Courses
Class of 2024
Starting with the Class of 2024, all courses will be taken at the Towson University campus.
Class of 2023 and prior
Students must complete all of the requirements (98 Credits) for the Physician Assistant Studies Program at both Towson University to receive the M.S degree and at CCBC (Essex) to receive the PA Professional Certificate.
Tuition and fees for 600-, 700- and 800-level courses are paid to Towson University. Tuition and fees for 200-level courses are paid to CCBC-Essex. Applicants will pay appropriate application fees to both institutions through the Class of 2023.
Course Descriptions
The Physician Assistant (PA) Studies Program is comprised of 98 total credits over a 26 month period. The first 12 months (Year 1) are comprised of didactic courses that build a solid foundation for clinical practice. The program begins Year 1 in June of each year and clinical rotations start the following June.
Year 2 begins in June with a transition week before starting the clinical rotations. During the transition week, the clinical handbook is reviewed so that expectations and requirements for the clinical year are clear; several preceptors are invited to give an orientation of some of the sites; and an overview of the 2 didactic classes that are required during the clinical year is presented. The students must complete 2 yearlong courses Clinical Management Seminars I and I (PAST 730 and 731) and the Research Seminars (PAST 801 and 802) that culminate in a capstone project. However, the main focus for Year 2 is the supervised clinical practice experience (SCPE) practicum courses that are described in more detail below.
Didactic Courses:
Didactic courses are conducted in both year 1 and year 2. The courses are listed below in the table. As stated previously, PAST 730, PAST 731, PAST 801, and PAST 802 are
didactic courses required during Year 2.
Clinical Practicum Courses:
There are six (6) clinical practicum (PAST 651; 652; 653; 654; 655; and 756) courses
that include the seven (7) medical disciplines required for the supervised clinical
practice experience (SCPE). These medical disciplines include:
- Behavioral/Mental Health
- Emergency Medicine
- Family Medicine
- General Surgery
- Internal Medicine
- Pediatrics
- Women’s Health/Ob/Gyn
The clinical practicum course will include one or more rotation(s) to ensure that each student receives the appropriate SCPE and opportunity in the required medical disciplines. The students also are required to have inpatient, outpatient, emergency department, and operating room experiences as well. In addition, students have a rotation in Community Medicine. There is an opportunity for a student to select a different area of medicine for an elective experience.
Each clinical rotation is 5.5 weeks with the students returning to campus for the last part of the time to attend the year 2 didactic courses. When the students return to campus, they not only attend classes, but also present at Grand Rounds and take the end of rotation exam (EOR) specific to the medical discipline for the rotation that was recently completed.
The SCPE assignment schedule varies for each student based on the sequencing of the rotations and medical discipline. For example, PAST 651 is the first clinical practicum and includes rotations 1 and 2. For these rotations, the student could be placed in any of the required medical disciplines as noted above. This process is applied to all of the clinical practicum courses from PAST 651 through PAST 655. The PAST course practicum number determines the semester in which the course occurs, but not the specific medical discipline embedded within the course. The learning objectives for the courses are outlined in the clinical handbook for students and the preceptors’ clinical handbook.
The final preceptorship (PAST 756) occurs as the very last rotation for all students and is 8 weeks in length allowing the student to focus more in depth on one of the required medical disciplines or another specialty area that the student plans to pursue as a career.
Plan of Study: 98 Total Credits
Year 1, Summer session Courses: 14 Total Credits
| Number | Name | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| PAST 612 | Public Health and Preventative Medicine | 2 |
| PAST 624 | Gross Anatomy | 2 |
| PAST 631 | Diagnostic Studies II | 2 |
| PAST 636 | Basic Physical Diagnosis | 2 |
| PAST 614 | Psychosocial Issues in Medicine I | 2 |
| PAST 625 | Human Pathophysiology | 2 |
| PAST 603 | Medicine I | 2 |
Year 1, Fall Term Courses: 16 Total Credits
| Number | Name | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| PAST 616 | Psychosocial Issues II | 2 |
| PAST 630 | Diagnostic Studies I | 2 |
| PAST 637 | Advanced Physical Diagnosis | 2 |
| PAST 604 | Medicine II | 6 |
| PAST 606 | Pediatrics I | 2 |
| PAST 609 | Pharmacology I | 2 |
Year 1, Winter (MiniMester) Courses: 5 Total Credits
| Number | Name | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| PAST 626 | Ethics, Issues, and Trends | 3 |
| PAST 605 | Medicine III | 2 |
Year 1, Spring Term Courses: 19 Total Credits
| Number | Name | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| PAST 632 | Diagnostic Studies III | 2 |
| PAST 650 | Introduction to Clinical Practice | 4 |
| PAST 601 | Research Methods | 3 |
| PAST 607 | Pediatrics II | 2 |
| PAST 608 | Medicine IV | 6 |
| PAST 610 | Pharmacology II | 2 |
Year 2, Summer Session Courses: 6 Total Credits
| Number | Name | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| PAST 251/651 | Clinical Practicum I | 6 |
Year 2, Fall Term Courses: 15 Total Credits
| Number | Name | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| PAST 252/652 | Clinical Practicum II | 6 |
| PAST 653 | Clinical Practicum III | 6 |
| PAST 730 | Clinical Management I | 2 |
| PAST 801 | Physician Assistant Graduate Seminar | 1 |
Year 2, Winter (MiniMester) Courses: 3 Total Credits
| Number | Name | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| PAST 654 | Clinical Practicum IV | 3 |
Year 2, Spring Term Courses: 14 Total Credits
| Number | Name | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| PAST 655 | Clinical Practicum V | 11 |
| PAST 731 | Clinical Management II | 2 |
| PAST 802 | Physician Assistant Graduate Project | 1 |
Year 3, Summer Session Courses: 6 Total Credits
| Number | Name | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| PAST 756 | Final Clinical Practicum | 6 |