This course is a comprehensive study of diseases with emphasis on etiology, pathophysiology, signs and symptoms, diagnostic procedures, critical review of medical literature, preventive care and therapeutic measures involved in treating medical problems. Topics will be presented through demonstrations, discussions and clinical conferences as well as lectures by physicians, physician assistants and other appropriate health professionals. This course will include discrete blocks on major organ systems and special populations. It is closely integrated with the pharmacology, clinical skills and physical diagnosis courses.

Continuation of Clinical Medicine I.

This course focuses on understanding human behavior in health and illness. Health, illness and sick role behaviors, psychosocial factors in the etiology of illness, patient compliance with prescribed therapeutic regimens, use of health behavior models in patient education, health maintenance, and disease prevention and sexuality will be discussed.

This course explores common laboratory procedures employed in the evaluation of disease processes. Students develop proficiency in understanding such routine procedures as a CBC, urinalysis, gram stains and cultures. Students develop skills in interpreting clinical laboratory values in relation to disease, therapy and prognosis.

This course is a continuance of PA-309.

Proper methods of performing various clinical procedures such as intravenous catheter insertion, intramuscular injections, passing nasogastric tubes, applying casts and drawing blood will be covered in this course.

Most of the course is devoted to the development of physical examination skills and the art of developing a rapport with patients. By the end of the course, students will have received instruction and training in basic communication skills and how to conduct a medical interview, as well as training in techniques of physical diagnosis. The course includes the use of simulated patients, as well as a range of field experiences to provide direct contact with patients and practicing physicians. This allows students to interact with patients and to integrate knowledge and skills in the setting of clinical interactions

This course is a continuation of PA 312.

This course includes topics such as pharmacotherapeutics, drug absorption, distribution and metabolism and drug interactions. The course is closely integrated with the clinical medicine course. All major systems of the body are covered in relation to drugs and diseases.

This course is a continuation of Pharmacology I. The course explores clinical pharmacology and medical therapeutics, including disease states and their medical management.

Study Abroad Special Topics

Over a four-week period, the course provides the foundation for clinical evaluation and treatment. Training may occur in inpatient internal medicine in hospitals or outpatient internal medicine. The rotation will expose the student to adult populations and their medical problems. The student will learn clinical presentation of general medical problems, evaluation, therapeutic intervention and methods of documentation.

This course is presented on a four-week rotation and exposes students to patients from all age groups, from pediatrics to geriatrics. Students will learn the clinical presentation of general medical problems, evaluation, therapeutic intervention and methods of documentation in a family practice setting.

During the four-week general surgery rotation, students will learn management of surgical patients in the hospital and in ambulatory settings including presentation and workup of common surgical problems, as well as surgical interventions, and in-hospital care of the pre-and postoperative patient.

This six-week rotation provides the opportunity to assess medical problems that require both inpatient and outpatient management of children. Students will get practical clinical experience in the outpatient setting managing routine childhood illnesses and health maintenance, and with the medical team in the hospital at the time of delivery assessing, the newborn and caring for children with more severe medical problems. Documentation in the medical record will augment skills previously acquired for data collection. Students will come to understand the influence that family interactions can have on the course of the patient’s development, wellbeing and illness.

OB/GYN is a four-week rotation with the purpose of providing practical clinical experience for the evaluation and treatment of women. Experience will be gained in the areas of general women's health; family planning, pre-, intra- and postpartum care; as well as routine gynecologic care for sexually transmitted diseases, dysmenorrhagia and menopausal health. Students will come to understand the effects that sexual activity, childbearing and menopause have on a woman's psychological, social and medical well-being.

The purpose of the four-week psychiatry rotation is to provide the student with clinical experience in the varied presentations of mental illness. The student will have an opportunity to evaluate, identify and learn management of both acute and non-acute psychiatric patients.

Emergency medicine is a four-week rotation with the purpose of providing practical clinical experience in the care of acute medical emergencies. Students will develop an understanding of the concept of triage in an emergency situation where care is provided to the development of physical examination skills, and the art of developing rapport with patients. By the end of the course, students will have received instruction and training in basic communication skills and how to conduct a medical interview, as well as future care.

The two-week course will take place in a freestanding, long-term care facility or inpatient skilled nursing facility and provide students with experience addressing the special needs of this patient population. Prerequisite: Successful completion of all third-year courses.

The four-week orthopedics rotation will give students the opportunity to observe treatment of common musculoskeletal complaints. The rotation will combine clinical experience in an ambulatory practice setting with following orthopedic patients in the hospital.

This is a required companion course to clinical rotations and is offered each semester throughout the clinical phase of the program. The course encompasses clinical enrichment content presented during required monthly Senior Seminar Days, as well as required online clinical enrichment activities such as board review questions, case scenarios, and weekly quizzes, which are made available to students throughout the clinical phase.

This is a required companion course to clinical rotations and is offered each semester throughout the clinical phase of the program. The course encompasses clinical enrichment content presented during required monthly Senior Seminar Days, as well as required online clinical enrichment activities such as board review questions, case scenarios, and weekly quizzes, which are made available to students throughout the clinical phase.

This course provides a historical perspective of the physician assistant profession, as well as content related to current trends and issues. The course will include discussion of the importance of professional responsibility in the health care role, as well as information on professional organizations, graduate certification and re-certification,employment considerations, professional liability and prescriptive authority.

Elective Clinical Rotation 1 offers an opportunity for physician assistant students to explore subspecialty area of medicine not covered in the current curriculum, spend more clinical time in primary care, or work with a physician that has been identified as a potential employer. Open to physician assistant students only.

Elective Clinical Rotation II offers an opportunity for physician assistant students to explore subspecialty areas of medicine not covered in the current curriculum, spend more clinical time in primary care, or work with a physician that has been identified as a potential employer.

Primary care, an eight-week rotation provides the opportunity to refine the foundation in clinical evaluation and treatment and to establish patient education and community education skills. This will occur in a setting, which provides continuity of patient care and the opportunity to establish an ongoing preceptor/P.A. relationship. Training occurs over an eight-week period at a single clinical site. Open to physician assistant students only.

Graduate Seminar I offers an opportunity for physician assistant students to receive instruction in professional practice, community service, patient education, medical malpractice legislation,recognizing an impaired medical provider and other issues pertinent to their development as health care professionals. The students will also have an opportunity to participate in clinical enrichment lectures and workshops, focusing on particular issues pertaining to medical management of the critically ill inpatient.

Graduate Seminar II offers an opportunity for physician assistant students to receive instruction in areas of professional practice, to receive additional enrichment in areas of particular clinical interest to the student,and to address other issues pertinent to their development as health care professionals.

This course is an in-depth training of the student to the human nervous system. Topics include embryology,neurophysiology, neuroanatomy, pathology, psychiatry and pharmacology. The accompanying lab will reinforce topics covered in the class, and include review of neurologic, sensory and psychiatric physical exam.

Medical micro-modification will emphasize diagnosis,disease progression and therapeutics in patients with infectious diseases. Building upon the clinical experiences of the PA student during their clinical rotation,this course will focus on recognizing specific infectious diseases and their causative organisms. The student will be expected to develop and understanding of disease progression as it relates to the pathophysiology of infection and treatment with this context in mind, the course will develop the skills of the PA student to render a differential diagnosis, formulate a diagnostic workup and recommend appropriate treatment for the disease state.

This class will offer insight into the modalities of alternative medicine. Today's health care providers need to be proficient in alternative therapy to Western medicine. Much of the population is looking into the alternative treatment methods available for a variety of medical problems. This course will review in detail the many different options that are available to the patient who is not satisfied with Western modalities or the patient who would like to try a different approach to treatment. The combination of both treatment methods can be very successful in treating medical problems. This course will review the wide array of available modalities. The course will also include lectures from alternative medicine practitioners.

This course will introduce the graduate-level PA student to concepts of critical thinking related to scientific research. The course will emphasize the rigors involved in completing the research project required as part of the master's degree portion of the PA degree. In this course, the student will be introduced to quantitative, qualitative and survey methods of research, students will be instructed on critical review of the medical literature from peer-reviewed journals. A review of creative writing and concepts in performing literature searches is provided. The framework for completion of the subsequent phases of the research project (Applied Project Seminar I & II) will be introduced during Research Methods. Finally, the PA student will choose their research topic.

During this course, the student completes the first phase of the research project:the research proposal. The PA student is guided through the sequence of developing the research project,completing an outline of objectives for the project and creating a clear vision of the importance of the original project. During the second phase of the course,the student completes a literature review applicable to the research topic. The third phase involves developing the materials and methods and then applying for approval of the project though the Institutional Review Board (IRB)at D'Youville. The PA student can then proceed to completion of the project in Applied Project Seminar II (APSII).

During this course the PA graduate student will complete their research project. During the last six months of their training, the PA student will collect data or complete surveys based upon the research method pertaining to their project. The student is guided at interpretation of the data,presentation of the data in the results and conclusions from the data. The student then defends their project with a poster presentation at the end of their training.

This online course will explore how the study of epidemiology is applied to the discipline of medicine. The course will review general definitions of epidemiology,disease transmission,measures of outcome of disease(morbidity and mortality) and screening methods to measure disease. In addition,the study of preventative and the therapeutic intervention, through randomized trials,will be explored. The second phase of the course will review study design (ie., case control) and how it is applied to identify cause for disease states. The final phase of the course will review how genetic and environmental factors influence diseases and how molecular biology plays a role in medical epidemiology.