Clinical Phase
Curriculum
The clinical phase will continue to have 9 required mandatory rotations. Students will be offered two elective rotations and one of the two thesis blocks (GMS PS 900 Thesis). The thesis course will allow students dedicated time to complete their thesis and the two electives will allow them time to explore clinical areas of interest.
There will be a total of 12 blocks during the clinical phase – 9 for required rotations, one for thesis and 2 for elective rotations.
Required Courses – PS 870 PA Profession
The PA Profession course (2 cr.) is comprised of lectures and seminars on professional development topics ranging from Reading an ECG: A Review to Negotiating an Employment Contract. These sessions occur throughout the clinical year and coincide with the last day of certain rotations, so we refer to them as “call back” sessions.
Mandatory Clerkships
In general, each week of clinical education equals 1 credit hour of academic work.
Clinical Year 3 – Clerkships |
Credit Hours |
| PS 800 Internal Medicine I & II | 8 cr. |
| PS 803 Family Medicine | 4 cr. |
| PS 805 Emergency Medicine | 4 cr. |
| PS 806 Pediatrics | 4 cr. |
| PS 807 Psychiatry | 4 cr. |
| PS 808 Obstetrics and Gynecology | 4 cr. |
| PS 809 General Surgery | 4 cr. |
| PS 923 Neurology | 4 cr. |
| 2 electives | 4 cr. each |
Courses |
Credit Hours |
| PS 870 PA Profession | 2 cr. |
| PS 996 Intro to Clinical Medicine | 4 cr. |
Students are not required to provide or solicit clinical rotations for any clinical rotations. The Director of Clinical Education is responsible for maintaining the site roster, managing clinical rotations, and providing oversight for the clinical training standards.
Elective Clerkships
Elective clerkships are offered in more than 40 sub-specialties of medicine and surgery including sub-internship opportunities in emergency medicine and internal medicine. Students complete 3 elective clerkships (20 credit hours).
Transportation & Housing
While many of the mandatory clerkships will be at one of our three major affiliate academic medical centers, each student is expected to travel to rural and remote sites to balance the diversity of their clinical education. As a result, all students are required to have reliable means of transportation during the clinical phase of the program. Transportation costs for the clinical phase of the program are reflected in the student financial aid budget for year 3.
Housing is provided for mandatory away rotations at no cost for the student.
Assessment
Evaluation of the student’s clinical acumen is determined by the clinical site preceptor evaluation, logging of diagnoses and clinical procedures, assignments, presentations, and performance on the end-of-rotation knowledge-based examination for each rotation. Preparedness for clinical practice will be objectively established by a 7-station clinical skills examination prior to graduation (called OSCEs) and with a summative exam that occurs within three months of graduation.