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MU Home » Academics » School of Graduate Studies » Physician Assistant Program

Physician Assistant Program Curriculum

The PA Program has one start date a year in August. The program is full-time, 27 month in length (7 semesters) and consists of 2 phases: Didactic and Clinical.

The Didactic Phase is 3.5 semesters of classroom instruction. Each didactic semester is broken down in the following way:

Fall Semester II (Didactic)	Credit Hours
Clinical Skills II	1 sh
PA Orientation II	1 sh
Critical Thinking	2 sh
Research Methods	2 sh
Orthopedics	2 sh
ENT	1 sh
History & Physical Exam III	2 sh
Opthalmology	1 sh
Clinical Research Project	6 sh
Total	18 sh

The Clinical Phase is the final 3.5 semesters and consists of off-campus clinical instruction. Clinical rotations are generally arranged within Cumberland County and surrounding areas at local medical centers and private doctor's offices. Decisions regarding requested rotations outside of a 70 mile radius from campus are the discretion of the clinical coordinator. Clinical rotations required by the program are as follows:

*Internal Medicine II (inpatient) consists of cardiology, urology, nephrology, or another internal medicine subspecialty field.

Graduation Requirements

1. Completion of all requirements for the specified professional phase of the program (didactic and clinical rotations) with a minimum 3.0 GPA and no grades below a "C".
2. The professional phase (didactic and clinical rotations) must be completed in residency.
3. Good standing in character, conduct, and financial obligation to the college and recommended by the faculty for graduation.
4. Has met all other graduation requirements of Methodist University as stated in the Academic Catalogue.

Academic Standards

It is essential to their development that students adopt and exhibit self-directed responsibility for their mastery of knowledge and skills. It is the policy of the Methodist University PA Program that a student maintains a minimum score of 75% on each examination or written assignment. Any performance less than 75% is interpreted as not obtaining competency. It is the student's responsibility to maintain the required academic standards and to initiate the necessary interventions to resolve deficiencies in any area of study. The physician assistant program faculty and staff will offer guidance to a physician assistant student experiencing academic difficulties but it remains the responsibility of the student to achieve.