{"id":264,"date":"2018-08-20T09:58:28","date_gmt":"2018-08-20T16:58:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vendor.hub.wp.nau.edu\/physician-assistant\/program\/"},"modified":"2026-06-17T22:23:16","modified_gmt":"2026-06-17T22:23:16","slug":"degree-information","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/physician-assistant\/degree-information\/","title":{"rendered":"Degree Information"},"content":{"rendered":"

Curriculum<\/h2>\n

What to expect from your coursework as an NAU PA student<\/h3>\n
The Physician Assistant program at Northern Arizona University encompasses a 2-year period. The first year is all academic, while the second year provides real-world experiences.<\/p>\n

PA curriculum year to year<\/h3>\n\n
\n \n
\n
Year one Accordion Closed<\/span><\/h4>\n <\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/a>\n
\n \n\n
The first year of the Physician Assistant Program consists of 44 weeks (three semesters) of courses to provide you with a solid classroom foundation through lectures, small group activity and hands-on workshops.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t
Year I Fall Semester (16 weeks) <\/th> Credits <\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
PHA 500 Human Anatomy <\/td> 4<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
PHA 520 Foundations of Clinical Practice I <\/td> 3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
PHA 530 History Taking and Physical Examination<\/td> 4<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
PHA 540 Ethics and Professionalism <\/td> 2<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
PHA 511 Human Physiology<\/td> 3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
PHA 570 Diagnostic Medicine<\/td> 3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Total  <\/td> 19 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t
Year I Spring Semester (16 weeks)<\/th> Credits<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
PHA 550 Pharmacology & Pharmacotherapeutics I<\/td> 3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
PHA 521 Foundations of Clinical Practice II <\/td> 8<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
PHA 560 Clinical Decision Making I <\/td> 3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
PHA 580 Clinical Disciplines I <\/td> 3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
PHA 512 Pathophysiology<\/td> 3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Total  <\/td> 20 <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t
Year I Summer Semester (12 weeks)  <\/th> Credits<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
PHA 551 Pharmacology & Pharmacotherapeutics II <\/td> 3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
PHA 522 Foundations of Clinical Practice III <\/td> 6<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
PHA 561 Clinical Decision Making II<\/td> 2<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
PHA 581 Clinical Disciplines II<\/td> 3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
PHA 590 Clinical Procedures and Interventions <\/td> 3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Total <\/strong> <\/td> 17<\/strong>  <\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n<\/body><\/html>\n\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
\n \n
\n
Year two Accordion Closed<\/span><\/h4>\n <\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/a>\n
\n \n\n
The second year of the program consists of two year-long courses held in conjunction with on campus events following the completion of every clinical rotation. Clinical rotations are six weeks in length in various primary care, elective and specialty fields.<\/p>\n
The core clinical rotations include:<\/p>\n
\n
family medicine<\/li>\n
internal medicine<\/li>\n
emergency medicine<\/li>\n
surgery<\/li>\n
mental health<\/li>\n
pediatrics<\/li>\n
women’s health<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
There is one six-week elective clinical rotation allowed.<\/p>\n
These clinical-year experiences provide you with hands-on learning in a variety of rural and community clinics and hospitals throughout Arizona. Additionally, you will return to campus several times during the year for continuous and summative assessments, research presentations, capstone projects and reflective coursework.<\/p>\n
Please note: the second year is an ongoing year of clinical rotations that do not fit into the semester schedule and will not have scheduled semester breaks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t
Year 2<\/th> Credits<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
PHA 698 Seminar <\/td> 1<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
PHA 689 PA Capstone<\/td> 3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
PHA 631 Family Medicine<\/td> 6<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
PHA 632 Internal Medicine<\/td> 6<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
PHA 634 Pediatrics<\/td> 6<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
PHA 613 Surgery<\/td> 6<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
PHA 615 Women's Health<\/td> 6<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
PHA 616 Mental Health<\/td> 6<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
PHA 617 Emergency Medicine<\/td> 6<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
PHA 620 Elective<\/td> 6<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Total<\/strong> <\/td> 52<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Total Curriculum     <\/strong> <\/td> 108<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n<\/body><\/html>\n\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
Competencies<\/h4>\n
The medical knowledge, interpersonal, clinical and technical skills, professional behaviors, and clinical reasoning and problem-solving abilities required for PA practice. (ARC-PA glossary)<\/p>\n
Graduates from the Northern Arizona University Physician Assistant Program will have met the following competencies appropriate for practice as an entry level physician assistant.<\/p>\n\n
\n \n
\n
MEDICAL KNOWLEDGE Accordion Closed<\/span><\/h4>\n <\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/a>\n
\n \n\n
Demonstrate knowledge about established and evolving biomedical and clinical sciences and the application of this knowledge to person-centered care.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
\n \n
\n
INTERPERSONAL SKILLS Accordion Closed<\/span><\/h4>\n <\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/a>\n
\n \n\n
Demonstrate effective communication skills that result in the effective exchange of information and collaboration with patients, their families, and health professionals.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
\n \n
\n
CLINICAL & TECHNICAL SKILLS Accordion Closed<\/span><\/h4>\n <\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/a>\n
\n \n\n
Demonstrate the clinical and technical skills appropriate for an entry level physician assistant, including assessment of health status by gathering a history, performing physical examination, ordering and interpreting appropriate screening and diagnostic studies, diagnosing, performing procedures, and developing a management plan that considers social determinants of health for acute and chronic conditions.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
\n \n
\n
PROFESSIONAL BEHAVIORS Accordion Closed<\/span><\/h4>\n <\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/a>\n
\n \n\n
Demonstrate professional responsibility and accountability, compassion, cultural sensitivity, and a commitment to excellence, integrity, inclusivity, equity and ongoing professional development.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
\n \n
\n
CLINICAL REASONING & PROBLEM-SOLVING ABILITIES Accordion Closed<\/span><\/h4>\n <\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/a>\n
\n \n\n
Integrate critical thinking skills and apply evidence-based medical knowledge to formulate appropriate differential diagnoses and provide entry level patient care health services across the lifespan* for a diverse population in a variety of settings.**<\/p>\n
Address preventative care, emergent, acute and chronic conditions, women’s health, surgical care, and behavioral and mental health conditions. Recognize the need for urgent or emergent care and initiate evaluation and management including referral.<\/p>\n
*Including prenatal, infant, child, adolescent, adult, elderly<\/p>\n
Outpatient, emergency department, inpatient, operating room<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
American Academy of PAs (AAPA). Competencies for the Physician Assistant Profession. Adopted 2005, reaffirmed 2010, 2018, amended 2013, 2021.<\/h6>\n\n
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\n\n
\n
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Contact us<\/h3>\n <\/div>\n
\n
\n\n
\n
Email |<\/strong> PAProg@nau.edu<\/a><\/li>\n
Call |<\/strong>** 602-298-4015<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/body><\/html>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n
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\n\n
\n Attend an upcoming tour or information session<\/a>\n <\/div>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Curriculum What to expect from your coursework as an NAU PA student The Physician Assistant program at Northern Arizona University encompasses a 2-year period. The first year is all academic, while the second year provides real-world experiences. PA curriculum year to year Competencies The medical knowledge, interpersonal, clinical and technical skills, professional behaviors, and clinical […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":2005,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"my-templates\/catalog.php","meta":{"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","_oasis_is_in_workflow":0,"_oasis_original":0,"_oasis_task_priority":"","ring_central_script_selection":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-264","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/physician-assistant\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/264","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/physician-assistant\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/physician-assistant\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/physician-assistant\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/84"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/physician-assistant\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=264"}],"version-history":[{"count":29,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/physician-assistant\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/264\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2387,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/physician-assistant\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/264\/revisions\/2387"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/physician-assistant\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2005"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/in.nau.edu\/physician-assistant\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=264"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}