At Pacific, our students become compassionate, competent clinicians who bring a lens of justice, equity, diversity and inclusion to healthcare.
Program Overview The PA program is offered over seven consecutive semesters, taking 27 months to complete. The physician assistant program emphasizes problem-based, team-based learning, small group sessions, diversity awareness, evidence-based healthcare, interprofessional activities, integration of simulation technology and the use of standardized patients in the educational process. A graduate project provides an opportunity to integrate evidence-based medicine with a literature review and research process, preparing the PA program graduate to be a critically thinking clinician who can effectively respond to the ever-changing demands of the healthcare system.
Didactic Phase The didactic phase consists of four semesters. The curriculum is organized into blocks to allow for a comprehensive and integrated approach to learning medicine by organ system. Each clinical medicine block contains anatomy, physiology, pathophysiology, clinical skills, laboratory studies, study of disease states, pharmacology, behavioral medicine and preventive medicine. The classes are traditional lectures with a focus on active learning through cases, clinical skills, role playing and problem solving. You will be assigned to a small group at the beginning of the didactic phase. Many of the active learning activities will occur in your small group. Throughout the didactic phase, there is a comprehensive assessment approximately every two weeks. You will take an individual exam and then retake the same exam in your small group. It is a pass/no pass curriculum and all students must earn a 75% or higher to pass the module. If a student does not pass the assessment, there are two opportunities to further learn the medical information and retest.
Clinical Phase The clinical phase of the school consists of four semesters. During the clinical phase, you further develop your clinical knowledge and skills under physician/physician assistant supervision. You will complete a 12-week rotation in family medicine and six week rotations in internal medicine, inpatient medicine, surgery, emergency medicine, community medicine and primary care. You will be traveling to rotation sites throughout the Pacific Northwest as well as across the United States. You also may elect to complete an international rotation. All students are assigned to participate in rotations in medically underserved, rural, urban and culturally diverse sites. We believe that diverse clinical rotations significantly enhance your education experience.
To learn more about our curriculum, please visit our website.
“Pacific was the right choice for me because…The faculty are very supportive and want all of us to succeed. From the first moment I visited Pacific University, I felt right at home.”
Our experienced faculty and staff will prepare you to meet the wide range of challenges you will encounter as a clinician.
