Program Overview

Doctor of Science in Physician Assistant Studies – Surgery and Critical Care 
Program Director Chair: MAJ Ryan McMahon, U.S. Army

Established in Fall 2012 through a partnership between Baylor University and the U.S. Army Medical Center of Excellence (MEDCoE), the Doctor of Science in Physician Assistant Studies – Surgery and Critical Care (DScPA-SCC) serves as the benchmark for post-graduate PA education and research. The program emphasizes clinical excellence, academic rigor, and scholarly productivity, and is designed to produce subject matter experts in surgery and critical care.

The DScPA-SCC program offers Physician Assistants the opportunity to develop advanced competencies in clinical research, operative assistance, and the comprehensive management of surgery, trauma surgery, and critical care patients. Training occurs at Joint Base San Antonio's Military Medical Center in Texas and is characterized by a demanding clinical and academic curriculum.

Graduates of the program are equipped to:

• Assist surgeons in the operative care of injured and critically wounded service members on and off the battlefield;
• Manage post-operative trauma and surgical patients in critical care environments;
• Deliver surgical care to military dependents;
• Advance military medicine through education, mentorship, and research.

Admission Requirements for the DScPAS - Surgery and Critical Care

Applicants must be active-duty members of the U.S. military and possess a Master’s degree in Physician Assistant Studies. Selection is conducted through a competitive board process managed by the applicant’s respective uniformed service. All service-specific eligibility requirements must be met prior to the start of the program.

In addition to military requirements, candidates must also meet the entrance standards of the Baylor University Graduate School. This includes a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 and a competitive score of 300 or greater on the GRE that demonstrates the potential for successful completion of the program.

Requirements for the DScPAS with a Major in Surgery and Critical Care

The U.S. Army-Baylor Doctor of Science in Physician Assistant Studies - Surgery and Critical Care (DScPAS - SCC) Program is an 18-month residency and doctoral program, consisting of structured clinical and surgical clerkships, formal academic requirements aligned with our surgical resident colleagues, and culminating in the defense of an original doctoral research dissertation. The program includes 17 clinical rotations, with more than 12 months focused on emergency general surgery, trauma, and surgical critical care - totaling over 4,000 clinical training hours at Brooke Army Medical Center, the Department of Defense’s only Level I trauma center. PA surgery residents engage over 800 hours of rigorous academic instruction, including journal clubs, bi-monthly high-fidelity simulation training, advanced trauma skills labs, and quarterly cadaver-based procedural labs. The DScPAS - SCC Program requires the completion of an evidence-based research project. During the final portion of the course of study, each PA surgery 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. This program develops clinically and technically excellent military surgical PAs, who are top-tier leaders in combat casualty care and education, prepared to provide excellent surgical care in any environment across the continuum of care.

The curriculum is structured as follows:

Course List

Code	Title	Hours
Research Courses
SCC 6423	Medical Research Design	4
SCC 6424	Approaches to Medical Data Collection and Analysis	4
SCC 6356	Techniques for Medical Research Presentation	3
Subtotal		11
Didactic Courses
SCC 6322	Evidence-Based Trauma Surgery and Critical Care	3
SCC 6354	Psychomotor and Surgical Skills Laboratory	3
Subtotal		6
Clinical Rotations
SCC 6355	Advanced Clinical Evaluation and Management in Trauma	3
SCC 6431	Fundamentals of General Surgery	4
SCC 6432	Advanced General Surgery	4
SCC 6433	Fundamentals of Acute Care Surgery	4
SCC 6434	Intermediate Acute Care Surgery	4
SCC 6435	Advanced Acute Care Surgery	4
SCC 6436	Fundamentals of Interventional Radiology for Surgical Specialties	4
SCC 6438	Fundamentals of Vascular Surgery for Surgical Specialties	4
SCC 6439	Fundamentals of Burn Surgery and Burn Critical Care	4
SCC 6440	Fundamentals of Plastic and Micro Surgery for Surgical Specialties	4
SCC 6441	Fundamentals of Neurosurgery for Surgical Specialties	4
SCC 6443	Fundamentals of Trauma Management and the Surgical Intensive Care Unit	4
SCC 6444	Advanced Surgical Intensive Care Unit Management	4
SCC 6445	Advanced Burn Surgery and Burn Critical Care	4
SCC 6446	Fundamentals of the Initial Evaluation and Management in Trauma Surgery	4
SCC 6447	Fundamentals of Operative Management in Trauma Surgery	4
SCC 6451	Introduction to Surgical Management Scenarios Unique to the US Military	4
Subtotal		67
Total Hours		84