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Curriculum
What to expect from your coursework as an NAU PA student
The Physician Assistant program at Northern Arizona University encompasses a 2-year period. The first year is all academic, while the second year provides real-world experiences.
PA curriculum year to year
Year one Accordion Closed
The first year of the Physician Assistant Program consists of 44 weeks (three semesters) of courses to provide you with a solid classroom foundation through lectures, small group activity and hands-on workshops.
| Year I Fall Semester (16 weeks) | Credits |
|---|---|
| PHA 500 Human Anatomy | 5 |
| PHA 520 Foundations of Clinical Practice I | 3 |
| PHA 530 History Taking and Physical Examination | 4 |
| PHA 540 Ethics and Professionalism | 2 |
| PHA 511 Human Physiology | 2 |
| PHA 570 Diagnostic Medicine | 3 |
| Total | 19 |
| Year I Spring Semester (16 weeks) | Credits |
|---|---|
| PHA 550 Pharmacology & Pharmacotherapeutics I | 3 |
| PHA 521 Foundations of Clinical Practice II | 8 |
| PHA 560 Clinical Decision Making I | 3 |
| PHA 580 Clinical Disciplines I | 3 |
| PHA 512 Pathophysiology | 3 |
| Total | 20 |
| Year I Summer Semester (12 weeks) | Credits |
|---|---|
| PHA 551 Pharmacology & Pharmacotherapeutics II | 3 |
| PHA 522 Foundations of Clinical Practice III | 6 |
| PHA 561 Clinical Decision Making II | 2 |
| PHA 581 Clinical Disciplines II | 3 |
| PHA 590 Clinical Procedures and Interventions | 3 |
| Total | 17 |
Year two Accordion Closed
The second year of the program consists of two year-long courses held in conjunction with on campus events following the completion of every clinical rotation and three eight-week primary care focused clinical rotations along with five four-week clinical rotations in various primary care, elective and specialty fields.
The core clinical rotations include:
- family medicine
- internal medicine
- emergency medicine
- surgery
- mental health
- pediatrics
- women’s health
There is one four-week elective clinical rotation allowed.
These clinical-year experiences provide you with hands-on learning in a variety of rural and community clinics and hospitals throughout Arizona. Additionally, you will return to campus several times during the year for continuous and summative assessments, research presentations, capstone projects and reflective coursework.
Please note: the second year is an ongoing year of clinical rotations that do not fit into the semester schedule and will not have scheduled semester breaks.
| Year 2 | Credits |
|---|---|
| PHA 698 Seminar | 1 |
| PHA 689 PA Capstone | 2 |
| PHA 631 Family Medicine | 8 |
| PHA 632 Internal Medicine | 8 |
| PHA 634 Pediatrics | 8 |
| PHA 613 Surgery | 4 |
| PHA 615 Women's Health | 4 |
| PHA 616 Mental Health | 4 |
| PHA 617 Emergency Medicine | 4 |
| PHA 620 Elective | 4 |
| Total | 47 |
| Total Curriculum | 103 |