Clinical Rotations

As a Master of Physician Assistant Studies student, after four semesters of in-depth academic preparation, you will be ready to put what you have learned into action. In challenging clinical rotations, you will work with diverse preceptors to strengthen your skills as part of the patient care team in a broad range of settings.

Although the order of these rotations varies for each student, you will complete them all and be exposed to private, public, inpatient, and outpatient care locations. Near the end of your clinical rotations, we will support your transition into your new career with a course focused on professional issues faced by new PA graduates, a job fair, and a PANCE Review course.

Overview of Rotations

Primary Care Preceptorship

This eight-week outpatient rotation is completed in a primary care focused discipline (general/family medicine, general pediatrics, general internal medicine, women’s health, or geriatrics). The preceptorship integrates clinical experience with a focus on additional competencies in professionalism, leadership, social determinants of health and quality improvement.

Internal Medicine

During this eight-week inpatient rotation, students become integral members of the medical team providing patient care in an inpatient setting. Each student is expected to acquire proficiency in gathering medical data and making tentative assessments and plans while participating in the management of hospitalized patients.

Emergency Medicine

This is a four week course designed to educate students on the diagnosis and management of medical and surgical emergencies. The student will work a minimum of 10 shifts while on this course. Shift work will cover weekdays and weekends (day and night shifts). The assigned site will determine specific schedules.

Surgery

This four-week rotation educates students on aseptic, sterile, and operative techniques by observing and participating in surgical procedures. Students will learn pre-operative evaluation and post-operative management of patients by participating in outpatient clinics, daily ward rounds, writing daily progress notes, and formulating treatment plans for their assigned patients. This rotation also requires attendance to structured teaching conferences and simulation tutorials based on practical general surgical encounters.

Pediatrics

This four-week outpatient rotation in general pediatrics includes both well- and sick-child care encountered in ambulatory care settings. The student is expected to acquire proficiency in normal child development and anticipatory guidance.

Women’s Health

This four-week rotation integrates both inpatient and outpatient clinical experiences. The student has an opportunity to become familiar with the management of labor and delivery, outpatient gynecology, family planning, and outpatient prenatal and postpartum care.

Family Medicine

This eight-week rotation is designed to provide a practical patient-care experience in an outpatient primary care setting.  Students are provided the opportunity to deliver acute and continuing care and to address health maintenance issues in keeping with the primary care philosophy and under the supervision of a family practitioner.  During the course of this rotation, students should demonstrate the skills to practice evidence-based medicine and complete an evidence-based critical analysis project.

Psychiatry

This is a four-week course offering a combination of experiences caring for psychiatric patients. This course is designed to allow the student to obtain practical experience and assume patient care responsibilities in the continuing care of patients in a psychiatric setting. While on this course, students will learn the diagnostic criteria for common psychiatric disorders as outlined in the DSM-5. Completion of online Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) Training, Part 1, is required.

Infectious Disease

This four-week rotation offers the student the opportunity to experience the evaluation and treatment of patients with infectious diseases. The student is directly involved in the multidisciplinary approach and management of patients diagnosed with infectious diseases in both inpatient and outpatient settings.

Clinical Elective Rotation

This four-week rotation may be completed in any field of medicine chosen by the student.