Clinical Rotation Preparation

• In reviewing educational objectives for each academic course and clinical rotation, students should also refer to the NCCPA Content Blueprint, which identifies the percentage of task areas, and organ systems included on the Physician Assistant National Certifying Examination (PANCE) followed by “Content Blueprint.”
• The rotations allow students to apply knowledge and refine skills learned in the academic year, within a supervised clinical practice in order to develop clinical problem-solving skills.
• At the end of the clinical education phase, students will be able to efficiently evaluate a clinical database, develop a differential diagnosis, and formulate a rational treatment plan for specified clinical conditions frequently encountered in physician assistant practice.
• At the end of each rotation, students will be tested on specific learning objectives developed for each required rotation (see course objectives in syllabus). These objectives are essentially a reading list for self-guided study throughout the 6-week rotation. It is anticipated that the clinical phase reading program will help prepare students for the PANCE. Additionally, all end-of-rotation examination questions are based on these objectives.
• The course objectives listed are representative of the more important conditions students might be expected to evaluate and manage during the rotation. They represent the minimum that the DPAS expects students to accomplish with regards to clinical problem-solving skills.
• The list is not meant to exclude additional learning experiences from the rotation such as doing admission workups, performing clinical procedures, and acquiring other clinical competencies.