COURSE CURRICULUM

The Physician Assistant Studies curriculum at Fairleigh Dickinson University is a comprehensive two-and-a-half-year program designed to prepare students with the medical knowledge, clinical competence, research abilities, and professional skills necessary for modern healthcare practice. The didactic portion of the curriculum begins in the first-year spring semester with foundational medical science courses including anatomy, physiology, pharmacology, mental health and wellness, clinical skills, and an introduction to the professional role of the physician assistant. During the summer of the first year, students continue building their medical knowledge through courses in pathophysiology, genetics, advanced pharmacology, family medicine, primary care, clinical skills, and technical procedures. In the fall semester of the first year, the curriculum expands into specialized clinical areas such as maternal and child medicine, internal medicine, emergency medicine, surgical medicine, medical ethics, advanced clinical skills, technical skills, and evidence-based medical literature analysis. Together, these didactic courses provide students with a strong academic and practical foundation before entering clinical training. The clinical curriculum begins in the second year and combines supervised clinical practice experiences with advanced coursework in research, public health, clinical reasoning, and healthcare law. Students participate in research-focused courses that cover research methods, study design, data collection, analysis, and research project completion, helping them develop evidence-based medical practice and analytical skills. Additional courses focus on simulated interactive medicine, professional healthcare concepts, public health delivery systems, and advanced clinical reasoning and problem-solving. Throughout the clinical phase, students complete multiple supervised clinical practice experiences in a variety of healthcare settings and specialties. Core supervised clinical experiences include behavioral and mental health, family medicine, primary care, pediatrics, women’s health, emergency medicine, internal medicine, surgery, urgent care, and elective medical rotations. These rotations allow students to apply their classroom learning in real patient-care environments while gaining hands-on experience in diagnosis, treatment, communication, and patient management. Overall, the curriculum is structured to progressively build medical expertise, professional responsibility, research competence, and clinical confidence, preparing graduates to become compassionate, knowledgeable, and highly skilled physician assistants capable of serving diverse patient populations in a wide range of healthcare environments.