Gannon University

MICHELE  KAUFFMAN, J.D., MPAS, PAC., Chairperson, Associate Professor
JOHN JAGEMAN, M.D., Medical Director
MARK KAUFFMAN, D.O., P.A., Medical Director
CATHERINE GILLESPIE, MPAS, PA-C, Associate Director, Assistant Professor
KIMBERLY CAVANAGH, MPAS, PA-C, Clinical Coordinator, Assistant Professor
HOLLY JODON, MPAS, PA-C, Assistant Professor
CAROLYN E. KNOX, M.S., PA-C, Clinical Coordinator, Assistant Professor
THOMAS SERENA, M.D., F.A.C.S., Research Coordinator

Physician Assistants are skilled, dependent health practitioners who are academically and clinically prepared to provide patient care services under the supervision of a physician. Their specific tasks vary widely due to differences among state laws, hospital policies and utilization preferences of supervising physicians.

Generally, PAs are qualified to obtain patient histories, perform comprehensive physical examinations, order and interpret diagnostic laboratory tests, prepare a diagnosis, implement a treatment plan for common illnesses, deliver patient education and counseling, perform certain surgical procedures, and provide emergency care. PAs may assist in surgery and deliver pre-operative and post-operative care. Physician Assistants may deliver patient care in any setting in which the physician works.

The Physician Assistant Department offers a Master of Physician Assistant Science degree following five years of increasingly specialized study. The curriculum is predominantly clinical during the fifth year. During the fifth year clinical faculty, in conjunction with various health care institutions, introduce the students to professional physician assistant training. The program is offered primarily in clinical sites in northwestern Pennsylvania, and western New York, as well as some locations farther afield. Students are responsible for their own housing and transportation to and from clinical sites

The Gannon University Physician Assistant Program is accredited by the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant, Inc. Applicants must meet the technical standards for admission to the program. For further details, contact the Admissions office.

Technical Standards

A candidate for admission to the PA Program must have the use of certain sensory and motor functions to permit them to carry out the activities described in the sections that follow. Graduation from the program signifies that the individual is prepared for entry into clinical practice or into postgraduate training programs. Therefore, it follows that graduates must have the knowledge and skills needed to function in a broad variety of clinical situations and to render a wide spectrum of diagnostic and therapeutic care. The candidate and student must be able consistently, quickly and accurately to integrate all information received by whatever sense(s) are employed. Also, they must have the intellectual ability to learn, integrate, analyze and synthesize data.

A candidate for the PA Program ordinarily must have the following abilities and skills: observation; communication; motor; intellectual, conceptual, integrative, and quantitative; and behavioral and social. Where technological assistance is available in the program, it may be permitted for disabilities in certain areas. Under all circumstances, a candidate should be able to perform in a reasonably independent manner.

• Observation: Candidates and students ordinarily must have sufficient vision to be able to observe demonstrations, experiments, and laboratory exercises. They must be able to observe a patient accurately at a distance and close at hand.

• Communication: Candidates and students ordinarily must be able to communicate with patients and colleagues. They should be able to hear, but if technological compensation is available, it may be permitted for some handicaps in this area. Candidates and students must be able to read, write, and speak English.

• Motor: Candidates and students ordinarily should have sufficient motor function such that they are able to execute movements reasonably required to provide general care and emergency treatment to patients. Examples of emergency treatment reasonably required of physician assistants are cardiopulmonary resuscitation, administration of intravenous medication, the application of pressure to stop bleeding, the opening of obstructed airways, the suturing of simple wounds, and the performance of simple obstetrical maneuvers. These actions require coordination of both gross and fine muscular movements, equilibrium and functional use of the senses of touch and vision.

• Intellectual, Conceptual, Integrative, and Quantitative Abilities: These abilities include measurement, calculation, reasoning, analysis and synthesis. Problem solving, the critical intellectual skill demanded of a physician assistant, requires all of these intellectual abilities. In addition, candidates and students should be able to comprehend three-dimensional relationships and understand the spatial relationships of structures.

• Behavioral and Social Abilities: Candidates and students must possess the emotional health required for full utilization of the intellectual abilities, the exercise of good judgment, the prompt completion of all responsibilities attendant to the assessment and care of patients, and the development of mature, sensitive and effective relationships with patients. Candidates and students must be able to tolerate physically taxing workloads, adapt to changing environments, display flexibility, and learn to function in the face of uncertainties inherent in the clinical problems of many patients. Compassion, integrity, concern for others, interpersonal skills, interest and motivation are all personal qualities to be assessed during the admissions and educational processes.

The PA Department is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to students with an identifiable disability as defined by the Americans with Disability Act. In doing so, however, the PA Department must maintain the integrity of its curriculum and preserve those elements deemed essential to educating candidates to become effective physician assistants.

Employment Policy

Employment during the fourth year of the PA Program is not recommended. Demanding courses and time constraints are to be expected. Employment during the fifth year of the PA Program is strongly discouraged. Students will spend an average of 40 hours on clinical site, plus complete reading assignments to prepare for end of rotation exams. Students may need to relocate every six weeks, precluding steady employment. Students who choose to work may jeopardize performance and continuation in the program.

Transfer Policies

• Transfer students are accepted on a space availability basis at all levels of the program.

• Students should apply through the Office of Admissions and request transfer status. Course descriptions must accompany the student’s transcripts for courses the student would like to transfer into the program. Courses for transfer must be approved by the Program DepartmentChair and Associate Dean. Students accepted into the program will receive a written evaluation of their transcripts showing which courses were accepted into the program.

• To be considered for transfer into the program, a student must have at least a 3.0 overall GPA and a 3.0 in their science courses.

• Transfer students must repeat (at Gannon) any science course which was taken longer than three years prior to program admission.

• Once matriculated into the program, Science GPA’s of 3.0 must be maintained throughout the program as well as an overall GPA of 3.0.

• 30 hours of volunteer/paid patient contact must be completed prior to matriculation.

• Transfer students must complete the course of study (found in this catalog) for the Physician Assistant Program.

• Personal interview is required.

• Upon matriculation, transfer students will receive a program handbook detailing the program’s policies and procedures.

• Transfer students with a Bachelor’s Degree should refer to Gannon’s Graduate Catalog for prerequisite courses needed prior to application to the 2 year Post Baccalaureate program. All prerequisite courses are offered at Gannon University.
• Advanced standing is not granted in the graduate phase of the program.  No credits are awarded for experiential learning.

PHAS 111: Seminar: Introduction to the Physician Assistant Profession
An introduction to the health professions; physician assistant and medical care; scope of practice and responsibilities; and relationships with other health professionals.
Prerequisite: PA major
1 credit, Fall

PHAS 121: Medical Terminology
This course provides students with an introductory study of the medical language through prefix, suffix and root word forms. Anatomic and clinical terms pertaining to each body system are covered. Classroom activities emphasize pronunciation, interpretation and application of medical terms.
Prerequisite: PA major
3 credits, Fall/Spring

PHAS 215: Seminar: The Patient Encounter
This course is designed to introduce the students to Medical History Taking for Physician Assistants, boundaries and ethical professional behavior and establishing a provider/patient relationship. Emphasis will be placed on the interviewing process, confidentiality, and oral case presentations.
Prerequisite: PA major
1 credit, Spring

PHAS 312: Seminar: Introduction to Service Learning
Introduces the student/client relationship using community service agencies.
Prerequisite: PA major
1 credit, Fall

PHAS 363: Research Process
The primary goal of this course is for students to be comfortable with all aspects of clinical research in the Health Sciences field. The class will first concentrate on choosing a research topic, which is relevant and will contribute to the medical literature. Students are directed to choose topics which interest them. We will then proceed in a step-by-step fashion from idea to finished work. We will concentrate heavily on the practical knowledge required to produce a quality research project. It is also our goal for students to learn to objectively evaluate a clinical research study. At the end of the semester the student should be able to draft a publishable research project. He or she should feel confident presenting this work to his or her peers and faculty. Finally, there is a symposium at the end of the semester. Students will present a five-minute power point presentation on a research topic.
Prerequisite: PA major
3 credits, Fall

PHAS 411: Physical Diagnosis I
The techniques of history-taking, discussion and demonstration of normal physical findings with various organ systems and alteration of physical signs in disease states. The relationship of physical signs to altered physiology is emphasized.
Prerequisite: PHAS 305
5 credits, Fall

PHAS 413: Physical Diagnosis II
Designed to complement the physical diagnosis lectures, this course enables students to develop skills in performing histories and physical examinations on fellow students.
Prerequisite: PA Major
1 credit, Fall

PHAS 414: Medical Lecture Series I
Symptoms, signs and abnormal body function are taught in a problem-oriented manner, including a logical method, relevant diagnostic maneuvers, possible therapeutic intervention and patient education. The lectures complement the knowledge acquired in Physical Diagnosis, and are correlated with the Pharmacotherapeutics and Laboratory Diagnosis courses.
Prerequisite: PA major
3 credits, Fall

PHAS 415: Medical Lecture Series II
A continuation of PHAS 414
Prerequisite: PHAS 414
6 credits, Spring

PHAS 416: Physical Diagnosis III
In addition to performing histories and physical examination on hospitalized or nursing home patients, the student is exposed to a wide variety of frequently encountered medical problems and begins to develop a basic understanding of pathophysiology. In addition the student will develop a methodology for approaching any presenting medical complaint.
Prerequisites: PHAS 411, 413
1 credit, Spring

PHAS 424: Pharmacotherapeutics I
This course is designed to provide both basic information regarding the pharmacology of many commonly used medications coupled with a practical and systematic approach to the selection of appropriate drug therapy for patients. Two major areas of focus are a review of the principles of therapeutics (e.g., pharmaco-kinetics and pharmacodynamics) and a review of recommended drug therapy for common medical disorders (e.g., hypertension, peptic ulcer disease). Students will be instructed on a process through which they will think pharmacotherapeutically - that is, to identify a disease, review the drugs available to treat that disease, select treatment based upon goals of therapy and specific patient parameters and how to adjust therapy if required. Also, all lectures are coordinated with Medical Lecture Series such that medications are reviewed in close proximity to lectures on pathophysiology in order to enhance the learning experience for students.
Prerequisite: PA major
3 credits, Fall

PHAS 425: Pharmacotherapeutics II
A continuation of PHAS 424
Prerequisite: PHAS 424
3 credits, Spring

PHAS 431: Laboratory Diagnosis I
This course is designed to provide a basic understanding of laboratory testing involved in the evaluation of disease processes discussed in Medical Lecture Series. Emphasis is placed on understanding the pathophysiology, interpretation and application of laboratory testing for diagnostic/therapeutic purposes.
Prerequisite: PA major
3 credits, Fall

PHAS 432: Laboratory Diagnosis II
A continuation of PHAS 431
Prerequisite: PHAS 431
2 credits, Spring

PHAS 438: Pediatrics/Obstetrics/Gynecology Lecture Series
This course will discuss common disease process in Obstetrics/Gynecology and Pediatrics in a problem oriented manner to enable the student to incorporate knowledge of pathogenesis, clinical findings, appropriate laboratory and diagnostic testing and create a treatment plan for each disease process.
Prerequisite: PHAS 414
4 credits, Spring

PHAS 443: Research Proposal
Students distinguish between different types of research and systematically examine research designs and methodologies for the purpose of development of a proposal. Students will develop a research proposal under the direction of a research advisor.
Prerequisite: PA major
1 credit, Spring

PHAS 445: Problem Based Medicine
This course offers the student an introduction to evidence based medicine. Emphasis will be placed on clinical problem solving through a case study approach. The student will be instructed to incorporate knowledge of pathogenesis, clinical findings, laboratory and other diagnostics to develop a differential diagnosis. This approach is designed to initiate critical thinking about medical problems and incorporation of treatment plans.
Prerequisite: PHAS 414
2 credits, Spring

PHAS 490: Special Topics
This is an elective which will cover topics of special interest.
3 credits

GPHAS 601: Prerotation Lectures Series
This capstone course is designed to complement and integrate the Liberal Studies academic experience and didactics of the pre professional phase of the Physician Assistant Program. Students are expected to demonstrate their capacity to utilize concepts and methodologies presented in previous Liberal Studies courses as we explore the issues related to medical ethics. Issues explored will include but not be limited to the patient and health care provider relationship, human experimentation, reproductive and dying technology. Topics in the areas of Emergency Medicine, Orthopedics, and Surgery will be discussed utilizing the foundation of information previously presented in the didactic pre-professional phase. Workshops will supplement many of the lectures and afford students hands-on opportunities to practice clinical skills such as IVs, venipunctures, casting and suturing.
Prerequisite: PHAS 415
5 credits, Summer
 

GPHAS 602: Business Practices and Current Issues for Physician Assistants
This course is designed to introduce the Physician Assistant student to practice management in the clinical setting. Emphasis is placed on understanding health insurance coverage, cost containment and the quality of health care. Diagnosis and procedure coding will be introduced and legal issues related to the clinical setting are addressed.
Prerequisite: PA major
2 credits, Summer