Mission and Goals

The Physician Assistant Program

Mission Statement

The Physician Assistant Program at Marywood University is committed to providing students with an exceptional education in a supportive and nurturing environment. This professional education will include the knowledge necessary to diagnose, treat, educate and empower patients in a variety of settings.
This program is committed to preparing the student to deal with the changing health care environment while promoting the PA profession. Marywood's PA Program will emphasize the importance of sharing knowledge with future PA students while providing leadership in the community.
We acknowledge that patients are more than their physical body and so the program is dedicated to teaching the students to appreciate the patient's spirit as well as to care for their body.
The Marywood University's Physician Assistant Program has an awareness of the need for quality healthcare, both regionally and globally, and this program will assist our students in carrying out Marywood's goal for all students - learning to live and practice responsibly in an interdependent world.

PA Program Objectives:

1. To provide students with the basic medical sciences requisite to a foundation for the practice of medicine.

2. To expose students to all facets of primary care medicine as a foundation for their future practice of medicine.

3. To instruct students in techniques necessary to proper patient assessment such as the patient interview and physical exam.

4. To provide students with the means to communicate effectively with patients, families and other members of the health care team.

5. To aid students in the development of clinical skills with which to perform appropriate physical examinations.

6. To provide students with the principles of clinical pharmacology and pharmaco-therapeutics so as to allow them to initiate appropriate pharmacotherapy.

7. To provide students with a clear understanding of the past, present and future of the PA profession, and the role of the physician assistant in the delivery of health care.

8. To stress the importance of preventive medicine principles in the delivery of health care.

9. To provide instruction in health psychology, behavioral medicine and the psychosocial factors that contribute to health with special attention given to the cultural differences encountered in the delivery of health care services.

10. To provide students with a forum for discussion of the legal and ethical issues in health care today.

11. To foster understanding of the special needs encountered in the delivery of health services to those in rural and underserved areas.

Clinical Objectives:

1. To expose students to the various aspects of provision of primary health services.

2. To provide the student with hands-on teaching and supervision by physician preceptors and physician assistants in actual clinical settings.

3. To initiate and foster the process of self-learning in the development of a competent health care provider.

4. To develop a realistic awareness and understanding of the role of the Physician Assistant as a functioning member of a health care team.