Goals and Competencies | Physician Assistant Studies at PCOM
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PHYSICIAN ASSISTANT STUDIES

Goals and Competencies 
Physician Assistant Studies

The PCOM Physician Assistant (PA) program provides students with the knowledge, interpersonal, clinical and technical skills, professional behaviors, clinical reasoning, and problem-solving abilities required for PA practice.

Program Competencies

Clinical and technical skills

  1. Elicit a detailed and accurate history, and perform a comprehensive physical exam.
  2. Obtain a directed history based on patient presentation, and perform a focused physical exam.
  3. Perform the following clinical skills as dictated by the situation:
    1. Venipuncture; splinting; suturing; urinary catheterization; Pap smear; EKGs; injections.

Clinical reasoning and problem-solving abilities

  1. Manage life-threatening emergencies by employing ACLS and/or BLS.
  2. Interpret the appropriate diagnostic studies.
  3. Formulate and document an individual management plan.
  4. Utilize information databases to select evidence-based literature for application to patient care.

Interpersonal skills

  1. Communicate effectively as a healthcare professional.
  2. Provide health education to the patient or his/her caregiver.

Medical knowledge

  1. Apply knowledge of basic sciences with a focus on clinical application.
  2. Provide care across the lifespan to a diverse patient population.
  3. Analyze, integrate, and synthesize data from the patient medical record.
  4. Draw upon a fund of medical knowledge in order to formulate a differential diagnosis.
  5. Critically appraise the medical literature.

Professional behaviors

  1. Work collaboratively with other members of the healthcare team in providing appropriate patient care.
  2. To care for all members of our diverse community with human dignity and respect.

Program Goals

1. To provide a comprehensive didactic and clinical curriculum that will prepare the graduate for entry level practice.

  • We are proud of the rigorous curriculum that enables our graduates to be successful and consistently earn exam scores above the national average on the national certifying board exam.
  • The below table represents the percentage of students that performed at or above the national mean score on the End of Curriculum (EOC) exam.
  Class of 2022 Class of 2023 Class of 2024
Georgia (%) 24/29 (83) 23/26 (88) 20/30 (67)
Philadelphia (%) 49/53 (92) 44/49 (90) 36/48 (75)
Program (%) 73/82 (89) 67/75 (89) 56/78 (72)
National Mean Score 1495 1495 1516

2. To provide instruction and experiences that allow students to demonstrate collaboration as part of a patient-centered team.

  • Students participate in a longitudinal interprofessional (IPE) course in the didactic phase of the program. At the completion of each IPE module, the students complete a survey evaluating rated items on a scale ranging from strongly disagree to strongly agree. Below are the percentage of student responses that agreed and strongly agreed with the statement, “I feel that using interprofessional small groups is overall positive and helpful.”
  Class of 2024 Class of 2025
Georgia (%) 168/190 (88) 167/187 (89)
Philadelphia (%) 270/301 (89) 293/343 (85)
Program (%) 438/491 (89) 460/530 (87)
  • Preceptors evaluate student performance on each preceptorship. Students are rated on a scale of 1-10 with a score of 8 equating to the program determined expected level of performance. Below is the average student performance on the rated item, “Demonstrates positive interactions with members of the health care team.”
  Class of 2022 Class of 2023 Class of 2024
Georgia 9.86 9.67 9.86
Philadelphia 9.83 9.75 9.71
Program 9.80 9.71 9.78

3. The program will graduate 90% or more of students that matriculate into the program.

  Class of 2021 Class of 2022 Class of 2023 Class of 2024
Georgia (%) 29/32 (91) 30/32 (94) 31/32 (97) 29/32 (91)
Philadelphia (%) 60/60 (100) 56/59 (95) 48/55 (87) 48/60 (80)
Program (%) 89/92 (97) 86/91 (95) 79/87 (91) 77/92 (84)

4. To utilize application-based learning modalities to enhance student learning.

  • Simulation Activities: Students participate in simulation activities in the didactic phase of the program. At the completion of each simulation activity, the students complete a survey evaluating rated items on a scale ranging from strongly disagree to strongly agree. Below are the percentage of student responses that agreed and strongly agreed with the statement, “The simulation learning experience with use of the manikin will be useful in applying my skills to real patients.”
  Class of 2025
Georgia (%) 59/62 (95)
Philadelphia (%) 79/81 (98)
Program (%) 138/143 (97)
  • Standardized Patient (SP) Encounters: Students participate in SP encounters in multiple didactic courses. At the completion of each course, the students complete a course evaluation and rate items on a 5-point likert scale. The program defined benchmark is a score of 3.5 or higher. Below is the average score on the rated item, “The use of standardized patients aided in my learning.”
  • Labs: Students participate in cadaver lab and clinical skills labs in multiple didactic courses. At the completion of each course, the students complete a course evaluation and rate items on a 5-point likert scale. The program defined benchmark is a score of 3.5 or higher. Below is the average score on the rated item, “The lab section of the course aided in my learning.”
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