during the clerkship. Student self-directed learning activities and clinical clerkship support materials will complement the preceptor directed activities (6 credits).

PAS 705 PEDIATRICS
During this six-week clinical clerkship the student will be exposed to and actively participate as a member of the facility’s pediatric healthcare team and function under the direct supervision of the assigned clinical preceptor, supervision of attending physicians, house staff and physician assistants. The goal of clinical clerkship is to provide the student with practical clinical exposure to pediatric patients, including common medical conditions, diagnostic procedures, treatments, and technologies common for the healthcare environment specific to the pediatrics specialty. The student will be exposed to not only the ill child, but also to the well child development and growth within the family unit and in peer interactions. Preceptors will guide the students learning activities to assist them in achieving the course learning objectives. It is likely that not all clinical conditions required for the mastery of this content area will be encountered during the clerkship. Student self-directed learning activities and clinical clerkship support materials will complement the preceptor directed activities (6 credits).

PAS 706 SURGERY
During this six-week clinical clerkship the student will be exposed to and actively participate as a member of the facility’s general surgery healthcare team and function under the direct supervision of the assigned clinical preceptor, supervision of attending physicians, house staff and physician assistants. The goal of clinical clerkship is to teach the student to perform a thorough rapid and methodical assessment, evaluate acutely ill and potentially surgical patients. The student will work as a member of the medical team providing immediate pre- and post-op care as well as gaining hands-on experience in the operating room setting, including the common diagnostic procedures, treatments and technologies common for the general surgery specialty. Preceptors will guide the students’ learning activities to assist them in achieving the course learning objectives. It is likely that not all clinical conditions required for the mastery of this content area will be encountered during the clerkship. Student self-directed learning activities and clinical clerkship support materials will complement the preceptor directed activities (6 credits).

PAS 707 WOMEN’S HEALTH-OB/GYN
During this six-week clinical clerkship the student will be exposed to and actively participate as a member of the facility’s Women’s Healthcare team and function under the direct supervision of the assigned clinical preceptor, supervision of attending physicians, house staff and physician assistants. The goal of clinical clerkship is to provide the student with practical clinical skills and participate in the care of a variety of patients with obstetric or gynecological complaints. The student will become proficient in accurate assessment of the obstetric patient with emphasis on pre- and post- natal care. The student will also become involved with the practice of “preventive” obstetrics and gynecology as well as common gynecologic disorders. Preceptors will guide the students’ learning activities to assist them in achieving the course learning objectives. It is likely that not all clinical conditions required for the mastery of this content area will be encountered during the clerkship. Student self-directed learning activities and clinical clerkship support materials will complement the preceptor directed activities (6 credits).

PAS 708 ELECTIVE
Students may choose to seek specialty clinical clerkship to augment their clinical experience or choose to perform additional time to build a great foundation of one of the core clinical clerkship. During this six-week clinical clerkship, the student will be exposed to and actively participate as a member of the healthcare team of the elective clerkship and function under the direct supervision of the assigned clinical preceptor, supervision of attending physicians, house staff and physician assistants. The goal of elective clinical clerkship is to provide students either an experience in a new clinical area or additional exposure to patients, including common medical conditions, diagnostic procedures, treatments and technologies that are common for the healthcare environment specific to the clerkship or elective specialty. Preceptors will guide student learning activities to assist them in achieving the course learning objectives. It is likely that not all clinical conditions required for the mastery of this content area will be encountered during the clerkship. Student self-directed learning activities and clinical clerkship support materials will complement the preceptor directed activities (6 credits).

PAS 709 SEMINAR CAPSTONE
Although the CMSV PA Program is a non-thesis Master degree, it is expected that the student will research and write a final paper or prepare poster presentation suitable for display at state or national PA conference that will be thoroughly researched. The final project will include writing a clinical review article suitable for publication in JAAPA or similar publication or poster presentation at PA state or national organization.

Students will collaborate with their assigned faculty advisor and the course coordinator (1 credit).

PAS 710 ADVANCED CLINICAL ASSESSMENT
This course is designed to assist the PA student to be successful in clinical clerkships and transition into common professional workplace environments. This course is presented in a seminar style that will also include self-directed learning modules. Topics will include interprofessional education (communication and PA healthcare team relations); reimbursement, billing and coding; electronic medical record, information technology for patient/health education and preventive care; systems-based practice; insurance systems and prior authorization; patient safety and quality improvement, include preparing for employment (licensing, credentialing and finding employment); workplace stress and provider burnout; medico-legal and risk management; and current issues, professional and current events in medicine and trends facing the PA Profession. In addition to scheduled topics, students will be responsible for reviewing assigned topic related readings, researching topic related items and/or presenting case or topic related materials

This seminar course will provide students with an orientation to clinical practice including preparation for the National Commission of the Certification of Physician Assistants examination and information requirements for licensure. The course requires attendance and participation at ALL call back days and other scheduled learning days throughout the clinical year. Formative examinations will be administered to assess medical knowledge basic and skill sets acquired prior graduation and entering the clinical practice of medicine. Written summative examinations, a practical (Objective Structured Clinical Experience-OSCE/Objective Structured Long Examination Record – OSLER) examination, and a Professional Assessment Evaluation Tool (P-DAT) will be administered to ensure the student has integrated the course content and demonstrates readiness for entry into clinical practice. Students will have the opportunity to further develop and foster the physician assistant student’s ability to think critically through patient simulation experiences, which will help prepare the student for the summative culminate in a formal OSCE/OSLER examination required to pass the course. Student must successfully pass both the end of curriculum exam and the OSCE/OSLER exam in order to pass this course.

PASR 711 PRE-CLINICAL REMEDITATION
Remediation is an intensive 6-week remediation course that reviews the etiology, clinical manifestations, diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of medical and surgical conditions. The pathophysiology of the organ systems in relation to the various disease processes is integrated into clinical presentations, historical and physical findings, and laboratory and radiographic test results. Emphasis is placed on application of a review of clinical situations, on diagnostic problem-solving, and differential diagnosis, as well as issues of patient education and preventive medicine. Students refine their ability to reason independently in developing treatment and management plans for various patient presentations. Clinical remediation is intended to address the student’s deficiency of knowledge and/or skills. The course will teach the student clinical decision-making related to the prevention, diagnosis, treatment and prognosis of medical disorders. Students are instructed on how to obtain information, what clinical exams to perform, how to generate a reasonable differential diagnosis, and how to discriminate among diagnoses when dealing with various medical issues. Students prepare and deliver topic presentations in the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA) medical content blueprint areas (0 credits).

PASR 712 REMEDIATION OF CLINICAL DEFICIENCIES (CLINICAL REMEDIATION)
Clinical remediation is an intensive course that reviews the etiology, clinical manifestations, diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of medical and surgical conditions. The pathophysiology of the organ systems in relation to the various disease processes is integrated into clinical presentations, historical and physical findings, and laboratory and radiographic test results. Emphasis is placed on application of a review of clinical situations, on diagnostic problem-solving, and differential diagnosis, as well as issues of patient education and preventive medicine. Students refine their ability to reason independently in developing treatment and management plans for various patient presentations. Clinical remediation is intended to address the student’s deficiency of knowledge and/or skills. The course will teach the student clinical decision-making related to the prevention, diagnosis, treatment and prognosis of medical disorders. Students are instructed on how to obtain information, what clinical exams to perform, how to generate a reasonable differential diagnosis, and how to discriminate among diagnoses when dealing with various medical issues. Students prepare and deliver topic presentations in the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA) medical content blueprint areas (0 credits).