Physician Assistant Studies

Analyze indications for screening examinations, vaccinations, and other preventive care. Utilize evidence-based medicine in patient care. Select the most appropriate pharmacologic treatment based on clinical diagnosis, accurately write a prescription, and provide the appropriate patient education to include the contraindications, adverse effects, and potential interactions. Formulate a health maintenance and preventive care plan that considers the impact that lifestyle and behavioral factors have on the health and well-being of patients. Utilize medical knowledge of acute and chronic conditions including etiology, anatomy, pathophysiology, incidence, risk factors, clinical presentation, differential diagnosis, and treatment strategies to effectively manage a patient across the life span.

Provide culturally competent, patient-centered education allowing for shared decision-making. Utilize empathetic communication skills to strengthen patient trust and improve outcomes. Communicate effectively with patients, families, caregivers, and the interdisciplinary team.

Collaborate as an effective member of the interprofessional healthcare team respecting professional roles and maintaining communication. Apply strategies for optimizing patient safety and reducing medical errors. Synthesize appropriate methods for the preservation of patient autonomy and patient confidentiality with consideration of the laws and policies that govern medical practice. Create individualized care plans to meet the needs of patients, recognizing socioeconomic and cultural factors that influence access to care.

Utilize patient centered interviewing skills to elicit a comprehensive and a problem-oriented history. Perform an accurate and patient centered physical examination relevant to the chief-complaint and recognize normal and abnormal findings. Formulate and deliver concise and accurate oral patient presentation to facilitate patient care. Provide accurate, thorough, and complete documentation of patient encounters, incorporating all necessary components, with attention to medicolegal implications. Perform procedural skills commonly used in clinical practice and provide the appropriate patient education.

Formulate an accurate and comprehensive differential diagnosis utilizing relevant clinical information elicited from patient history and physical examination findings. Order and interpret laboratory and other diagnostic studies for acute and chronic patient care. Establish a diagnosis based on patient history, physical examination, and interpretation of clinical and diagnostic data. Formulate individualized, comprehensive management plans relevant to the patient presentation for a variety of acute, chronic, and emergent health conditions. Recognize conditions that require referral to or consultation with specialists. Effectively triage patients based on their clinical presentation, recognizing emergent versus non-emergent medical conditions.