PHAS 500 Gross Anatomy(cc)
This course provides students with a thorough understanding of anatomy of the human body with a strong emphasis on the body cavities and organ systems including thorax, abdomen and pelvis. A study of the extremities and musculoskeletal systems is included. The student will be provided with a more thorough understanding of normal human anatomy and its variations, surgical interventions and disease sequelae that are encountered in the dissecting laboratory. 4 credits.
PHAS 502 Pathophysiology
This course is designed to promote the understanding and application of fundamental disease processes in clinical settings. Students will study the essential mechanisms and sequence of events leading to the development and functional changes associated with the disease process. General concepts of diseases, including etiology, pathogenesis, morphology, and biochemistry will be discussed. General pathophysiological concepts including cell injury, necrosis, inflammation, wound healing, and neoplasia will also be taught. A review of anatomy and physiology will be incorporated in this course. 3 credits.
PHAS 503 Fundamentals of Clinical Medicine I
The principles of clinical care will be taught through the intensive study of the symptoms, anatomy, physiology, etiology, epidemiology, history, physical examination findings, diagnosis and treatment of disease states. Counseling, management and patient education issues will be explored. Clinical case discussions through weekly case presentations and case write-ups will be included. The internal medicine components in this course are rheumatology, gastroenterology, genetics, and ophthalmology. 3 credits.
PHAS 504 Fundamentals of Clinical Medicine II
The second in the yearlong series, this course is a continuation of the principles of clinical care. Fundamentals of Clinical Medicine II will cover the major areas of internal medicine:
cardiology, endocrinology, hematology, psychiatry, neurology, infectious diseases and pulmonology. Weekly case presentations and write-ups utilizing the Subjective, Objective, Assessment Plan (SOAP) format are essential in this course. 4 credits.
PHAS 505 Fundamentals of Clinical Medicine III
An exploration of clinical care concentrating on disorders found in common specialties such as surgery, emergency medicine, pediatrics, geriatrics, obstetrics and gynecology, dermatology, otolaryngology and nephrology. A study of the principles of prescription writing and actual prescriptive order writing are incorporated in the weekly case presentations and write-ups. 6 credits.
PHAS 506 Patient Interviewing
Patient Interviewing is the first in a series of courses concentrating on the behavioral aspects of primary care medicine through the integration of individual, family and community concerns, an approach commonly used in primary care medicine. Patient Interviewing will teach students the skills needed in interviewing, history taking and medical note writing. Communication skills, including cross-cultural competencies, self-reflection and clinician bias will be discussed. Patient-centered care and patient education will be an integral part of this course. Class participation and role-playing is required in order to develop these skills. 2 credits.
PHAS 509 Pharmacology I
This course presents a study of the mechanisms of drug action in the treatment of disease, including the determinants of bioavailability such as uptake, distribution, metabolism and elimination, and drug-receptor interaction and competition. The basis of therapeutic and adverse effects of each class of drug will be discussed by system. The modification of drug action and adverse effects will also be discussed. 3 credits.
PHAS 510 Pharmacology II
The therapeutic and adverse effects of each class of drug will continue from the previous course. The process through which the government regulates drug approval and other relevant concerns will be addressed during this course. 3 credits.
PHAS 512 Preventive Medicine and Public Health
Fundamental concepts in preventive medicine and public health will be introduced in this course. Topics include control and prevention of communicable diseases relevant to the U.S. population, toxicology; occupational health; environmental health; prevention of chronic conditions; and violence as a public health problem. Students will also learn about the organization of the health care system in the U.S. and other countries and will familiarize themselves with administrative, ethical and legal issues important for Public Health practice. 2 credits.
PHAS 513 Physician Assistant Seminar
The history of the Physician Assistant profession, role socialization, credentials, rules and regulations governing clinical responsibilities and dynamics of membership on a health care team will be discussed in this seminar. The seminar will further explore the social dimensions of health care; literature will be used to define our role as health care providers. Controversies in the profession and current issues in health care will be raised. 2 credits.
PHAS 514 Evidence-Based Medicine
A critical evaluation of journal articles and the practice of using research to answer clinical questions will be explored during this course. Articles concerning treatment, diagnosis, prognosis and harm will be discussed in detail as well as statistical methods used to validate findings. Techniques of critical appraisal will be stressed. 2 credits.
PHAS 518 EKG and Radiology
Basic concepts needed to read electrocardiographs (EKG) and radiographic studies will be introduced. The basic principles of radiology and imaging techniques and procedures such as plain radiographs, ultrasound, computed tomography and MR images will be reviewed. Normal and abnormal findings on these commonly ordered studies will be emphasized. Practice in reading and interpreting electrocardiograms will also be covered. 2 credits.
PHAS 528 Communication in the Medical Encounter
This course is the continuation of PHAS 506, Patient Interviewing. It focuses on the clinician-patient encounter. This course will focus on developing and refining communication and interviewing skills. The importance of establishing rapport with patients and creating an atmosphere that promotes empathy and supports good listening skills will be emphasized.
Topics will include learning how to promote healthy behavior and apply motivational interviewing; discuss difficult news with patients and engage in conversations regarding care at the end of life. Sensitive topics such as domestic violence; eating disorders and
sexuality will be discussed as well as interviewing across the life span. Throughout the course students will be asked to reflect on those aspects of the clinician-patient encounter that are most personally challenging. 2 credits.
PHAS 529 Clinical Decision Making and Problem Solving
This course is designed to foster the critical clinical thinking skills necessary to develop patient databases and differential diagnoses for medical problems encountered in the primary care setting. Emphasis is on correlation of historical information, physical findings, and pertinent laboratory results to formulate a diagnosis and a patient management plan.
Students will develop these skills through analyzing and presenting clinical cases. 3 credits.
PHAS 530 Medical Spanish I
This course is designed to impart the language skills and vocabulary necessary for communication with Spanish speaking people in a variety of health care related situations.
No previous knowledge of Spanish is required. Emphasis will be on conversation. 1 credit.
PHAS 531 Medical Spanish II
Building upon the foundation of knowledge gained in Medical Spanish I, this course is designed to continue to impart medical vocabulary and practical language skills to conduct medical interviews and physical examinations in the clinical setting. 1 credit.
PHAS 532 Physical diagnosis I
This course will explore the principles and skills required to perform a complete physical examination and special diagnostic maneuvers. A combined lecture and laboratory format is utilized. Using an organ systems approach, emphasis is on normal adult physical findings. The examination of children, adolescents, and the elderly will also be discussed. This forms the basis for correlating pathologic findings and underlying diseases. Students will also learn to accurately integrate and record historical and physical findings in written format. 2 credits.
PHAS 533 Physical diagnosis II
Building upon the foundation of knowledge gained in Physical Diagnosis I, this course continues to explore the principles and skills required to perform a complete physical examination and special diagnostic maneuvers. A combined lecture and laboratory format is utilized. Using an organ systems approach, emphasis is on normal adult physical findings. The examination of children, adolescents and the elderly will also be discussed.
This forms the basis for correlating pathologic findings and underlying diseases. Students will continue learning to accurately integrate and record historical and physical findings in written format. Actual gynecological and female breast examinations on live models are integrated in this course. 2 credits.
PHAS 540 Clinical Laboratory Procedures I
This laboratory-based course is designed to teach students technical procedures frequently encountered in primary care, emergency medicine, and surgical settings such as sterile technique, intravenous cannulization, suturing, urethral catheterization, and endotracheal and nasogastric intubation. Key concepts will be discussed in lectures, demonstrations and supervised laboratory practice. 2 credits.
PHAS 541 Clinical Laboratory Procedures II
Building upon the foundation of knowledge gained in PHAS 540 Clinical Laboratory Procedure I, this course will provide the student with the basic knowledge to analyze and determine normal and abnormal blood serum tests, arterial blood gases, and urine laboratory tests. This course will enhance the student’s ability to correlate the clinical significance of changes in the normal values of common laboratory tests to formulate the correct diagnosis. 2 credits.
PHAS 612 - 620 Clinical Clerkship I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX
Nine supervised clinical courses provide students with hands-on clinical experience and evaluation into the care for pediatric and adult patients. Students are actively engaged in the delivery of care in inpatient, outpatient and long term care settings. The 6 week long clerkship experiences offer training in internal medicine, pediatrics, surgery, emergency medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, and primary care. These clerkships are equal to 4 credits each. Students also complete 3 week long clerkship experiences in psychiatry and a chosen field of medicine to explore or to gain intensive experience in one of the core practice areas of medicine. This elective clerkship placement must be approved by the Physician Assistant Program. These elective clerkships are equal to 2 credits each.
During these clerkships, students evaluate medical and surgical patients and follow their daily progress; thereby developing the ability to elicit history and physical findings, correlate those findings along with the patients' physiologic and biochemical data and emotional state in order to formulate a plan for patient management. Students are also given opportunities to develop skills and demonstrate competency in performing and interpreting certain medical procedures and tasks. Students also receive instruction and evaluation in professional competencies including relating to colleagues, communicating with patients, understanding the PA role and limitations, self-confidence, reliability, dependability, attitude and appearance. 2-4 credits
PHAS 700 Seminar in Community Health Research
Methodological and practical guidelines on how to assess approach and address community health problems and to develop effective and culturally appropriate interventions, for application to the program’s Masters Project. Students will learn to design, produce, and administer survey questionnaires, which are important tools of primary data collection at the community level. 3 credits.
PHAS 701 Epidemiological Methods
An introduction to biostatistics and epidemiology with application to medical and biological research will be covered. Topics will include an overview and history of epidemiology, study designs, rates and proportions, contingency tables, measures of association, confounding and effect modification, infectious disease, epidemic surveillance, and evaluation of clinical tests. Practical application will consist of analysis of data collection and analysis and as well as reviews of current literature. Students will be trained in the use of SPSS. 3 credits.
PHAS 704 Master’s Project Seminar
Using research sites provided by the program, students will collect and analyze data concerning a community based health program. Findings will be presented in a published format before the full program faculty. 6 credits.
PHAS 890 Capstone Continuation
Students who have completed all coursework but have not completed their capstone project within the required one term must register for this course each subsequent term until the project is completed. No credit, but cost is equivalent to one credit. Only two consecutive terms of capstone continuation registration permitted.
PHAS 899 Maintenance of Matriculation
Students are expected to register in successive terms to maintain status as a matriculated student. However, if a student cannot enroll in a term, maintenance of matriculation is required.
The fee is $100 per term and is processed as a registration. Maintenance of matriculation without attending class is limited to one year. Students who have not maintained matriculation and wish to return to their program within one year after their last course will be charged the fee for each missed term. Activated U.S. Military Reservists are not required to pay the fee. No credit.