DMSC - Medical Science

This course will cover the area of healthcare quality and improvement in all facets of healthcare including, but not limited to, private practice, clinical settings, hospital systems, and other healthcare facilities. Through a series of topics that range from teamwork, analysis, and communications, to risk analysis, accreditation, and personnel factors, the course will help the learner navigate facets of quality improvement that impact every corner of the healthcare environment. General government processes, regulations, and descriptions of accountability will also be explored.

This course equips students with the skills to drive and implement meaningful improvements within healthcare settings. Participants will explore and analyze effective strategies for enacting change and develop comprehensive plans to promote positive transformation in healthcare organizations.

This course explores the importance of learning assessment and evaluation in health education.  Students will navigate the learning assessment and evaluation process, including identifying the fundamentals of assessment, discovering evaluation and assessment methods, and evaluating these methods for quality, validity, and reliability.  Topics specific to health professions education will also be discussed, including the use of situation judgement tests and simulation in assessment.

This course will explore the fundamental theories of health policy, including its innovations, implementation, and analysis, emphasizing its impact on the PA profession. The course will prepare doctoral physician assistants to critically analyze health policy and its potential impact on the PA profession.  Doctoral students will be expected to write critical analyses on various health policy topics.

This course is a brief overview of organizational and leadership structures in academia and PA Programs. PA Program accreditation is emphasized in the planning and execution of the PA educational curriculum.  Additionally, the course prepares doctoral students to plan and evaluate appropriate instructional methods to enhance learner achievement.

This course will expose students to effective leadership approaches and skill sets. Topics will include fundamentals of leadership, leadership and professionalism self-assessment, leadership, philosophy, professionalism, essential leadership and professionalism skills, modeling best leadership practices and behaviors, ethics in leadership, institutional and program accreditation, and handling conflict and emerging issues. Learners will apply this learning to their professional lives through practical exercises.

This course is designed to provide healthcare professionals with the skills needed for both personal and organizational growth in clinical practice. Students will explore strategic management principles tailored to healthcare environments, improving their ability to plan, communicate, and implement effective solutions in dynamic settings. Key focus areas include identifying opportunities for personal development in clinical practice, developing strategic plans for medical organizations, mastering persuasive communication techniques in healthcare, navigating insurance and regulatory landscapes, and understanding how electronic health records and big data impact patient outcomes. This is a practicum course.

This course is an overview of writing and the organizational skills necessary for completion of the Capstone and submission of articles for publication. It focuses on the development of writing.

This is the second in a series of 3 Capstone courses in which students will continue working on their scholarly publication and enhance their knowledge of the grant process. This semester, students will explore the detailed components of the grant application process. The major milestone of this course will be the submission of a second rough draft of the student’s scholarly publication.

This is the third in a series of three Capstone courses in which students will complete the scholarly manuscript and further their knowledge of the grant process. The two major milestones of this course will be the completion of a complete grant application and the submission of their scholarly manuscript to a reputable medical journal.