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Program Defined Competencies

The DeSales MSPAS Program Defined Competencies are as follows:

1. Knowledge for Practice

  • Demonstrate investigative and critical thinking in clinical situations
  • Access and interpret current and credible sources of medical information
  • Understand and apply the fundamental principles of epidemiology to identify health problems, risk factors, and disease prevention
  • Discern among acute, chronic, and emergent disease states
  • Recognize normal and abnormal health states
  • Formulate a differential diagnosis
  • Develop and implement patient management plans
  • Understand the pathophysiology of disease processes in order to formulate a treatment plan for the patient
  • Distinguish and order appropriate laboratory and diagnostic tests based on the differential diagnosis of the patient
  • Analyze laboratory and diagnostic tests that are ordered based on the patient’s diagnosis, therapy, and prognosis
  • Formulate a plan for the administration of medications including an understanding of pharmacologic principles
  • Recognize patient acuity for proper triage to the appropriate treatment setting (i.e. outpatient, inpatient, emergency department, surgery)
  • Initiate management and provide supportive care for acute life-threatening emergencies
  • Demonstrate core knowledge about established and evolving biomedical and clinical sciences and the application of this knowledge to patient care
  • Apply principles of clinical sciences to diagnose disease and utilize therapeutic decision-making, clinical problem-solving, and other evidence-based practice skills
  • Demonstrate understanding of and apply technical skills to satisfy assessment parameters as outlined in course syllabi

2. Interpersonal and Communication Skills

  • Demonstrate sensitivity, honesty, and compassion to provide quality, equitable, and culturally competent care
  • Communicate effectively to elicit and provide information
  • Accurately and adequately document medical information for clinical, legal, quality, and financial purposes
  • Demonstrate emotional resilience, stability, adaptability, and flexibility to maintain effective interpersonal communication
  • Utilize appropriate patient education techniques for management, treatment, and preventative care 

3. Person-centered Care

  • Elicit a detailed, accurate, and comprehensive patient history
  • Organize and present data from the history and physical examination
  • Perform an appropriate physical examination for all ages to include prenatal, infants, children, adolescents, adults, and the elderly, in multiple settings, and with various presenting complaints
  • Elicit, acknowledge, and apply the context of the individual’s environment and cultural influences to their care
  • Develop, implement, and monitor effectiveness of patient management plans
  • Counsel and educate patients and families to participate in their care and enable shared decision-making
  • Recognize appropriate referral patterns, indications for consultation and interdisciplinary services

4. Interprofessional Collaboration

  • Communicate effectively with colleagues and other professionals to establish and enhance interprofessional teams
  • Recognize when to refer patients to other disciplines to ensure that patients receive optimal care at the right time and appropriate level
  • Demonstrate competence in working collaboratively as a member of an inter-professional, patient-centered healthcare team
  • Consistently maintain a professional relationship with all members of the healthcare team, patients and their family members

5. Professionalism and Ethics

  • Adhere to standards of care in the role of the PA in the health care team
  • Demonstrate cultural humility and responsiveness to diverse patient populations
  • Show commitment to ethical principles pertaining to provision or withholding of care, confidentiality, patient autonomy, informed consent, business practices, and compliance with relevant laws, policies, and regulations
  • Demonstrate compassionate behaviors when working with patients and their families
  • Demonstrate timely attendance, appropriate dress and accomplishment of assigned tasks on time
  • Demonstrate the ability to openly seek and positively respond to constructive criticism and feedback from preceptors and staff

6. Practice-based Learning and Quality Improvement

  • Demonstrate an enthusiasm in learning and expand knowledge through self-directed learning
  • Access and interpret current and credible sources of medical literature and information

7. Society and Population Health

  • Recognize the cultural norms, needs, influences, and socioeconomic, environmental, and other population-level determinants affecting the health of the individual and community being served
  • Recognize the potential impacts of the community, biology, and genetics on patients and incorporate into clinical decision-making

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Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies (MSPAS)
Gambet Center