Update - Applicant Information - Physician Assistant Studies UTHSCSA

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APPLICANT INFORMATION

Technical Standards for Physician Assistant Students

Purpose: This description defines the capabilities that are necessary for an individual to successfully complete the physician assistant curricula.

Airlife

PA student with Airlife chopper

PMCH Sunscreen project

PMCH Sunscreen Project

Typical Mental Demands: Requires the ability to process, retain, comprehend, integrate, analyze, synthesize, and apply a large volume of data related to the art and science of medicine, including legal, ethical, and moral concepts. Requires long hours in class, laboratory, clinical, and self-directed study situations and environments. Requires appropriate and timely responses to constructive faculty feedback. Requires effective written and verbal communication skills. Requires participation in educational activities that include tests, examinations, demonstrations, simulations, presentations, written communication skills, frequent and exacting evaluations, etc.

Typical Physical Demands: Requires full range of body motion including assisting patient movement, manual and finger dexterity and eye-hand coordination. Requires frequent and prolonged patient interactions that include standing and walking for extended hospital/clinic visits. Classroom and laboratory experiences may require sitting for long periods. Requires normal visual and hearing acuity. Requires exposures to communicable diseases and body fluids. Requires working in physically and mentally stressful situations with long and irregular hours.

Typical Working Conditions: Frequent exposure to communicable diseases, toxic substances, ionizing radiation, medicinal preparations, hostile individuals, and other conditions common to the medical and surgical environments. Must interact with diverse patient populations of all ages with a range of acute and chronic medical and surgical conditions.

Student Performance Requirements:

Assignment to medical, surgical, pediatric, obstetric/gynecologic, in-patient and out-patient settings.
Assignment to on-campus and off-campus sites.
Attendance and participation in-patient care activities.
Attendance and participation in didactic and clinical education and training.
Patient assessment and evaluation.
Gathering patient data and reporting.
Participation in invasive and non-invasive procedures.
Participation in patient education.
Participation in pre-, intra-, and post-operative activities.
Participation in emergency care.
Development of medical ethics and understanding medical-legal concepts.
Long and irregular hours.
Development of a service orientation to career.
Participation in professional organizations.
Development and exhibition of professional ethical demeanor.
Completion of demanding didactic and clinical evaluations, examinations, etc.
Performance to the level determined and required by the faculty.
Other as assigned or required.

Immunizations: All students are required to show proof of current immunization status for Hepatitis B, Tetanus and Diphtheria, Varicella (chicken pox), Polio, Measles, Mumps, Rubella (MMR), and Tuberculosis Skin Testing at the time of matriculation. NOTE: The Hepatitis B vaccination is a series of three immunizations over a 6 month period. The Hepatitis B series must be COMPLETE prior to matriculation.

PA Students

PMCH KKICS Project

Class of 2004
Clinical Skills Training

Goals of the Physician Assistant Studies Program

Efforts will be made to select students willing to make a long-term commitment to help meet the healthcare needs of rural and medically underserved South Texas citizens. Physician assistant (PA) students will be assigned to clinical rotations in healthcare facilities throughout South Texas, with the majority of rotations outside Bexar County.

The Educational Program

The master's degree in Physician Assistant Studies is a six-year plan using a 3+3 academic format. Three years of general education and program prerequisites taken at a regionally accredited university or college comprise the student's freshman through junior college years. Thirty-eight hours of program prerequisite course work is specified with additional core curriculum and electives for a total of 90 prerequisite course hours. The professional phase involves 33 months of studies: 21 months of academic course work at the School of Allied Health Sciences and other academic facilities in San Antonio followed by 12 months of clinical supervised practice at various facilities in South Texas. All students will be required to spend some (if not all) of their supervised clinical practice in rural Texas facilities.

If you require additional information about the Physician Assistant Studies Program contact:

Allied Health Registrar
Mail Code 7702
7703 Floyd Curl Drive
San Antonio, Texas 78229-3900
Telephone: (210) 567-2660
Fax: (210) 567-2685
Email: AHProspect@uthscsa.edu
OR:
The Allied Health Welcome Center
7703 Floyd Curl Drive
San Antonio, Texas 78229-3900
Physical Address:
8403 Floyd Curl Drive, Room 3.102
Phone: 210-567-8744
Toll Free: 866-802-6288
Email: AHWelcome@uthscsa.edu

Applicant Orientation: For reservations to attend one of our Physician Assistant Applicant Orientations held monthly May through September each year, send an e-mail to pastudies@uthscsa.edu or call 210-567-8810. Click here for additional orientation information.

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