To ensure students who graduate from the Midwestern University-Downers Grove PA Program are prepared for entry-level PA practice, they receive a didactic and clinical curriculum that facilitates their achievement of specific core competencies. The Midwestern University-Downers Grove PA Program Competency Framework includes 19 separate core competencies across the following five competency domains: Knowledge for Practice, Patient-Centered Practice, Interpersonal and Communication Skills, Professionalism, and Self-Improvement and Personal Wellness. The core competencies adopted by the Midwestern University-Downers Grove PA Program are listed below.
1. Knowledge for Practice
Graduates should be able to recognize normal health states and emerging, acute, and chronic abnormal health states, utilizing current scientific evidence to inform clinical reasoning and medical decision-making, and apply this knowledge to patient care.
1.1: Demonstrate critical thinking in clinical situations
1.2: Access and interpret current and credible sources of medical information
1.3: Discern between acute, chronic, and emergent disease states
1.4: Incorporate principles of basic and clinical sciences to develop a differential diagnosis
1.5: Apply principles of basic and clinical sciences to accurately diagnose disease and formulate an appropriate treatment plan
2. Patient Centered-Practice
Graduates should provide patient-centered care that is evidence-based and focused on safety and health equity.
2.1: Gather accurate and essential information about patients through history-taking, physical examination, and diagnostic testing
2.2: Develop individualized patient management plans
2.3: Demonstrate proficiency in the performance of program-defined core clinical skills needed for entry-level practice
2.4: Refer patients appropriately
2.5: Provide care and education to patients to maintain and/or improve health
3. Interpersonal and Communication Skills
Graduates should demonstrate the ability to engage with patients and a variety of health care professionals in a manner that optimizes safe and effective patient-centered care.
3.1: Communicate effectively with patients
3.2: Demonstrate active listening and appropriate nonverbal communication with patients
3.3: Accurately document medical information in patient records
4. Professionalism
Graduates should demonstrate a commitment to practicing medicine in ethically and legally appropriate ways, emphasizing professional maturity by prioritizing the interest of those being served above one’s own interests, and recognizing personal limitations to ensure the delivery of safe and quality care.
4.1: Demonstrate compassion and respect for others
4.2: Demonstrate responsiveness to patient needs
4.3: Demonstrate provision of ethical care: Informed Consent
5. Practice-based Learning and Improvement/Personal Wellness
Graduates should be able to demonstrate a commitment to continuous self-improvement and patient care by critically assessing new medical information and addressing opportunities for growth in their medical abilities. They should also look for ways to maintain or improve on their overall health.
5.1: Exhibit self-awareness to identify strengths, address deficiencies, and recognize limits in knowledge
5.2: Create improvement goals that address gaps in knowledge, skills, and attitudes
5.3: Identify self-care and personal issues that affect one’s ability to fulfill professional responsibilities