The Physician Assistant student competencies for graduation are as follows. For the subcompetencies associated with each competency, please see the
PA Student Handbook.
- Medical Knowledge: Graduates will be able to apply principles of anatomy, physiology, pathophysiology, pharmacology, and genetics to explain disease and guide patient management across the lifespan. Develop a differential diagnosis using history and physical exam findings for medical and surgical conditions. Incorporate epidemiologic trends and genetic risk factors to inform diagnostic and preventive care strategies. Differentiate normal from abnormal findings using clinical, lab, and imaging data.
- Interpersonal Skills: Graduates will be able to evaluate how cultural, socioeconomic, environmental, and behavioral factors influence patient health, and integrate this to guide care. Provide care that is equitable, understandable, respectful, and consistent with patients’ beliefs. Demonstrate effective verbal, nonverbal, and written communication with patients, in a person-centered communication style to encourage shared decision making. Collaborate effectively in interprofessional teams. Identify when to refer and coordinate appropriate specialty care. Advocate for individual and community health needs by identifying and addressing health disparities, systemic barriers, and structural inequities that affect health outcomes. Connect patients to community and public health resources.
- Clinical Skills: Graduates will be able to illicit comprehensive and focused medical histories from patients across the lifespan. Perform age-appropriate, comprehensive, and problem-focused physical examinations. Order and interpret appropriate laboratory and diagnostic tests to support clinical decision-making and management across the lifespan. Document the care provided in inpatient, outpatient, telehealth, and operative settings using professional, timely, and accurate medical records that support continuity of care and reimbursement requirements.
- Technical Skills: Graduates will be able to safely and effectively perform entry-level diagnostic and therapeutic technical procedures in accordance with current professional practice standards.
- Professional Behaviors: Graduates will be able to engage in conversations with patients, families, and colleagues using patient-centered communication that reflects empathy and nonjudgmental language. Demonstrate professionalism, accountability, and reliability. Maintain confidentiality and respect while upholding HIPAA, and ethical communication standards in all interactions. Apply the four pillars of medical ethics to clinical decision making. Demonstrate knowledge of licensure, certification, credentialing, scope of practice, history of the profession, healthcare law, and regulatory policies that govern PA practice. Apply concepts of billing, coding, and reimbursement to patient encounters. Analyze healthcare delivery models, insurance types, funding sources, and health policy related to their impact on patient care and access. Identify signs of burnout in self and others and use strategies that promote resilience, self-care, and professional sustainability.
- Clinical Reasoning and Problem Solving: Graduates will be able to differentiate between healthy, acutely ill, chronically ill, and at-risk patients across the lifespan. Develop and prioritize a differential diagnosis based on the integration of history, physical exam findings, and diagnostic data for patients across the life span. Create individualized patient care plans using up-to-date clinical guidelines and shared decision-making to manage acute and chronic conditions across the lifespan. Apply preventive and health maintenance strategies across the lifespan. Evaluate and apply evidence-based medicine in clinical decisions and patient education. Recognize opportunities for quality improvement, patient safety, prevention of medical errors, and minimization of risk in healthcare delivery.