University of the Cumberlands
Physician Assistant Studies Program
Didactic Year
Student Handbook
Didactic Handbook v | Page
Preface
Welcome to the University of the Cumberlands Master of Physician Assistant Studies Program (MPAS). This program-specific MPAS Student Handbook is published as an addendum to the University of the Cumberlands Catalog to aid students who are applying, preparing to begin Physician Assistant (PA) training at University of the Cumberlands, or actively engaged in two challenging years of career pursuit. The handbook must be used in conjunction with the following:
· Current edition of the University of the Cumberlands online catalog, which may be accessed at: www.ucumberlands.edu click on ACADEMICS, then REGISTRAR, then CATALOG)
· Internet posting of University of the Cumberlands policies found at: www.ucumberlands.edu
· PA Program Clinical Practice Preceptor Handbook
· Program Web Site: http://www.ucumberlands.edu/academics/pa
Each applicant and student needs to clearly understand both the college and program-specific policies. Please read these sources carefully and contact the PA Program with any questions or concerns you may have with respect to these important documents and how they apply to you.
Occasionally, updates, corrections, additions or other changes to this handbook become necessary. The PA Program reserves the right to alter the contents of this handbook as needed and at any time. Any changes apply to all current and prospective students. The faculty reserves the right to alter the curriculum, schedule of required courses, exams and other regulations affecting admission and graduation requirements. Every effort will be made to keep students well informed with respect to any changes.
Validation of college registration implies the student’s acceptance of the published academic rules and regulations found in this and any other official program or college publication.
Didactic Handbook v | Page
From the Program Director
MPAS Students:
Putting together a comprehensive program has been a challenging undertaking, but in each step of the process the program has been laid out with future students such as you in mind. It has been the aim of the department that you will be provided with the extensive knowledge and skills required to prepare you as competent and successful physician assistant professionals.
With the ever growing demand for physician assistants, a decision to study for licensure is a well founded one. The job market can take you anywhere in the United States and to a growing number of other countries as well. It is a job for those who love problem solving and people. It requires a high level of work ethic and dedication, but in the end, the rewards for a job well done are both intrinsic and extrinsic as you will likely make life-long friends while earning a competitive salary.
Outlined in the pages to follow are description, objectives, and admission requirements of the program.
Eddie Perkins, DO, FACOOG
Program Director, Physician Assistant Program
Didactic Handbook v | Page
Table of Contents
General Information 3
The Role of a Physician Assistant 3
Physician Assistant Professional Oath 4
Our Program 5
University of the Cumberlands Mission Statement 5
Master of Physician Assistant Studies Program 5
Our History 6
Accreditation 7
Faculty and Staff 7
Application and Admission 8
Degree Requirements 11
Didactic Curriculum (61 Hours) 11
Clinical Curriculum (50 Hours) 17
Costs/Financial Aid 20
2010-2011 Program Academic Calendar 24
Program Standards of Performance 27
Academic Standards 27
Competencies Mastery 29
Technical Standards 40
Professional Standards - Code of Ethics 42
Retention Standards/Changes in Student Status 44
Policies and Procedures 45
Academic Policies and Procedures 45
General Policies & Procedures 51
Resources 54
Facilities 54
Internet Addresses 55
Professional Organizations 55
Appendices 56
Appendix 1: Technical Standards Statement 58
Appendix 2: Participation as Human Subjects 60
Appendix 3: Health History Questionnaire 62
Appendix 4: Immunization Information Release Form 66
General Information
The Role of a Physician Assistant
The physician assistant is a health care professional licensed to practice medicine under the supervision of a physician. The role of the physician assistant is to perform medical duties from basic primary care to technically advanced procedures in emergency medicine or within medical specialties. The typical duties of a physician assistant include: Taking a patient medical history; performing complete physical examinations; ordering and interpreting laboratory tests; diagnosing and treating medical illnesses; assisting physicians in surgery; performing routine medical procedures such as suturing and wound care; and prescribing medications. This is a team approach to medicine and health care, augmenting the needs and growing shortages within the current American health care delivery system.
Physician assistant education is based on the medical model to emphasize the collaboration of the PA-physician team. It is primary care oriented and prepares the physician assistant to be professionally competent and able to identify with physicians in terms of thought, patterns of action, and dedication to ethical and legal values and concerns.
The physician assistant’s work setting varies from practice at a rural clinic, an office-based practice, within inpatient or long-term care facilities or in industrial settings. They also work in education, health care administration, and research. The myriad of settings allows for career flexibility and the ability to specialize.
General Information about Physician Assistants
What is a Physician Assistant?
Physician assistants are health care professionals licensed to practice medicine with physician supervision. PAs conduct physical exams, diagnose and treat illnesses, order and interpret tests, counsel on preventive health care, assist in surgery, and write prescriptions. Graduation from an accredited physician assistant program and passage of the national certifying exam are required for state licensure.
How did the Physician Assistant profession begin?
In the 1960s, physicians and educators recognized a shortage of primary care physicians. To expand the delivery of quality medical care, Dr. Eugene Stead of the Duke University Medical Center put together the first class of PAs in 1965. He selected Navy corpsmen who received considerable medical training during their military service. He based the curriculum of the PA program on his knowledge of the fast-track training of military physicians.
What does "PA-C" stand for?
It means that the PA has been certified after program graduation and testing by the NCCPA. To maintain certification, a physician assistant must log 100 hours of continuing medical education every two years and take the recertification exam every six years.
How is a Physician Assistant educated?
PAs are educated in the medical model designed to complement physician training. Education consists of classroom and laboratory instruction in basic medical and behavioral sciences, followed by clinical rotations. PA programs must be accredited by the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA) after meeting ARC-PA standards.
How do PAs "draw the line" as far as what they can treat and what a physician can treat?
What a physician assistant does varies with training, experience, and state law. In addition, the scope of the PA's responsibilities corresponds to the supervising physician's practice. In general, a physician assistant will see many of the same types of patients as the physician. The cases handled by physicians are generally the more complicated medical cases. Referral to the physician, or close consultation between the patient-PA-physician, is done for unusual or hard to manage cases.
What is the working relationship between a physician and a physician assistant?
The physician and PA practice as members of a medical team. The physician assistant is a representative of the physician, treating the patient in the style and manner developed and directed by the supervising physician.
Reference: the above information was borrowed and adapted from: http://www.aapa.org/geninfo
Physician Assistant Professional Oath
(Source: Student Academy of the American Academy of Physician Assistants. URL: http://saaapa.aapa.org/students/grad/oath.htm.)
“I pledge to perform the following duties with honesty and dedication:· I will hold as my primary responsibility the health, safety, welfare and dignity of all human beings.
· I will uphold the tenets of patient autonomy, beneficence, nonmaleficence and justice.
· I will recognize and promote the value of diversity.
· I will treat equally all persons who seek my care.
· I will hold in confidence the information shared in the course of practicing medicine.
· I will assess my personal capabilities and limitations, striving always to improve my medical practice.
· I will actively seek to expand my knowledge and skills, keeping abreast of advances in medicine.
· I will work with other members of the health care team to provide compassionate and effective care of patients.
· I will use my knowledge and experience to contribute to an improved community.
· I will respect my professional relationship with the physician.
· I will share and expand knowledge within the profession.
These duties are pledged with sincerity and upon my honor.”
Our Program
University of the Cumberlands Mission Statement
Today the Mission Statement of University of the Cumberlands reads as follows:
University of the Cumberlands has historically served students primarily, but not exclusively, from the beautiful mountain regions of Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia, Virginia, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Ohio and Alabama which have traditionally been described as Appalachia. The University's impact can be seen in the achievements of its graduates who have assumed roles of leadership in this region and throughout the nation.
While located in the resort like area of Appalachia, with emphasis primarily on serving the beautiful mountain area, the University now reaches into every state and around the world through its student body and alumni.
UC continues to offer promising students of all backgrounds a broad-based liberal arts program enriched with Christian values. The University strives for excellence in all of its endeavors and expects from students a similar dedication to this pursuit. Its commitment to a strong academic program is joined with a commitment to a strong work ethic. UC encourages students to think critically and creatively so that they may better prepare themselves for lives of responsible service and leadership. This focus of its undergraduate programs is extended and extrapolated into its graduate programs. These programs also nurture critical and creative thinking in pursuit of the “life-more-abundant” for both the individual and society. At UC, graduate study prepares professionals to be servant-leaders in their disciplines and communities, linking research with practice and knowledge with ethical decision-making.
The master’s degree in Physician Assistant Studies is clearly driven by, and contributes to, the University’s Mission.
Master of Physician Assistant Studies Program
Mission
The UC MPAS program will strive for academic and clinical excellence in an environment of compassion and team cooperation with the common goal of developing professionals who can serve as a vital part of the health care system. It is the intent of the program to prepare clinicians whose lifestyle reflects a commitment to continuing education, leadership and medical service.
Vision
University of the Cumberlands Physician Assistant program strives for professional excellence in an environment of compassion and team cooperation with the common goal of producing professionals who serve as a vital part of the health care team to be for underserved areas of Kentucky, the nation and on an international level.
Program Goals
In accordance with its mission, the UCPAP strives to graduate clinicians fully prepared for employment as competent and caring physician assistants. In order to do this the program has outline several goals aligned with the ARC-PA competencies. It is thus the purpose of the program to:
1. prepare physician assistants with a strong knowledge base in biomedical and clinical sciences supported by the ability to apply analytic thinking to clinical situations
2. instill students with the interpersonal communication skills necessary to develop effective information exchange with patients, their families, and professionals in the healthcare system
3. teach students to provide effective patient care necessary for treatment of health problems and the promotion of physical, psychological, and spiritual wellness
4. develop physician assistants knowledgeable in legal requirements and respectful of the diversity of the PA profession in order to graduate PAs possessing a high degree of professionalism, commitment to Christian ethics, and integrity
5. provide students with the opportunity to understand practice-based learning and improvement by engaging each student in critical analysis of their own experience and medical literature so that they continuously self-improve
6. expose students to clinical practice that encompasses the societal, organizational and economic systems that tie into healthcare delivery in order that they may be prepared to deliver optimal patient care
Our History
Williamsburg Institute opened its doors in Williamsburg, Kentucky. Williamsburg Institute became Cumberland College on March 15, 1913. The name reflected the institution’s location along the Cumberland River and its proximity to Cumberland Falls and the Cumberland Gap. From its inception, the institution has been affiliated with the Baptist Church. The mission of University of the Cumberlands is to train and educate leaders (lay and clergy) for service in the greater community.
Although Cumberland College was founded as a senior college, in 1918 the institution officially became a junior college having phased out its junior and senior classes, beginning in 12916. The College received its first accreditation from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) in 1931. The Board of Trustees began investigating the possibility of bringing the College back to senior college status in 1956. The junior year was added in 1959-1960 and the senior year in 1960-1961. SACS granted initial accreditation as a senior college to the institution in December 1964. SACS has reaffirmed the College’s accreditation in 1974, 1985, 1995, and 2006.
The institution has years of successful experience in developing and offering graduate programs and programs aimed at non-traditional students. Cumberland College first received authority to award its first graduate degree, the Master of Arts in Education (M.A.Ed.), on April 6, 1988. The graduate program in education is now an integral part of the institution. Currently the institution is expanding its online graduate offerings. On July 7, 2005, the institution received authorization to offer a Masters of Arts in Teaching (M.A.T.) program. And in November 2006, the institution received permission from the Commission on Colleges to offer both the M.A.Ed. and M.A.T. degrees fully online. Its experience with online courses and non-traditional students extends to its degree completion programs dating back to 2003.