Doctor of Science in Physician Assistant Studies-General Surgery

Baylor Program Director Chair: MAJ Ryan McMahon, U.S. Army

In the Fall 2012, Baylor University, in affiliation with the U.S. Army Medical Center of Excellence (MEDCoE) established the Doctor of Science in Physician Assistant in General Surgery degree (DSc.P.A.S.). The Army/Baylor Doctorate of Science Physician Assistant-General Surgery (DSc.P.A.S.-GS) Program serves as the benchmark for post-graduate PA education and research through the pursuit of clinical excellence, academic rigor, and scholarly activity. The program will challenge the graduate student through a strenuous clinical and academic schedule with the overall goals of improving quality of care, patient safety, and medical knowledge through education and research.

The DSc.P.A.S.-GS Program provides physician assistants an opportunity to develop advanced competencies in clinical research as well as in both operative assistance, and clinical management of General Surgery/Trauma Surgery/ and Critical Care patients. This rigorous comprehensive training is conducted at Joint Base San Antonio Military Medical Center, Texas. Graduates will use the surgical and critical care skills acquired during the program to assist General Surgeons in the operative treatment of injured and critically wounded warriors on and off the battlefield, perform Critical Care for post-operative trauma/surgical patients, provide surgical care to military dependents and enhance the knowledge of medicine through education and research.

Admission

Candidates for admission must hold a Master’s Degree in Physician Assistant Studies and be currently on active-duty as a member of the U.S. Military. Applicants must meet all service specific requirements prior to beginning the program. Applicants must have an overall minimum grade point average of 3.0 and obtain a score on the GRE general exam that is predictive of successful completion of the program. Candidates must also meet the entrance requirements of the Graduate School of Baylor University. Uniformed-services candidates will be selected by a competitive board process by their respective uniformed service.

Curriculum

The Doctor of Science in Physician Assistant in General Surgery degree (DSc.P.A.S.) is an 18 month, 86 semester hours, Doctorate of Science Program. The DSc.P.A.S.-GS program is taught by U.S. Military personnel under the supervision of the U.S. Army General Surgery Physician Assistant Program Director and General Surgery Physician Assistant Medical Director at Brooke Army Medical Center, Joint Base San Antonio Fort Sam Houston Texas. The program consists of approximately 4,000 clinical training hours, approximately 800 hours of classroom instruction, lectures, substantial reading assignments, oral presentations, monthly end of rotation exams (written and oral), bi-monthly high and low fidelity SIM, monthly procedure labs, and a research requirement. The D.Sc.P.A.S.-GS Program requires the completion of an evidence-based research project. During the final portion of the course of study, each resident will defend their research study and submit the results in a written format. The results of the project will be presented at an appropriate national conference and the manuscript will be submitted to a peer-reviewed journal for publication.

The curriculum is structured as follows:

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
MGS 6210	Surgical Basic Principles	2
MGS 6211	Perioperative Management	2
MGS 6212	The Abdomen	2
MGS 6213	Surgery of the Esophagus and Stomach	2
MGS 6214	Surgery of the Small Intestine, Large Intestine, Rectum, and Anus	2
MGS 6215	Surgery of the Liver and Biliary Tract	2
MGS 6216	Surgery of the Pancreas and Spleen	2
MGS 6217	Endocrine Surgery	2
MGS 6218	Breast Surgery	2
MGS 6219	Neurosurgery, Pediatric Surgery	2
MGS 6220	Burn/Critical Care Surgery	2
MGS 6221	Trauma Surgery	2
MGS 6222	Surgical Critical Care	2
MGS 6223	Surgery on the Lung, Chest Wall, and Mediastinum	2
MGS 6224	Surgical Oncology	2
MGS 6225	Vascular Surgery	2

Practical Clinical Rotations

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
MGS 6330	Orientation to General Surgery	3
MGS 6331	General Surgery Team A (Colorectal, General Surgery, Pediatric)	3
MGS 6332	General Surgery Team B (Minimally Invasive Surgery)	3
MGS 6333	General Surgery Team C (General Surgery)	3
MGS 6334	General Surgery (WH)	3
MGS 6335	General Surgery Team D (Surgical Oncology)	3
MGS 6336	Interventional Radiology	3
MGS 6337	Trauma Surgery (Rotation 1)	3
MGS 6338	Vascular Surgery	3
MGS 6339	Burn Surgery/Burn Critical Care (Rotation 2)	3
MGS 6340	Plastic Surgery	3
MGS 6341	Neurosurgery	3
MGS 6342	Trauma Surgery (Rotation 2)	3
MGS 6343	Trauma/Surgical Intensive Care Unit (Rotation 1)	3
MGS 6344	Trauma/Surgical Intensive Care Unit (STICU) (Rotation 2)	3
MGS 6345	Burn Surgery/Burn Critical Care (Rotation 1)	3
MGS 6346	Elective Concentration	3
MGS 6347	Clinical Research	3