KangaRu 10 Posted October 14, 2013 I'm in the process of trying to decide on a program to attend. I have 2 options and they are pretty different programs however one thing I noticed was the lack of a pathophys course in one of the programs. At first I thought maybe it was just listed under another name. The closest thing they have to it is a Human Phys course. I'm pretty sure this course is specifically for PA students but the course description is not too similar to the pathophys course descriptions I've read. My question is, how important is pathophys? I don't plan on this being a deal breaker but as I have no frame of reference for the course, I thought I would get some advice. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
UGoLong 2,766 Posted October 14, 2013 It's hard to picture a PA program without pathophys. I think it's essential to becoming a PA. Especially if you end up in a medical specialty, pathophys, pharmacology, and physical exam are probably the three central legs to your education. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
taotaox1 181 Posted October 14, 2013 Pathophys is generally integrated into clinical medicine. Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk 2 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GreatChecko 326 Posted October 14, 2013 To build on the above, you probably want to focus more on how the curriculum is taught because subject matter will be more or less the same between accredited programs. More importantly, how do you learn and what do you prefer? Do the faculty teach versus guest speakers from different departments in the med school? Is it modular or subject based, in other words, do you learn everything for ENT then move on, or do you learn pathophys, pharm/medicine, and physical exam separately? Most importantly, what are the PANCE pass rates, which IMO tells you the most about if the method works. At my program, we use the modular approach, which I like and I am learning a ton. Things do get a bit crazy when you are in the transition. However, I expected things to be intense in PA school, so I don't mind this drawback. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Will352ns 181 Posted October 14, 2013 We have a separate Clinical Path that coincides with CMS and Physical Diagnosis. I think many programs do it this way. You are getting each topic hit in various ways. Repetition is the key to learning and all that. Path....learn why there is a problem. CMS, learn to recognize the different manifestations of the problem and common treatments. Physical Diagnosis, learn the techniques used to discover the problem during pt encounters. This style is how we do it for every major system. I think it is pretty standard for most programs. Path has to be in there somewhere....they just aren't calling it Path. They would have a pretty tough time staying accredited without it. Not an expert, but that's my guess. 1 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
greenmood 244 Posted October 15, 2013 Just ask the program for a more detailed description of their courses. They might even offer to let you check out a syllabus. At my program, pathophysiology was integrated into our year-long general medicine class. Worked out well. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk - now Free Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KangaRu 10 Posted October 22, 2013 thanks for the input! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SHU-CH 573 Posted October 22, 2013 Do a search on their website for a course catalog - you should be able to find course descriptions. If they have a "systems-based" curriculum, it will be broken into each system. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
