Program Overview

Physician Assistant Program Overview

The Physician Assistant Program at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine is designed to provide students with a comprehensive education in the field of physician assistant studies. The program is divided into two main components: the didactic year and the clinical year.

Didactic Year

The didactic year consists of a series of courses taught using an organ system approach, with pediatrics, infectious disease, emergency medicine, geriatrics, and genetics included across each system. Both lecture and small-group formats are used to deliver the curriculum, highlighted by a problem-based learning approach. The didactic year will also include instruction in evidence-based medicine and pre-clinical year prep and procedures course.

Course Schedule

The didactic year is divided into three semesters, with the following courses:

• June - September:
  • Patient Assessment I (PA 400, Credits: 3)
  • Behavioral/Preventive Medicine I (PA 410, Credits: 2)
  • Pharmacotherapeutics I (PA 450, Credits: 3)
  • Clinical Laboratory Medicine I (PA 430, Credits: 2)
  • Basic Science I (PA 420, Credits: 3)
  • Clinical Medicine I (PA 440, Credits: 5)
  • Mastering Medical Information (PA 470, Credits: 2)
• October - January:
  • Patient Assessment II (PA 401, Credits: 3)
  • Behavioral/Preventive Medicine II (PA 411, Credits: 2)
  • Pharmacotherapeutics II (PA 451, Credits: 3)
  • Clinical Laboratory Medicine II (PA 431, Credits: 2)
  • Basic Science II (PA 421, Credits: 3)
  • Clinical Medicine II (PA 441, Credits: 5)
  • Bioethics (PA 485, Credits: 1)
  • Preparing Future PAs (PA 480, Credits: 1)
• February - May:
  • Patient Assessment III (PA 402, Credits: 3)
  • Behavioral/Preventive Medicine III (PA 412, Credits: 2)
  • Pharmacotherapeutics III (PA 452, Credits: 3)
  • Clinical Laboratory Medicine III (PA 432, Credits: 1)
  • Basic Science III (PA 422, Credits: 3)
  • Clinical Medicine III (PA 442, Credits: 4)
  • Medical Spanish (PA 490, Credits: 1)
  • Pre-Clinical Year Prep Course (PA 460, Credits: 3)

Clinical Year

During the clinical year, students will complete a total of 11 rotations, each four weeks in length. This includes seven core rotations: internal medicine, family practice, psychiatry, pediatrics, general surgery, OB/GYN, and emergency medicine. Each student will also complete four elective rotations in a wide variety of areas -- including primary care, surgery, and hospitalist medicine -- based on their interests. All students will complete a master's Capstone project during the clinical year.