Master of Physician Assistant Studies (117 hrs.)
The Master of Physician Assistant Studies* at Trine University is a seven semester program designed to prepare students to succeed, lead and serve the community and the physician assistant (PA) profession. The PA program will be the beginning of a lifelong journey in the pursuit of knowledge, professional development, and personal growth. The program is also committed to maintaining the highest moral and ethical standards.
The PA program is a 117 credit hour 7 semester curriculum of approximately 29 months divided into didactic and experiential phases.
Didactic Phase
The didactic phase of the PA program comprises of four semesters and includes a total of 66 credit hours. Although primarily campus-based, students occasionally need to travel to clinical application obligations, including local inter-professional education activities.
Experiential Phase (Clinical Year)
The clinical phase of the PA program encompasses approximately three semesters and is organized into nine 5-week clinical rotation periods. Students will be required to return to campus once every approximately five weeks for end-of-rotation activities and will also return to campus for the last two weeks of the final semester. Not all clinicals are local or a driving distance from campus. Students are responsible for their own travel and housing expenses and should expect to travel for one to two experiences. Students are not eligible for experiential phase courses until they have successfully completed all didactic phase courses. Concurrent with the clinical experiences are the Senior Seminar and Graduate Project course series.
There are seven program-required rotation areas and opportunities for elective experiences.
Required are rotations in:
- Family Medicine (5 weeks)
- Internal Medicine (5 weeks)
- Emergency Medicine (5 weeks)
- General Surgery (5 weeks)
- Women’s Health (approximately 2.5 weeks)
- Pediatrics (approximately 2.5 weeks)
- Behavioral Health (approximately 2.5 weeks)
Elective rotations include (depending on preceptor availability):
- Orthopedics
- Plastic Surgery
- Hematology
- Genitourinary
- Gastroenterology
- Otorhinolaryngology
- Dermatology
- Cardiology
- Miscellaneous
Accreditation
*The ARC-PA has granted Accreditation-Provisional status to the Trine University Physician Assistant Program sponsored by Trine University. Accreditation-Provisional is an accreditation status granted when the plans and resource allocation, if fully implemented as planned, of a proposed program that has not yet enrolled students appear to demonstrate the program’s ability to meet the ARC-PA Standards or when a program holding Accreditation-Provisional status appears to demonstrate continued progress in complying with the Standards as it prepares for the graduation of the first class (cohort) of students. Accreditation-Provisional does not ensure any subsequent accreditation status. It is limited to no more than five years from matriculation of the first class.
Degree Requirements
Didactic Phase - 66 Hours
Typical Course Sequence
Fall 1 (16 weeks – 16 hrs.)
| PAS 5001 | Clinical Genetics | 1 |
| PAS 5002 | Diagnostic Techniques - Laboratory Medicine | 2 |
| PAS 5003 | Clinical Physiology | 3 |
| PAS 5004 | Clinical Anatomy | 4 |
| PAS 5012 | Clinical Skills I: Medical Documentation & Interviewing | 2 |
| PAS 5022 | Physician Assistant Professional Practice | 2 |
| PAS 5052 | Clinical Application & Reflection Experience I | 2 |
Spring 1 (16 weeks – 18 hrs.)
| PAS 5102 | Clinical Skills II: Physical Exam & Documentation | 2 |
| PAS 5110 | Clinical Medicine & Therapeutics I | 10 |
| PAS 5112 | Diagnostic Techniques - EKG | 2 |
| PAS 5152 | Clinical Application & Reflection Experience II | 2 |
| PAS 5161 | Clinical Pharmacology I | 1 |
| PAS 5171 | Evidence Based Practice I | 1 |
Summer 1 (12 weeks – 14 hrs.)
| PAS 5205 | Clinical Medicine & Therapeutics II | 5 |
| PAS 5212 | Clinical Skills III - Special Populations | 2 |
| PAS 5213 | Diagnostic Techniques - Imaging | 3 |
| PAS 5252 | Clinical Application & Reflection Experience III | 2 |
| PAS 5261 | Clinical Pharmacology II | 1 |
| PAS 5371 | Evidence Based Practice II | 1 |
Fall 2 (16 weeks – 18 hrs.)
| PAS 5310 | Clinical Medicine & Therapeutics III | 10 |
| PAS 5315 | Clinical Skills IV - Procedures | 5 |
| PAS 5352 | Clinical Application & Reflection Experience IV | 2 |
| PAS 5361 | Clinical Pharmacology III | 1 |
Supervised Clinical Practice Experiences (SCPE) - 51 Hours
Spring 2 (17 hrs.)
Summer 2 (17 hrs.)
FALL 3 (17 hrs.)
Total Credit Hours: 117