Doctor of Science in Physician Assistant Studies - Emergency Medicine

Program Director Chair: COL Aaron J. Cronin, DSc, PA-C

In fall 2007, Baylor University, in affiliation with the U.S. Army, established a new degree program, the Doctor of Science in Physician Assistant Studies (DSc.P.A.) with the concentration in Emergency Medicine. This professional, terminal doctoral degree was then new to the discipline of physician assistant studies. The program consists of 18 months of didactic study, clinical experience, and clinically oriented research conducted in a professional residency setting. Today, the U.S. Army / Baylor University Emergency Medicine Physician Assistant Residency Program trains joint-services, active-duty PAs at five training sites: Brooke Army Medical Center (BAMC) at Joint Base San Antonio in San Antonio, Texas, Madigan Army Medical Center (MAMC) at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Tacoma, Washington, Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center (CRDAMC) at Fort Hood in Killeen, Texas, William Beaumont Army Medical Center (WBAMC) at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas, and Mike O’Callaghan Military Medical Center (MOMMC) at Nellis Air Force Base in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Objectives

The vision of the U.S. Army / Baylor University Emergency Medicine Physician Assistant Residency Program is to create the benchmark for postgraduate emergency medicine physician assistant education through the pursuit of academic and clinical excellence. The program achieves this vision by developing clinical scientists who are prepared to conduct advanced scientific research and provide quality emergency care for patients with a wide variety of illnesses and injuries in the emergency department or in the deployed setting. The clinical scientists graduating from this program become future leaders and mentors by establishing scholarly excellence for the physician assistant profession.

The U.S. Army / Baylor University Emergency Medicine Physician Assistant Residency Program provides advanced education and training, further enhancing the abilities of clinicians to save U.S. Military servicemembers’ lives on the battlefield, to serve Military Health System beneficiaries, to augment and extend physician care, and to improve recruiting and retention through unique professional development opportunities. The program produces graduates with expertise in evidence-based emergency care for examining, diagnosing, and managing a variety of life-threatening injuries and illnesses. The curriculum is structured to develop competency in research design, production, analysis, and critical review. Graduates will use competencies in triage and management of emergency medical conditions and injuries to stabilize critically ill or injured soldiers on the battlefield and prepare them for transportation to higher echelons of care.

Admission

For admission, candidates must be active-duty U.S. military physician assistants with a master’s degree in physician assistant studies (or equivalent) with a minimum of two years of active-duty military service practicing as a physician assistant prior to beginning the program. Applicants must have a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or above, a minimum GRE score of 300, and letter of endorsement from an emergency medicine PA after 40 hours of shadowing in an emergency department setting. Candidates must have a minimum of two years of time on station prior to the start date of the residency or if outside the continental United States (OCONUS), the applicants must have served to within 60 days of their prescribed tour. Applicants must also agree to incur a 2-year active-duty service obligation (ADSO). Candidates must also meet the entrance requirements of the Graduate School of Baylor University. Candidates are selected by a competitive board process by their respective uniformed service.

Curriculum

The 18-month curriculum totals 88 semester credit hours and consists of 16 didactic and 20 clinical sections (representing approximately 740 hours of classroom instruction and 3,460 clinical training hours, respectively), and a research project. Midterm and final board examinations, including written and oral evaluations, are based on the standards set by the American Board of Emergency Medicine for physician training.

The didactic portion accounts for 32 credit hours and consists of 16 courses on an array of emergency-medicine topics. Each course carries two semester hours of credit:

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
MEM 6210	Introduction to Emergency Medicine Resuscitation, Shock, and Anesthesia	2
MEM 6211	Emergency Treatment of Orthopedic Injuries, Emergency Ultrasounds, and Emergency Radiology	2
MEM 6212	Toxicology and Oral Maxillary Facial Disorders	2
MEM 6213	Cardiovascular, Pulmonary, Hematologic, Oncologic, and Psychosocial Diseases and Disorders	2
MEM 6214	Gastrointestinal, Genitourinary, Obstetrics, and Gynecology Diseases	2
MEM 6215	Pediatric Non-Traumatic Musculoskeletal Disorders, Abuse, and Assault	2
MEM 6216	Emergency Wound Management, Environmental Injuries, and Trauma	2
MEM 6217	Infectious Disease, Endocrinology, and Neurology	2
MEM 6220	Advanced Emergency Medicine, Resuscitation, Shock, and Anesthesia	2
MEM 6221	Advanced Emergency Treatment of Orthopedic Injuries, Emergency Ultrasounds, and Emergency Radiology	2
MEM 6222	Advanced Toxicology and Oral Maxillary Facial Disorders	2
MEM 6223	Advanced Cardiovascular, Pulmonary, Hematologic, Oncologic, and Psychosocial Disorders	2
MEM 6224	Advanced Gastrointestinal, Genitourinary Obstetrics, and Gynecology Diseases	2
MEM 6225	Advanced Pediatrics Non-Traumatic Musculoskeletal Disorders, Abuse, and Assault	2
MEM 6226	Advanced Emergency Wound Management, Environmental Injuries, and Trauma	2
MEM 6227	Advanced Infectious Disease, Endocrinology, and Neurology	2

The remaining 56 credit hours are earned through clinical rotations. These include an emergency department orientation, eight emergency department rotations, four intensive-care rotations, one trauma surgery rotation, two pediatric rotations, one toxicology rotation, one radiology rotation, one emergency ultrasound rotation, one oral maxillofacial rotation, two elective rotations, and a dedicated research block:

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
MEM 6330	Orientation to Emergency Medicine	3
MEM 6231	Emergency Department 1	2
MEM 6232	Emergency Department 2	2
MEM 6233	Emergency Department 3	2
MEM 6234	Emergency Department 4	2
MEM 6235	Emergency Department 5	2
MEM 6336	Emergency Department 6	3
MEM 6337	Emergency Department 7	3
MEM 6338	Emergency Department 8	3
MEM 6439	Pediatrics Emergency Department	4
MEM 6440	Pediatrics Emergency Department and Pediatric Intensive Care Unit	4
MEM 6142	Radiology	1
MEM 6143	Oral-Maxillary Facial Surgery	1
MEM 6144	Toxicology	1
MEM 6445	Emergency Ultrasound	4
MEM 6346	Clinical Research	3
MEM 6447	Surgical Intensive Care Unit (SICU)	4
MEM 6448	Medical Intensive Care Unit (MICU)	4
MEM 6449	Cardiac Care Unit (CCU)	4
MEM 6450	Trauma Surgery	4

Each physician assistant resident is required to initiate and complete an Internal Review Board (IRB) approved research project during the 18-month residency. During the final month of the residency, each resident will present the results of the research project in written and oral form and defend the project before a doctoral examining committee. The examining committee is chaired by the training site program director and includes three additional program faculty and a faculty member from the Baylor-Waco campus. A manuscript from the completed project will be submitted to a peer-reviewed journal for publication.