Welcome to the Yale Physician Associate Program

Key Faculty and Admissions Staff

• Medical Director- Mark Perazella,MD
• Program Director - James Van Rhee, MS, PA-C
• Associate Program Director/ Director of Admissions- David Brissette, MS, PA-C
• Assistant Professor- Alexandria Garino, MS, PA-C
• Assistant Professor- Rita Rienzo, MSc, PA-C
• Assistant Professor- Rosana Gonzalez-Colaso, PharmD, MPH

Research & Labs

Didactic
The twelve-month didactic phase is designed to introduce students to concepts of basic and clinical sciences, principles of human behavior and research methodology. The Yale School of Medicine faculty, including the core PA faculty, is responsible for the lectures and small-group seminars in the core curriculum.

Educational highlights and innovations include the use of…

• patient role-players
• suturing training in Yale's live animal labs
• full anatomy dissection lab
• computer-based learning
• small-group seminar sessions and journal clubs integrated throughout

During the didactic phase, students develop their observational acumen and interpersonal skills for history taking and physical examination, as well as fine tune their psycho motor, spatial, and critical-thinking skills.

Clinical
During the clinical phase, students complete 14 four-week rotations (10 mandatory and 4 elective) as well as 2 four-week "rotations" of research.

The clinical phase provides the physician associate student with experience necessary to master diagnostic assessment and managing a wide range of medical conditions. We emphasize professionalism, responsibility and an ethical approach to our diverse patient population. All 14 of the clinical clerkships expose students to a broad range of medical and surgical care.

Our students rotate as members of the medical team with their physician-in-training colleagues while the School of Medicine faculty serve as preceptors. Students learn the integral nature of working in concert with physicians, nurses and other members of the medical team.

Mandatory Rotations

• Internal Medicine I
• Internal Medicine II
• Primary Care I
• Primary Care II
• Emergency Medicine
• General Surgery
• Pediatrics
• Psychiatry
• OB/GYN
• Geriatrics

Elective Rotations
Students may choose to broaden their experience by selecting four elective rotations in a wide range of medical and surgical subspecialties. Subinternship electives in medicine, psychiatry and emergency medicine are also available. Students interested in international physician associate practice or global health may elect to complete a clinical experience abroad in places such as Peru, Spain and Uganda.

A sample of the elective rotations available to our students follows:

• Ambulatory Medicine
• Cardiology
• Cardiothoracic Surgery
• Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
• Neonatology
• Pediatric ED
• Infectious Diseases
• Orthopaedic Surgery
• Dermatology
• Hematology/Oncology
• Gastroenterology
• Neurosurgery
• Surgical Intensive Care Unit

Research
Research is a core element of the Yale Physician Associate Program curriculum. We believe in order to practice medicine in this fast-paced environment, it is important to utilize principles of research methodology and evidence-based medicine. The Introduction to Research course exposes students to the principles of research methodology and biostatistics early in their training. Throughout the entire first year, these principles are engaged during the clinical medicine courses as well as the journal clubs. Seminal articles in prominent areas of medicine are analyzed and often applied to patient cases.

Students interested in completing a research project in an international setting are encouraged to apply for the Wilbur Downs Fellowship. Several students in recent years have received generous funding for their projects.

Tuition & Other Financial Information

http://medicine.yale.edu/pa/life/tuition.aspx

History of Yale's PA Program

The Yale PA Program was developed in 1970 under the auspices of the Trauma Program of the Department of Surgery and accepted its first class of five students in 1971. The founders of the PA Program, Jack Cole, M.D., chair of the Department of Surgery, and Alfred Sadler, M.D., created the first PA Program in the United States with emergency medicine and surgery emphases. By the mid-1980's, the program was training students as generalist PAs, preparing them for practice in diverse areas of medicine.

In January 1973, the Yale Program graduated its first class of 5 students. As of January 2010, a total of 934 physician associate students have completed their education at Yale. "The Physician Associate"

At the time of the program's inception in the early 1970s, the name of the PA profession and the associated training programs varied greatly. The term PA is now widely used to denote physician assistant; however, the program pioneers wanted to convey the collegial relationship that exists between PAs and their supervising physicians and thus adopted the term "Physician Associate." Currently both physician assistants and physician associates operate under the title of PA Masters of Medical Science

The first twenty-seven classes were granted a certificate in physician associate studies. As a sign of the growing influence of PAs in American healthcare and recognition of curriculum enhancements in research, the Yale Corporation approved the awarding of a masters of medical science degree (MMSc) to be first conferred to the Yale PA Program's Class of 1999.

Accreditation
In 1971, the Council on Medical Education of the American Medical Association established the "Essentials of an Approved Educational Program for the Primary Care Physician's Assistant." Through the years, there have been several accrediting bodies responsible for accrediting Physician Assistant Programs. On January 1, 2001, the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA) became an independent review commission and created standards to which all PA programs are held.

The Yale Physician Associate Program has enjoyed continuous accreditation since 1975 and was recently granted continuing accreditation through 2017, as noted by the ARC-PA:

"The Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA) has granted Accreditation - Continued to the School of Medicine Physician Assistant Program sponsored by Yale University. Continued accreditation is an accreditation status granted when a currently accredited program is in compliance with the ARC-PA Standards.

Continued Accreditation remains in effect until the program closes or withdraws from the accreditation process or until accreditation is withdrawn for failure to comply with the Standards. The approximate date for the next validation review of the program by the ARC-PA will be September 2017".

Please note that the ARC-PA does not accredit the Public Health curriculum associated with the PA/MPH joint degree. The MPH curriculum is accredited by the Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH).

National Board Pass Rates
Overall, the National Commission on the Certification of Physician Assistants pass rate for Yale graduates since the mid 1970’s is 99.8%.

PA/MPH Joint Degree Program

The PA/MPH joint degree program at Yale University School of Medicine affords individuals interested in pursing clinical and public health training a unique opportunity to complete both degree programs in 39 months. The goal of this program is to expose students to the core competencies requisite to shape both local and global health systems as physician assistants and policy makers.

Applicants must apply to and be accepted to both the PA Program and the Yale School of Public Health during the same admissions cycle (July 1-January 15 of each year).

The application deadline for the Physician Associate Program is October 1, while the School of Public Health deadline is January 15. Individuals interested in the joint degree program should apply to the PA Program and the School of Public Health as early as possible. For individuals granted an interview with the PA Program, the School of Public Health will expedite the review of your application so you will learn if you are accepted to both programs by the end of January.

Curriculum
Students must choose the area of academic concentration for the public health portion of their training. The four areas of specialization include Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases, Chronic Disease Epidemiology, Social and Behavioral Sciences, and Health Policy. Satisfactory academic progress is required for continued matriculation in both schools. Students must begin their studies at Yale to remain eligible for the joint degree. Transfer students are not accepted to the joint degree program.