Courses & Curriculum

Coursework for the Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies will be completed in twenty-seven months over seven semesters. Students will have a predetermined schedule with a range from 10-23 credit hours each semester, for a total of 116 credit hours.

Course Descriptions

Full course descriptions can be found in the MUSC Bulletin. All course descriptions for the program begin with the prefix "PA*."

 

Year	Semester	Course		Credit Hours
1	Summer	PA*606	Human Anatomy	6
		PA*607	Intro to the PA Profession	1
		PA*630	Bioethics	1
		PA*632	Principles of Pharmacology	2
		PA*643	Human Physiology & Basic Patho	3
			Total Semester Hours	13
1	Fall	PA*614	Fundamentals of Clin Med I	6
		PA*617	Clinical Problem Solving I	2
		PA*624	Pharmacotherapeutics I	3
		PA*634	History & Physical Exam Skills	2
		PA*654	Diagnostic Medicine I	2
		PA*662	Pathophysiology I	3
		PA*665	Cultural Competency	2
		PA*695	Research Methods for Hlth Prof	3
			Total Semester Hours	23
1	Spring	PA*615	Fundamentals of Clin Med II	6
		PA*618	Clinical Problem Solving II	2
		PA*625	Pharmacotherapeutics II	3
		PA*636	Clinical Skills & Procedures	2
		PA*655	Diagnostic Medicine II	2
		PA*656	Public Health	1
		PA*663	Pathophysiology II	3
		PA*690	Graduate Project I	1
		IP*711	IP Foundations & TeamSTEPPS	1
		IP*XXX	IP Concentration Course of Choice	1
			Total Semester Hours	22
2	Summer	PA*616	Fundamentals of Clin Med III	3
		PA*619	Clinical Problem Solving III	1
		PA*626	Pharmacotherapeutics III	2
		PA*642	Pertinent Topics in Peds	1
		PA*651	Geriatrics	1
		PA*652	Principles of Emergency Medic	2
		PA*653	Principles of Surgical Care	2
		PA*691	Graduate Project II	1
		Total Semester Hours		13
		Total Didactic Credit Hours		71
2	Fall	PA*670	Clinical Rotation I *	5
		PA*672	Clinical Rotation II *	5
		PA*674	Clinical Rotation III *	5
			Total Semester Hours	15
2	Spring	PA*676	Clinical Rotation IV *	5
		PA*678	Clinical Rotation V *	5
		PA*679	Clinical Rotation VI *	5
		PA*680	Clinical Rotation VII *	5
			Total Semester Hours	20
3	Summer	PA*682	Clinical Rotation VIII *	5
		PA*685	Clinical Rotation Elective *	5
			Total Semester Hours	10
			Total Clinical Credit Hours	45
		Total Credit Hours:		116

* Students are scheduled in the following disciplines for clinical rotations 1-8; Emergency medicine, Family medicine, Internal medicine, Mental health, Pediatrics, Surgery, Women’s Health, and Adjunct Clinical Experience (ACE). In addition the students are required to complete an elective in a specialty of their choice.

A Summative Evaluation is required by the Accreditation Review Commission for Physician Assistant Education (ARC-PA) within the last 4 months of the program. Each student must successfully pass all components of the Summative Evaluation to be eligible for completion of the program and graduation. The components of the Summative Evaluation include the following:

1) PAEA End of Curriculum Exam
2) Summative Professionalism Evaluation
3) Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE)