Program Overview

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Physician Assistant Studies, M.S.

The Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies (M.S.) degree is designed to provide students with the didactic education, clinical training, and educational credentials necessary to take the Physician Assistant National Certifying Examination (PANCE) and obtain licensure to practice as Physician Assistant (PA).

Program Overview

The program is a 27-month-long rigorous program, with one cohort admitted annually in May. The degree awarded is a Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies (M.S.), which aligns with the institutional mission and provides the necessary educational credential for licensure to practice in one of the fastest-growing occupational sectors in Middle Tennessee.

ARC-PA Accreditation Status

The Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA) has granted Accreditation-Provisional status to the Middle Tennessee State University Physician Assistant Program.

Mission Statement

The mission of the MTSU Physician Assistant Studies Program is to provide comprehensive innovative medical education of the highest quality to prepare a diverse community of Physician Assistants to thrive as compassionate and collaborative members of the healthcare team with a commitment to community service and increasing access to care.

Vision

The MTSU Physician Assistant Studies Program will be a leading educational program with national recognition for excellence in service-learning, quality and compassionate healthcare, and increasing access to care to diverse populations.

Goals

The program has several goals, including:

• Outcomes of Goals

Competencies

The program has several competencies, including:

Medical Knowledge

1. Apply established, fundamental scientific principles to patient care.
2. Apply the clinical sciences to diagnostic and therapeutic decision-making.
3. Apply an epidemiological approach to population health by understanding risk factors, disease prevention, and health promotion for various patients and populations.
4. Analyze the impact of social-behavioral sciences on the delivery of healthcare to diverse patient populations.
5. Use medical knowledge to distinguish normal/abnormal growth and development to guide investigatory approaches to patient evaluation.
6. Gather and critically appraise evolving bio-medical knowledge to promote evidence-based clinical practice to contribute to the fund of new knowledge and literature.

Interpersonal Skills

1. Create and sustain a meaningful and therapeutic relationship with patients and families through effective communication and exchange of information.
2. Adapt communication style and messages to the cultural and socioeconomic context of the interaction.
3. Apply emotional resilience and stability, adaptability, flexibility, and tolerance.
4. Demonstrate compassion, sensitivity, and honesty within the context of difficult medical conversations.
5. Communicate effectively, work collaboratively, and facilitate conflict resolution with physicians and other health care professionals as both a leader and member of a health care team to promote a climate of mutual respect and trust.

Clinical and Technical Skills

1. Elicit a history and perform an appropriate physical exam for ages across the lifespan, regardless of presentation or setting.
2. Perform diagnostic and therapeutic procedures considered essential for entry into the clinical practice as a PA.
3. Compose basic counseling and patient-centered education which is culturally focused.
4. Demonstrate the use of clinical equipment for the diagnosis and management of disease.
5. Accurately and adequately provide comprehensive documentation regarding care for medical, legal, quality, and financial purposes in a timely manner.
6. Provide concise oral case presentations appropriate for the audience and context of the presentation.

Clinical Reasoning & Problem Solving

1. Demonstrate investigative and analytic thinking approach to clinical situations.
2. Compare and contrast normal and abnormal health states.
3. Discern between acute, chronic, and emergent disease states.
4. Apply advanced critical thinking skills to evaluate sources of information including discerning between important and extraneous information.
5. Synthesize and prioritize therapeutic actions and clinical care decisions based on medical knowledge, available information, and the urgency of presentation.

Professional Behaviors

1. Demonstrate an awareness of and responsiveness to the larger system of health care to provide patient care that balances quality and cost, while maintaining the primacy of the individual by providing comprehensive and personalized healthcare in a system-based practice.
2. Demonstrate professionalism through strict adherence to the standards of the PA profession and devotion to the medical, ethical, legal, and fiscal foundations of healthcare by:
   1. Maintaining professional relationships with patients, patient's families, and all members of the healthcare team.
   2. Understand the role of the physician assistant in the delivery of healthcare, including demonstrating self-awareness and the recognition of personal/professional limitations and humility in the ability to seek help.
   3. Maintain a commitment to patient safety through prevention of medical errors, quality improvement, and risk management.
3. Promote cross-cultural and socioeconomic sensitivity, confront prejudice, and support the development of effective medical practice in a diverse society.
4. Engage in critical analysis of their own practice experience for the purposes of self- and practice-based learning and improvement.
5. Exhibit attributes of engaged citizenship and community service through active involvement in community and population health.

Admission Requirements

The following information applies to the admissions cycle:

• Bachelor's Degree: The degree must be from a U.S. institution of higher education accredited by a regional accrediting association.
• Minimum Grade Point Average (GPA) Requirements: 3.0 overall and 3.0 overall for graduate coursework if completed.
• Direct Patient Care (DPC) Experience: All completed but no designated minimum number of hours needed for holistic faculty application review.
• Community Service or Mission Work: No minimum number of hours required for an interview, but the focus will remain on the quality of experience.
• Physician Assistant Shadowing: Applicants must identify and initiate all PA shadowing experiences.
• Letters of Recommendation: At least three strong letters of recommendation detailing the potential of the applicant to be a PA are required.
• Personal Statement: A personal statement should be crafted to detail the applicant's desire to become a PA, communicating ideas appropriately and effectively.
• Other Requirements: Applicants must not have a history of dismissal from another Physician Assistant program for academic or disciplinary reasons.

Application Procedures

Applicants must apply to the program through the Centralized Application Service for Physician Assistants (CASPA) to be considered for admission. Students must submit the appropriate CASPA and MTSU applications fees to be considered.

Degree Requirements

The Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies requires completion of a minimum of 108 semester hours comprising both didactic and clinical education. Candidates will be required to maintain a minimum 2.75 GPA to complete the program and graduate.

Curriculum: Physician Assistant Studies

The curriculum includes:

Semester One (Summer) - Didactic Phase (20 hours)

• PA 6010 - Regional Anatomy
• PA 6110 - Scientific Basis of Medicine I
• PA 6210 - Diagnostic Tests I
• PA 6310 - Clinical Pharmacology I
• PA 6410 - Clinical Medicine I
• PA 6510 - History and Physical Exam I
• PA 6610 - Clinical Reasoning and Problem-Solving I

Semester Two (Fall) - Didactic Phase (18 hours)

• PA 6120 - Scientific Basis of Medicine II
• PA 6220 - Diagnostic Tests II
• PA 6250 - Introduction to the Medical Profession and Ethical Practice
• PA 6320 - Clinical Pharmacology II
• PA 6420 - Clinical Medicine II
• PA 6520 - History and Physical Exam II
• PA 6620 - Clinical Reasoning and Problem-Solving II

Semester Three (Spring) - Didactic Phase (19 hours)

• PA 6130 - Scientific Basis of Medicine III
• PA 6230 - Diagnostic Tests III
• PA 6330 - Clinical Pharmacology III
• PA 6430 - Clinical Medicine III
• PA 6530 - History and Physical Exam III
• PA 6630 - Clinical Reasoning and Problem-Solving III
• PA 6740 - Survey of Surgery

Semester Four (Summer) - Didactic Phase (20 hours)

• PA 6260 - Population Health
• PA 6470 - Clinical Procedures
• PA 6670 - Issues in Practice
• PA 6680 - Critical Appraisal of Medical Literature and Evidence-Based Medicine
• PA 6710 - Survey of Psychiatry
• PA 6720 - Survey of Women's Health
• PA 6730 - Survey of Pediatrics
• PA 6750 - Survey of Emergency Medicine

Semester Five (Fall) - Clinical Phase (12 hours)

• PA 6910 - Capstone I
• PA 6950 - PANCE Preparation Seminar I
• Clinical Rotations I-III (PA) 9 credit hours

Semester Six (Spring) - Clinical Phase (10 hours)

• PA 6960 - PANCE Preparation Seminar II
• Clinical Rotations IV-VI (PA) 9 credit hours

Semester Seven (Summer) - Clinical Phase (9 hours)

• PA 6920 - Capstone II
• PA 6970 - PANCE Preparation Seminar III
• Clinical Rotations VII-VIII (PA) 6 credit hours

Faculty

The program faculty includes:

• Dr. Marie Patterson, Director
• Ashley Bjork, Clinical Assistant Professor
• Shannon Michal Colvin, Clinical Assistant Professor
• Dr. Edward "Dunk" Eastham, Clinical Assistant Professor
• Stephanie McAdams, Clinical Assistant Professor
• William Bradley McCrary, Clinical Assistant Professor
• Kelsey Purcell, Clinical Assistant Professor
• Dr. Jennifer Rayburn, Clinical Assistant Professor

Tuition/Fees

Estimated tuition and fees are subject to change. Other common expenses for the Physician Assistant Studies student include cost of living based on university calculations.

Professional Licensure Disclosure

The Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies (M.S.) in the College of Behavioral and Health Sciences has been granted Accreditation-Provisional status by the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA). Admission to the Physician Assistant Studies Program does not guarantee that students will pass the Physician Assistant National Certifying Exam (PANCE) or obtain a physician assistant license. To obtain a Physician Assistant license in any state, an individual must graduate from a US PA program and pass the Physician Assistant National Certifying Exam (PANCE) administered by the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA).