Master of PA Studies Curriculum
The MPAS Curriculum
The PA curriculum spans 25 months and is broadly divided into two phases. The first 12 months consitutes the didactic phase and involves a series of integrated basic science courses, a comprehensive patient assessment curriculum, an ethics/law/policy course as well as introduction to clinical medicine (Foundations of Clinical Practice III [FCP III] and Foundations of Clinical Practice IV [FCP IV]). FCP III and FCP IV are comprised of a hands-on component working with clinical medicine and seeing patients in a supervised environment as well as an extensive lecture portion. The remaining 13 months constitutes the clinical phase of the program, a period of supervised clinical instruction in required and elective medical specialties. (Summary of the curriculum).
The PA curriculum is integrated extensively with the medical student curriculum, e.g., over 57% of the semester hours in the first year are completed with sophomore medical students including pharmacology, infectious disease, foundations of clinical practice III, foundations of clinical practice IV, and ethics/law/policy. All instructors and course directors responsible for the education of PA students are faculty members within the Carver College of Medicine.
During the clinical component of the curriculum, the students will apply the knowledge gained in the didactic and preclinical phases of the program to the practice of medicine under the supervision of practicing physicians and physician assistants. The rotations provide the student with the opportunity to develop appropriate clinical skills necessary to evaluate and manage patients, typically at the primary care level.
Patient care experiences are encountered in a wide range of clinical facilities including The University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics; VA Medical Centers; community, county, and state hospitals; single and multispecialty clinics; and office-based practices, the latter usually in rural and/or medically underserved areas. On average, 60-75 percent of the rotations are completed at sites outside Iowa City in order to provide the students with an opportunity to see primary care patients in community-based settings.
The clinical curriculum emphasizes primary health care delivery and exposes the student to family physicians and graduate PAs practicing as a health care team.
The intense schedule of educational activities and responsibilities associated with the completion of the PA Program constitute a very rigorous set of events with very heavy time demands. It is for this reason that the Program does not recommend that students attempt to work while enrolled in the PA Program. In addition, utilizing strong time management skills is essential to maximizing the educational experiences during the PA Program.
Clinical Decision Making III
The Clinical Decision Making III component of the M.P.A.S. curriculum requires the student to select a pertinent health topic issue, complete a thorough literature search, and draw conclusions based on the data/evidence. These findings are then presented in one of three ways: as a written clinical paper for submission to a medical journal, in the form of a poster with an accompanying abstract for submission at a professional meeting, or as a PowerPoint presentation to their colleagues and faculty.