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Overview of the CUNY School of Medicine Physician Assistant Program

Program Mission

 

The mission of the CUNY School of Medicine Physician Assistant Program is to improve the health of underserved communities by providing increased access to physician assistant education to students from historically underrepresented populations. Through education and mentoring, we will create a workforce that provides highly skilled health services to the communities in greatest need.

Program Learning Outcomes, Goals, and Achievements

 

The CUNY School of Medicine PA Program goals and competencies align with the PA Profession and were updated and approved in 2021 by the four leadership organizations of the PA Profession: the American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA), the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA), the Physician Assistant Education Association (PAEA), and the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA). We are committed to graduating students with the following attributes:

PROGRAM LEARNING OUTCOMES

PLO 1. Integrate behavioral, social, and medical knowledge established from the evolving biomedical and clinical sciences in recognizing, evaluating and managing patient disease states across the lifespan during acute, chronic, preventative, and emergent encounters with diverse populations.

PLO 2. Demonstrate the interpersonal and communication skills required to sustain effective, multi-directional information exchange within a diverse population of patients, their caregivers, and members of the healthcare team.

PLO 3. Demonstrate the ability to elicit an accurate patient history, perform an appropriate physical examination, and perform appropriate clinical procedures using essential clinical and technical skills to provide quality patient care.

PLO 4. Collaborate effectively as part of an interdisciplinary healthcare team through clinical reasoning and problem-solving skills to formulate a logical differential diagnosis, select and interpret appropriate diagnostic studies, and synthesize a comprehensive, patient-centered management plan for the promotion of wellness and disease prevention.

PLO 5. Demonstrate the ability to interpret and integrate an evidence-based approach to clinical and professional practice through clinical reasoning, problem- solving, and decision-making processes to improve patient care practices withing diverse populations.

PLO 6. Demonstrate professionalism through personal behaviors, sensitivity, and accountability essential to patients, society, and the profession.

PLO 7. Promote health and wellness in health workforce shortage communities and with patient populations out of the mainstream of health care delivery.

Program Goals

  • GOAL 1: Graduate qualified and competent Physician Assistants

  • GOAL 2: Provide exposure to communities with healthcare provider shortages within the curriculum.

  • GOAL 3: Provide leadership opportunities to both PA students and PA program Principal faculty.

  • GOAL 4: Graduates demonstrate professionalism in interpersonal and communication skills

Competencies

Medical Knowledge (ARC-PA Standard B4.03b)

Demonstrate and apply an understanding of the biomedical, clinical, epidemiological, and socialbehavioral sciences to patient care.

  • Use evidence-based medicine to address clinical questions, interpreting medical statistics, and synthesizing knowledge to inform diagnostic and therapeutic plans.

  • Demonstrate understanding of how the body functions normally and what happens in disease states.

  • Demonstrate knowledge of how social and behavioral factors impact health and disease.

  • Apply this knowledge to develop and modify diagnostic and therapeutic plans for patients.

  • Use evidence-based medicine to answer clinical questions and interpret medical statistics in the context of patient care.

  • Maintain an ongoing process of acquiring and updating knowledge to stay current with evolving medical science.

Interpersonal and Communication Skills (ARC-PA Standard B4.03c)

Establish therapeutic relationships with patients, providing culturally competent and understandable care, as well as communicating effectively with patients and other healthcare professionals.

  • Build trust and rapport to ensure patient values and preferences are addressed.

  • Deliver care that is respectful of diverse cultural beliefs, practices, languages, and literacy levels.

  • Elicit and provide information clearly, using an appropriate style for the context of the interaction.

  • Explain information using language and materials appropriate for the patient's literacy level and cultural background.

  • Handle challenging conversations, such as those about end-of-life care, errors, or delivering bad news, with compassion and honesty.

  • Use active listening to achieve shared decision-making with patients.

Patient-centered Care

Obtain accurate patient information, communicating effectively and compassionately with patients and families, and making informed decisions based on patient preferences and scientific evidence.

  • Elicit essential and accurate information about patients through history-taking, physical examination, and diagnostic testing.

  • Acknowledge the patient's individual story, including environmental and cultural influences, and apply this context to their care.

  • Demonstrate compassionate and respectful communication with patients and their families.

  • Counsel and educate patients and their families to enable their participation in their care and support shared decision-making.

  • Appropriately refer patients, ensure continuity of care during transitions between providers or settings, and follow up on patient progress.

Team-based Care (ARC-PA Standard B4.03c)

Working effectively with other healthcare professionals to provide comprehensive and coordinated care for patients and their families.

  • Work collaboratively to provide patient-centered care and improve health outcomes.

  • Communicate effectively to build and enhance interprofessional teams.

  • Leverage the expertise and abilities of other healthcare professionals and resources.

  • Recognize when to refer patients to other specialties to ensure timely and appropriate care.

  • Demonstrate a commitment to professional maturity, accountability, and working in ethically appropriate ways that maintain mutual respect, dignity, and trust.

Professionalism and Integrity (ARC-PA Standard B4.03e)

Prioritize patient welfare by practicing ethically and legally while demonstrating accountability to patients, society, and the profession.

  • Prioritize the health, safety, and dignity of all patients above one’s own interests.

  • Support the patient's right to make their own decisions.

  • Act in the patient's best interest by providing treatment, emotional support, and education, as well as by preventing harm and removing it when it occurs.

  • Ensure that all patients receive the care they need, regardless of their social, economic, or personal circumstances.

  • Protect patient-specific information and ensure that patients or their surrogates provide free and informed consent for treatment.

  • Follow all legal and regulatory requirements governing the practice of medicine.

Practice-based Learning and Improvement (ARC-PA Standard B4.03b)

Identify self-knowledge gaps and biases as well as systematically analyze one’s own practice through quality improvement methods and integrate new evidence from the medical literature to enhance patient outcomes and contribute to healthcare system improvement.

  • Recognize personal strengths, weaknesses, biases, and gaps in knowledge and skills.

  • Establish learning and improvement goals to address identified limitations.

  • Perform learning activities to improve knowledge, skills, and attitudes.

  • Use formative evaluation feedback to improve daily practice.

  • Apply principles of quality improvement to optimize patient care and deliver value-based healthcare.

Community Health and Socioeconomic Factors

Recognize how determinants like cultural norms, needs, socioeconomic factors, and environmental issues influence the health of individuals and their communities.

  • Implement strategies for disease prevention and health maintenance that benefit patient populations.

  • Counsel and educate patients on lifestyle changes, screenings, and vaccinations to prevent avoidable health issues.

  • Act as patient advocates by bridging communication gaps, addressing systemic barriers, and providing emotional support to help patients navigate a complex healthcare system.

  • Apply the principles of social and behavioral sciences to assess cultural influences, psychosocial factors, and socioeconomic determinants on health, disease, and compliance with treatment.

  • Work with the health care team to conduct surveillance of community resources to improve and sustain health.

Clinical and Technical Skills (Standard B4.03a)

Determine though history of present illness and physical examination, the appropriate clinical and technical skills to employ.

  • Elicit a detailed complete history and perform a comprehensive physical exam.

  • Elicit a focused history (HPI) and perform a focused physical examination based on patient presentation.

  • Perform the following clinical skills as dictated by the situation:

    • Phlebotomy

    • Splinting

    • Suturing

    • IV Placement

    • Pap smear

    • Interpret EKGs, Chest X-rays, Lab results, and other diagnostic tests;

    • Intramuscular and Subcutaneous injections.

    • Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR)

    • Foreign body removal

    • Incision & Drainage

Brief Program Description

The CUNY School of Medicine PA Program is a full-time, 28-month, 80-semester-credit-hour program consisting of seven consecutive semesters. The semesters are divided between a 16month didactic phase and a 12-month clinical phase. All program courses must be completed at the CUNY School of Medicine PA Program.

Physician Assistant Graduate Functions and Tasks

Any graduate of the CUNY School of Medicine Physician Assistant Program will be expected to demonstrate competence in the following functions and tasks:

  • Elicit a detailed and accurate medical history, perform a complete physical examination, and record all pertinent data in written or electronic form as a medical note.

  • Interview using the patient-centered model of care.

  • Generate an appropriate differential diagnosis using evidence-based practice.

  • Perform and interpret diagnostic studies, including routine laboratory procedures, common radiological studies, and electrocardiograms.

  • Determine most likely diagnosis.

  • Plan and implement therapeutic measures.

  • Counsel patients regarding physical and mental health, including diet, disease prevention, normal growth/development, and family planning.

  • Work in collaboration with the interdisciplinary healthcare team.

  • Perform life-saving maneuvers such as cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

  • Facilitate the appropriate referral of patients and maintain awareness of existing healthcare delivery systems and social welfare resources.

  • Communicate effectively in oral and written forms.

  • Display professionalism in all aspects of patient care.

History of the Program

The Sophie Davis School of Biomedical Education Physician Assistant Program at Harlem Hospital Center was founded in 1970 as a joint project of the Harlem Hospital Center and the Columbia University School of Public Health. The Harlem Program is one of the oldest in the country, being founded only five years after the birth of the profession. The Program was developed to train individuals with health care experience to practice primary care in communities of greatest need. The first class of four was admitted in 1971, graduating in 1973.

In 1972, the Program developed an academic affiliation with Antioch College which continued until the New School for Social Research assumed responsibility from 1974-1978. In 1978 the Program developed a partnership with the Sophie Davis School of Biomedical Education of the City College of New York (CCNY) which continues today.

In 2016, the Program transitioned to a master’s degree granting program. In the same year, the Sophie Davis BS/MD program transitioned to become the CUNY School of Medicine. The name of the PA Program changed to the CUNY School of Medicine Physician Assistant Program. Although the degree of both programs changed, the mission of the School of Medicine and of the PA Program remains the same.