MSM PA Program Student Learning Outcomes

  1. Provide patient-centered care that is compassionate appropriate, and effective for the treatment of health problems and the promotion of health, including the ability to
    1. Perform all medical, diagnostic and surgical procedures considered essential for area of practice
    2. Gather essential and accurate information about patients and their conditions through history-taking, physical examination, and the use of laboratory data, imaging and other tests
    3. Organize and prioritize responsibilities to provide care that is safe, effective and efficient
    4. Interpret laboratory data, imaging studies, and other tests required for the area of practice
    5. Make informed decisions about diagnostic and therapeutic interventions based on patient information and preferences, up-to-date scientific evidence, and clinical judgement
    6. Demonstrate an investigatory and analytic approach to clinical situations
    7. Apply principles of epidemiological sciences to the identification of health problems, risk factors, treatment strategies, resources, and disease prevention/health promotion efforts for patients
  1. Demonstrate the ability to investigate and evaluate their care of patients, to appraise and assimilate scientific evidence, and to continuously improve patient care based on constant self-evaluation and lifelong learning, specifically
    1. Identify strengths, deficiencies, and limits in one’s knowledge and expertise
    2. Identify and perform learning activities that address one’s gaps in knowledge, skills, or attitudes
    3. Systematically analyze practice using quality-improvement methods, and implement changes with the goal of practice improvement
    4. Incorporate feedback into daily practice
    5. Locate, appraise, and assimilate evidence from scientific studies related to patients’ health problems
  1. Demonstrate interpersonal and communication skills that result in the effective exchange of information and collaboration with patients, their families, and health professionals, including the ability to
    1. Communicate effectively with patients, families, and the public, as appropriate, across a broad range of socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds
    2. Communicate effectively with colleagues within one’s profession or specialty, other health professionals, and health-related agencies
    3. Work effectively with others as a member or leader of a health care team or other professional group
    4. Demonstrate sensitivity, honesty, and compassion in difficult conversations (e.g. about issues such as death, end-of-life issues, adverse events, bad news, disclosure of errors, and other sensitive topics)
  1. Demonstrate an awareness of and responsiveness to the larger context and system of health care, as well as the ability to call effectively on other resources in the system to provide optimal health care by
    1. Working effectively in various health care delivery settings and systems relevant to one’s clinical specialty.
    2. Coordinating patient care within the health care system relevant to one’s clinical specialty.
    3. Incorporating considerations of cost awareness and risk-benefit analysis in patient and/or population-based care.
    4. Advocating for quality patient care and optimal patient care systems.
    5. Participating in identifying system errors and implementing potential systems solutions.
  1. Prioritize and address community health outcomes through civic engagement, ethical leadership and global social responsibility while delivering equitable and sustainable health care based on the tenets of social accountability, by demonstrating the ability to
    1. Identify, explain, and apply the physician assistant’s commitment to health equity in service to underserved, vulnerable, disenfranchised, and special populations.
    2. Identify, explain and apply basic public health principles, practices, and sciences to the practice of medicine in clinical and community settings.
    3. Identify, explain and integrate determinants of health (social, political, cultural, environmental, biology, etc.) in the practice of medicine at the levels of the individual patient, family, community and society.
    4. Examine, explain and integrate principles of civic engagement, ethical leadership and global social responsibility in the practice of medicine in clinical and community settings.
    5. Apply principles of social–behavioral sciences to provision of patient care, including assessment of the impact of psychosocial–cultural influences on health, disease, care-compliance, and barriers and attitudes toward seeking care