Clinical Training
Overview of Clinical Curriculum
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Supervised Clinical Practice
From the 2nd through 5th quarters, students are placed in primary care preceptorships and rotations:
- 17 weeks minimum family medicine/internal medicine preceptorships
- 6 weeks pediatrics*
- 6 weeks OB/GYN*
- 3 weeks inpatient rotation
- 2 weeks surgery rotation
- 2 weeks emergency medicine rotation
*may be incorporated into primary care preceptorships or may be separate rotations
Each student is required to spend a minimum of 20 clinical days in medically underserved sites.
Preceptorships
The Primary Care Associate Program offers a curriculum that emphasizes community-based clinical education in combination with didactic classes. Much of the clinical education takes place in the office of a preceptor – a practicing physician who teaches the student during the course of his/her clinical practice. Preceptorship sites are located throughout California. The PCA Program has the responsibility for arranging the clinical instruction and supervision of each student, including identifying and supplying preceptors. Students are encouraged to seek out compatible primary care physician preceptors in their home communities, however students are not required to do so. This policy applies to students in satellite counties, as well as other counties in California. The program must approve each clinical site and retains the responsibility for student training and evaluation. Applicants from community satellites, if accepted into the program, must complete preceptorships in their designated satellite county.
Minimum Clinical Requirements
he Program has developed a list of Minimum Clinical Requirements (MCRs), which each student must complete before graduation. MCRs consist of symptoms, diagnoses and procedures in patients across the life span, and assure that each student has a foundation of clinical experience in preparation for graduate practice. MCRs and instructional objectives guide student learning and preceptor teaching.
Quarter |
Month |
Didactic |
Preceptorship |
Fall |
September, October, November, December |
Every week; Monday through Friday at Stanford |
|
Winter |
January, February, March |
1 week per month; Monday through Friday at Stanford |
12 days per month |
Spring |
April May June |
1 week per month; Monday through Friday at Stanford |
14 days per month |
Summer |
July, August, September |
1 week per month; Monday through Friday at Stanford |
14 days per month |
Fall (5th Quarter) |
October, November, December |
1 week per month; Monday through Friday at Stanford |
14 days in October and November 10 days in December |
Note: Inpatient, surgery and emergency medicine rotations are scheduled starting in the summer quarter. Times and locations are arranged by agreement among the student's preceptor, site visitor and faculty advisor. Affiliation agreements and/or contracts must be completed before each rotation.
Information for Preceptors
The Preceptor Manual provides information about the Program's expectations of students and clinical preceptors. For details, please view 
Preceptor Manual
Site Visitors
Site Visitors are practicing PAs and NPs employed by the program to visit the students at their preceptorship sites quarterly during their training. The purpose of site visiting is direct observation of the student for instruction and evaluation. Site visitors are an important faculty link between the program and the preceptors. They live and practice in diverse geographic locations throughout California and are chosen in areas to match the students' preceptorship sites. They are familiar with the communities in which the students are training and are knowledgeable about the medical needs of the area. They can also assist the student in locating secondary preceptor sites and other networking requirements.
Preceptors
Program Philosophy
The Primary Care Associate Program (PCAP) curriculum provides for advanced education as a Physician Assistant. PA students build on prior academic, clinical and life experiences to develop expertise in primary care and assume new roles as clinicians.
Some examples of clinical preparation a Physician Assistant student may bring to their study include experience as international medical graduate, paramedic, respiratory therapist, military medical corpsman, and medical assistant. Registered nurses enter our program from a variety of nursing backgrounds, including outpatient and hospital-based nursing practice.
Upon completion of the Program, all graduates possess the following competencies:
- Gather accurate historical data, perform competent physical examinations, diagnose physical and psychosocial health problems, and develop management plans for patients’ problems across the life span and in acute, chronic, emergent and long-term care settings
- Apply basic medical science concepts to the practice of medicine
- Practice disease prevention and health care maintenance with effective patient education skills
- Develop effective listening and communication skills with patients, peers and supervisors
- Accurately document patient records in verbal and written format
- Develop skills for information literacy and lifelong learning
- Function effectively with physicians and other health care professionals as part of a health care team
- Demonstrate sensitivity and responsiveness to each patient, and recognize the influence of culture, age, gender, and abilities in each patient interaction
- Integrate ethical behavior and professionalism into the practice of medicine
- Demonstrate intelligence, sound judgment, respect for self and others, and intellectual honesty
- Demonstrate awareness of the health care system and advocate for quality patient care
- Provide service to the community and to the PA profession
Preparation of the PA to work in medically underserved communities is a vital part of the curriculum. The Program emphasizes the community-based preceptor teaching process in community training sites.
Preceptors should keep these philosophical goals in mind while training and evaluating students.
For details, please view Preceptor Manual (3.20MB PDF)
For preceptor approval process and forms only, please click here (0.44MB PDF)
