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Program CurriculumThe program offers a campus and a distance-based professional program consisting of didactic and clinical education. For campus-based students instruction occurs primarily in the classroom during the first fifteen months with some clinical learning experiences. Distance-based students receive instruction on a part-time basis over twenty-seven months of didactic study and clinical instruction in the student's home community through distance modalities. The clinical component for both campus and distance-based students consists of nine months of full-time community-based clinical instruction. Clinical instruction takes place during four eight-week preceptorships, one in internal medicine, one in surgery and two in primary care. One of the preceptorships must include a minimum four week experience in a medically underserved or culturally diverse area. Students enrolled in the professional program should plan for a rigorous curriculum with significant time commitments. Employment while enrolled in the professional program is strongly discouraged. Campus Track Degree PlanFIRST YEAR SECOND YEAR Distance Track Degree PlanYEAR ONE
Fall I
Spring I
YEAR TWO
Fall II
Spring II
YEAR THREE
Fall III - Spring III
Professional Curriculum DetailedAnatomy 429. Human Anatomy Laboratory for Physician Assistants. 5 cr. Prosected specimens and some supervised dissection of human cadavers. P: Admission to PA professional program. PA 419. History and Physical Examination for Physician Assistants. 3 cr. Designed to provide primary care physician assistants with the knowledge and physical exam skills to evaluate patients in a variety of settings. Normal and pathological physical findings are discussed. Students master interview skills and physical exam skills applicable to all patients. Selected physical exam techniques are emphasized. P: PA-3 or PA-4; or consent of instructor. Pharmacy Practice 440. Therapeutics for Physician Assistants. 1 cr. Therapeutic and drug product selection, including issues of efficacy, potential toxicities, compliance, monitoring parameters, drug interactions, and cost. The focus of the course will be on chronic disease management, treatment of acute minor illness, and symptomatic therapies. P: Junior standing in PA Program. Pharmacology 401. Survey of Pharmacology. 3 cr. Pharmacological and toxicological actions and therapeutic use of important drugs. P: Physiology 335; Biochemistry 201, 501, or Biomolecular Chemistry 314. Medical Microbiology 504. Infectious Diseases of Human Beings. 3 cr. Pathogenesis, clinical descriptions, and prevention. Primarily for Physician Assistant, Pharmacy, and Nursing students. P: A course in Microbiology. Not for Med Micro Majors. PA 348. Theories and Practice in Emergency Care. 1 cr. Knowledge and assessment skills needed to evaluate and initiate care for acutely ill and/or injured persons. P: Junior standing in PA Program or consent of instructor. PA 400. Clinical Medicine for Physician Assistants I. 5 cr. Clinical medicine modules in psychiatry, hematology, ophthalmology, ENT, endocrinology, dermatology, prevention, and geriatrics. Pathophysiology, signs and symptoms, differential diagnosis, prevention, and management. Lectures by Medical School faculty, program staff, community physicians and physician assistants. Case studies utilized for development of clinical problem solving skills. P: Junior standing in PA Program or consent of the instructor. PA 420. Advanced Patient Evaluation in the Primary Care Setting I. 1 cr. Advanced physical examination and patient evaluation techniques with an emphasis on the musculoskeletal system: selected physical exam procedures in the complete evaluation of patients: advanced medical interviewing skills. P: PA 419. PA 430. Obstetrics and Gynecology for Physician Assistants. 2 cr. Presents the fundamentals of pre/postnatal care, normal/abnormal labor and delivery, and gynecological problems encountered in primary care. P: Junior standing in PA Program. Pharmacy Practice 441. Therapeutics for Physician Assistants. 1 cr. Therapeutic and drug product selection, including issues of efficacy, potential toxicities, compliance, monitoring parameters, drug interactions, and cost. The focus of the course will be on chronic disease management, treatment of acute minor illness, and symptomatic therapies. P: Junior standing in PA Program. PA 401. Clinical Medicine for Physician Assistants II. 5 cr. Continuation of 400. Clinical medicine modules in pulmonary medicine, cardiology, gastroenterology, nephrology, neurology, rheumatology, allergy and immunology. Pathophysiology, signs and symptoms, differential diagnosis, prevention and management. Lectures by Medical School faculty, program staff, and community physicians and physician assistants. Case Studies utilized for the development of clinical problem solving skills. P: Junior standing in PA program, Pharm D. majors. PA 416. Issues in Professional Practice for Physician Assistants. 1 cr. Introduction to issues related to the physician assistant profession. Emphasis on developing an understanding of health care systems and the role of the physician assistant. P: Junior standing in the PA Program. PA 421. Advanced Patient Evaluation in the Primary Care Setting II. 2 cr. Advanced physical examination and patient evaluation techniques; regional physical examinations; radiology; advanced evaluation of heart sounds. P: PA 420. PA 440. Laboratory Medicine for Physician Assistants. 2 cr. Emphasizes the utilization of laboratory methods for the diagnosis and treatment of disease. The content focuses on those aspects pertinent to the provision of ambulatory, primary care. P: Junior standing in PA Program or consent of instructor. PA 448. A Team Approach to Emergency Care. 3 cr. Concepts and skills related to the provision of emergency medical care and urgent ambulatory care.Includes laboratory in emergency medicine clinical skills: splinting, casting, suturing, venipuncture, injections, BLS and introduction to ACLS.P: Junior standing in PA Program or consent of instructor. PA 402-403 Pediatrics for Physician Assistants. 2cr. An introductory pediatrics course which covers problems encountered in the general pediatric population and reinforces basic primary care clinical principles. P: Junior standing in PA Program or consent of instructor. PA 422. Field Experience in Patient Assessment. 2 cr. Clinical experience in the evaluation of hospitalized medical and surgical patients. Students participate in team activities related to patient care. Refinement of skills in patient evaluation and case presentations to faculty and other students. P: PA 421. The senior year of the Physician Assistant Program consists of four eight-week preceptorships. Preceptorships are intensive clinical learning experiences under the direction of physician preceptors at a variety of off-campus clinical settings. Each student must take one rotation each in PA 629 Surgery and PA 649 Internal Medicine and two rotations in PA 639 Primary Care. These rotations include a minimum four-week experience in a medically underserved or culturally diverse area. The major consideration while assigning students to preceptorship sites is to provide the best clinical learning experience. Preference for specific facilities and geographical locations cannot be guaranteed. PA 516. Contemporary Professional Issues-Physician Assistant. 1 cr. A course for senior physician assistant students that provides information about certification and registration, employment, economics, professional organizations and political/legislative topics. P: Senior standing in the PA Program. ScholarshipsPA Student Scholarships/GrantsThe following scholarships are only for students enrolled in the UW-Madison Physician Assistant professional program and may change annually. Scholarships, grants and other forms of financial assistance offered through the university may be found at the UW-Madison Office of Student Financial Services. I. Physician Assistant Program / Medical School Scholarships A. University League Scholarship B. Chicago Alumnae Scholarship C. Fannie P. Lewis Scholarship (2 awarded) D. Jesse L. Shephard Scholarship
E. Andy Stolper Memorial Scholarship
II. Wisconsin Academy of Physician Assistants Foundation (WAPA
Foundation) A. Ben Lawton Scholarship
B. Astra-Zeneca Leadership Award
C. Francis Lorenz, MD Scholarship
D. Preceptor Scholarship
III. Other Scholarships/Traineeships/Grants A. Physician Assistant Foundation (PAF) Scholarship Program. Further information on all scholarship and grant opportunities through the American Academy of Physician Assistant.
B. National Health Service Corps Scholarship Program.
Classes of 2008 & 2009
International OpportunitiesStudents enrolled at the UW Madison PA Program may participate in an expanding variety of opportunities in international health. The university's health profession's programs have recently formed an Office of Global Health Programs for coordination of health experiences available at UW-Madison. Information on these opportunities may be found at http://www.pophealth.wisc.edu/ih. As a founding partner of the Office of Global Health, the UW-Madison
PA Program has an international preceptorship opportunity available each
year to students who would like to travel to Belize and provide medical
care to the inhabitants of the country's rainforest region. Traditionally
available during the month of March for second year students, this opportunity
provides a community health experience in a culturally diverse environment.
The experience includes staffing a clinic in an East Indian township near
the Garifuna city of Punta Gorda and mobile medical care to surrounding
Mayan villages. Further information about the Belize experience is available
from the following links: |
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| GENERAL INFORMATION | PROSPECTIVE STUDENTS | ADMISSIONS | ENROLLED STUDENTS | ALUMNI | USEFUL LINKS | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Physician Assistant Program University of Wisconsin-Madison Room 1278 Health Sciences Learning Center 750 Highland Avenue Madison, WI 53705 Phone: (608) 263-5620 / Fax: (608) 263-4928 Email: paprogram@mailplus.wisc.edu |
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