Completion Program Curriculum

All students begin during the January semester and must follow the sequence above.

Course Descriptions

PAS 514 - Epidemiology & Evidence-Based Medicine

This course is designed to teach physician assistant students how to obtain, process, refine and prioritize the growing body of information relevant to the practice of medicine. Evidence-based medicine is a philosophy and a technique which will enhance the understanding of the science of medicine, provide a tool for determining the best evidence to apply to questions of patient care, and foster the attitude of life-long learning.

PAS 505 - Human Physiology

This course is designed to provide the student with a basic understanding of the function of the major organ systems of the human body.  This understanding provides insight into the rationale behind various clinical and therapeutic interventions. Fundamental aspects of human physiology that will be presented include: Cellular Physiology, Hematology/Coagulation/Immunology, Autonomic Nervous System, Respiratory Physiology, Cardiac/Circulatory Physiology, Male Reproductive Physiology, Female Reproductive Physiology, Endocrine Physiology, Gastrointestinal Physiology, Neurophysiology and Renal Physiology.

PAS 515 - Health Promotion & Disease Prevention

This course is designed to teach the physician assistant student health promotion topics. This course will review the practice frameworks for health promotion including US Preventive Service Taskforce (USPSTF) recommendations and Health People 2010/2020 leading health indicators. This course has two major themes. The first is that providing good preventive care is essential to the health of your patients and to the delivery of cost effective healthcare. The second is that in your role as a clinician, one of your most important responsibilities is to communicate effectively to educate your patients

PAS 620 - Research Methods/Master Project

All students are required to develop a quality paper in AMA style that meets the standards required for publication in a peer-reviewed professional journal. This is a non-thesis Master’s degree. Although the Master project is not a thesis, it is expected that the final paper will be thoroughly researched and well written. The final project will include a clinical review or a CME article.