Chatham University Physician Assistant Program

The Master of Physician Assistant Studies (MPAS) program at Chatham University provides academic and clinical training that will prepare its graduates to be certified and licensed to practice as extenders to the practicing physician, especially the primary care physician, in a competent and reliable manner.

Approximately 60 students per year are enrolled in our program. Students complete two didactic semesters at our new Chatham Eastside facility before beginning their clinical rotations at various sites in the greater Pittsburgh area, other parts of the US and around the globe.

In fall 2010 we will enroll our first cohort of MPAS students in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Almost all didactic coursework and clinical rotations for students matriculating in the Puerto Rico program will be completed in Puerto Rico.

For more information on the Puerto Rico site click here.

Mission Statement

The Chatham University MPAS Program is dedicated to producing knowledgeable, compassionate, ethical, and clinically skillful graduates that are ready to provide health care services to all persons regardless of race, culture, spiritual beliefs, gender or socioeconomic status and are willing to become the future leaders and educators of the profession. This will be accomplished by:

• Providing a student-centered curriculum which promotes self-directed and lifelong learning as well as professionalism and service;
• Educating competent physician assistants to practice as primary care providers to all populations;
• Contributing to the advancement of knowledge in the discipline and in medicine;
• Encouraging students to serve local, national, and international communities through active involvement in service-oriented programs for medically underserved populations; and
• Promoting participation in professional organizations and the education of future PAs.

Didactic Learning General Goals

• The student will develop a strong knowledge base
• When encountering an unfamiliar problem, the student will be able to build, organize, and articulate the basic science knowledge and concepts that can explain the problem and which can then be employed to resolve the problem.
• The student will develop clinical reasoning skills
• The student will demonstrate the ability to use the clinical reasoning process in the investigation and solution of medical problems.
• The student will develop self-directed learning skills and self-assessment skills
• When a student encounters a problem that s/he is unable to explain, the student will be able to design and implement satisfactory learning strategies, monitor the adequacy of personal knowledge and skills, assess the effectiveness of the self-directed learning strategies used, and critically assess the learning resources for adequacy, quality, and credibility.
• The student will develop competence in clinical skills
• The student will demonstrate appropriate interview and physical examination techniques.
• The student will demonstrate appropriate clinical procedural skills.
• The student will develop professional interpersonal skills
• The student will demonstrate effective interpersonal skills while interacting with patients, peers, faculty and others.
• The student will demonstrate cultural sensitivity in all interactions.

Clinical Experience General Goals

• The student will develop comprehensive patient care skills
• The student will apply the core medical knowledge acquired during the academic year while assessing, evaluating and managing patients. They will demonstrate that the care they provide is effective, patient-centered, timely, and equitable.
• The student will develop self-directed practice reviews and research skills
• The student will engage in critical analysis of their own practice experience, medical literature and other information resources for the purpose of self-improvement. As a result, they will be able to assess, evaluate and improve their patient care practices.
• The student will develop a keen knowledge of healthcare policies and the business of medicine
• Student will demonstrate an awareness of and responsiveness to the health care system and engage in practices designed to improve the system of which their practices are a part.

Vision Statement

To become the best PA Program in the nation… whose faculty is recognized for developing and researching innovative curricular methods and whose graduates are known as outstanding clinicians in the community and leaders in the profession.