Didactic Year Courses

Clinical Year Courses

Curriculum Design

RFUMS offers a 24 month, entry-level, graduate program leading to a Master of Science in Physician Assistant Practice. The first 12 months consist primarily of didactic coursework. The second 12 months entail clinical learning through six core rotations and two elective experiences.

Didactic Year

Students complete 91 course credits over four quarters. This year provides the knowledge and experience required to prepare students for clinical rotations in the second year and for future clinical practice.

Throughout the didactic curriculum, a variety of methodologies are utilized to prepare students for the clinical year and subsequent clinical practice. This includes traditional didactic lecture, team-based learning application sessions, simulation, standardized patient and practical instructor experiences, and interprofessional case collaborations.

Clinical Anatomy, Introduction to Clinical Medicine for the Physician Assistant, Introduction to Pharmacotherapy, and Introduction to EKG establish the basic science and foundational knowledge for coursework throughout the curriculum. The General Medicine and Infectious Disease course series and Pharmacotherapy course series span three quarters and are divided into units by body system. These courses include evidence-based medical knowledge necessary for patient care and the principles of diagnosis and management.

Pediatrics, Geriatrics, Emergency Medicine, and Obstetrics and Gynecology all prepare students for specific patient populations throughout the lifespan and in specialized practice.

Courses such as Physical Assessment, Advanced Physical Examination, and Clinical Procedures allow students to learn the clinical and technical skills to perform comprehensive and focused patient assessment, as well as diagnostic and therapeutic interventions.

The Clinical Decision Making and Interprofessional Case Collaborations courses provide instruction in history-taking and medical documentation while applying the diagnostic and assessment skills gained throughout the curriculum. The focus of both series is clinical reasoning and problem-solving, and preparing students for clinical practice.

It is important to understand patients and family dynamics, and the cultural contexts that impact care. Interpersonal skills, consideration of social determinants of health, specific population needs, utilization of complementary or integrative interventions to best serve patients, and navigating healthcare systems are all important aspects to consider. These are taught and applied in Population Medicine, Psychosocial Aspects of Patient Care, and Complementary Medicine.

Physician Assistant Professional Issues and Ethics, Foundations for Interprofessional Practice, and Leadership in the Healthcare Environment are all vital courses in the development of professional behaviors and collaborative practice. These courses help prepare students for their role as a PA on the healthcare team.

Research and Statistics teaches students the necessary knowledge and skills to carry out and evaluate research. This course prepares students for the Master’s Project which spans the Didactic and Clinical Years, and involves building a portfolio of research, and evaluating data to drive evidence-based clinical practice.

Clinical Year

Students complete 56 course credit hours over four quarters. Clinical training occurs in the following required rotations: Family Practice, Internal Medicine, Surgery, Pediatrics, Women's Health, and Emergency Medicine. Additionally, students complete two elective rotations in a specialty of their choice. Aside from completion of the clinical rotations, students must also complete assignments for each rotation and corresponding nationally validated End of Rotation examinations. Throughout the clinical year, students must participate in Return to Campus events following each rotation, meet all required learning outcomes, and successfully complete summative assessments.

The majority of clinical rotations offered by the RFUMS PA Program are near the main RFUMS campus and spanning from Southeast Wisconsin, through the Northern and Western suburbs of Chicago, over to Northwest Indiana. Students work closely with the Director of Clinical Education, Clinical Coordinators and staff to arrange clinical rotations. The team creates an individualized schedule for each student that considers student preferences and needs. Every attempt is made to place students within a maximum 90 minute commute from campus for clinical experiences. There are limited established sites outside of the states and regions described above.

Students are required to have reliable transportation to arrive at clinical sites, and are responsible for the cost of travel and housing.

The established clinical rotations offer a variety of settings and patient populations. This includes urban, suburban, and rural areas. Students have the ability to rotate in settings such as small private clinics, community-based clinic networks, community hospitals, tertiary care facilities, academic medical centers, VA/Federal healthcare centers, health departments and large healthcare systems. These provide a depth and breadth of experiences to ensure students meet the PA program learning outcomes.

All clinical rotations are approved and evaluated by the PA Program faculty. All clinical experiences require an Affiliation Agreement between the university and clinical site(s). Prospective and enrolled students are not required to provide or solicit clinical sites or preceptors. If a student is interested in establishing a new clinical site or preceptor, they may submit a request through the program’s established process for evaluation and consideration.

Assessment for Student Learning

Grading System

A 4.00 High Achievement
B 3.00 Above Average Achievement
C 2.00 Average Achievement
F 0.00 Failure

Grades without Associated Grade Points:
P Pass
F Fail

Assessment Methods

Assessment of academic performance is done continuously throughout the program. Satisfactory academic progress is assessed through the successful completion of all course-related work and curricular activities. In addition to all ongoing student assessment processes, at the end of each year there is a formal evaluation process to determine a student’s eligibility to progress. This process is known as the Formative Evaluation near the end of the first year to determine eligibility to progress to the clinical year of training, and the Summative Evaluation near the end of the second year to determine eligibility to graduate.

Satisfactory academic performance is defined as maintaining a minimum grade of at least a C in each course throughout the program, or minimum overall 2.50 GPA starting with the fall quarter of the first year. In addition to academic performance, students must comply with the professionalism policy set forth in the Physician Assistant handbook and the ethical standards of the College of Health Professions (CHP) and the University.

Graduation Requirements

Students must meet the following program requirements:

• 147 quarter hours of required degree program coursework
• Complete all coursework with a grade of C or better
• Successful completion of all course requirements within five years from the date of matriculation
• Maintain a minimum overall 2.5 GPA on a 4.0 scale starting with the fall quarter of the first year
• Completion of a Master’s Project
• Students must complete all course and curriculum work in its entirety