The Jefferson Physician Assistant Program (Center City) was intentional in the use of the word “strong” when creating this goal. Strong may be defined in many ways but in this context, the program does not mean having physical power. Strong was intended to encompass both of the latter aspects of this goal, clinical competence and medical knowledge, but furthermore professionalism, ethics, and fortitude. The goal is not just to create competent and knowledgeable clinicians but strong medical providers. While this is not measurable, at multiple points within the curriculum students are educated and challenged to self-assess these aspects of themselves. All students must successfully complete our Legal and Ethical Aspects of Medicine course in their first semester. This course contains lectures and case discussions related to medical ethics, lecture content on the “AAPA Guidelines for Ethical Conduct for the PA Profession” and a dedicated professionalism lecture. Our clinical students participate in two professionalism lectures/sessions prior to and during their clinical phase of the program. In addition, each student is evaluated by their clinical preceptor on professional behavior, interpersonal interaction, integrity, reliability and compassion as well as clinical skills. Fortitude is defined as courage and ability in the face of adversity. During their first year in the program our students have a dedicated session provided by our academic support services on coping strategies, wellness and tolerating academic adversity. Concurrently, the faculty support our students through the rigor of the program, which by its nature rewards persistence and determination as the students meet each milestone and grow into strong providers.
Competence is assessed throughout the program but also specifically though standardized patient experiences and clinical skills evaluation and documentation. All students are required to complete multiple standardized patient experiences with different competencies assessed such as history taking, physical exam skills, patient education and communication and the delivery of bad news. In addition to standardized patient experiences, the student must also document competence of clinical skills during their clinical phase. All students have required skills which they must document performance of and which are acknowledged by a clinical preceptor. In the didactic phase, students perform simulated procedures and skills, such as suturing and splinting. These skills then must again be performed and confirmed by the preceptor during the clinical phase to ensure competency.
Our success in producing knowledgeable entry-level medical providers is evidenced by our 99% NCCPA PANCE pass rate for all first-time test takers who have graduated from our program. Knowledge also encompasses both medical knowledge but also critical thinking. This is assessed throughout the program through interval assessments. 100% of our student must successfully pass all standardized patient experiences, the didactic comprehensive exam and the summative curriculum assessments to ensure they are knowledgeable to sit for the NCCPA PANCE and subsequently to practice medicine.