The Road Ahead: An Overview of 1st Year Courses in McMaster's PA Program
Get a head start on your PA education with this overview of first year courses in McMaster University's Physician Assistant Program.
The journey to becoming a Physician Assistant can be both exciting and challenging, especially in the first year of PA school. If you are an incoming PA student at McMaster University, or a pre-PA looking to gain some insight into the program, this article is for you!
McMaster's Physician Assistant Program is one of the leading PA programs in Canada and is known for its rigorous curriculum and commitment to producing highly skilled PA professionals. The program is designed to prepare you for the dynamic and ever-changing landscape of healthcare, and to equip you with the knowledge and skills necessary to make a positive impact on patient care.
First Year of McMaster’s PA Program Explained
The first year of McMaster's PA program is designed to provide students with a strong foundation in the fundamental principles of healthcare and patient care.
List of First Year PA Courses
The following is a list of courses that you can expect to take in your first year:
Clinical Sciences: Done through small group tutorials using Problem Based Learning.
Interviewing, Examination and Reasoning (IER): IER is a course that introduces students to the practical aspects of patient care, including taking a patient history, conducting a physical examination, and performing basic medical procedures. These take place in small groups with a facilitator/instructor.
Professional Competencies: PA students learn about CanMEDS-PA competencies: Medical Expert, Collaborator, Health Advocate, Scholar, Leader and Professional. An expert comes in to discuss subject matter, and topics can range from health policies, history and scope of the PA role, advocacy, social determinants of health and more. This helps students become more well-rounded clinicians when working with patients.
Longitudinal Clinical Experience Program (LP)/IER placements: These are observerships where students have an opportunity to observe a health care provider (PA, NP, RT, MD, etc.) within a health care settings such as hospitals, clinics, and community health centers. This exposure helps supplement what you’re already learning in the classroom. LPs are generally set up by you, whereas IER placements are set up by the program.
Coursework through the Medical Foundations
First year of PA school is divided into 3 Medical Foundations (MF1, MF2, and MF3), where different subjects for each course are dictated.
Here are the topics in each Medical Foundation as outlined on the McMaster PA program Academic Calendar:
Medical Foundation 1 (MF1)
Clinical Science: Oxygen Transport: cardiovascular, respiratory and hematologic physiology and disease.
IER: Basic communication skills, history taking and physical examination.
ProComp: Professionalism, the role of the PA, principles and structure of the health care system, chronic disease, determinants of health
LP
Medical Foundation 2 (MF2)
Clinical Science: Homeostasis: energy balance, GI, endocrine, nutrition, fluid and electrolyte balance (including renal, acid base, BP) and reproduction, and pregnancy
IER: Continued development of communication skills, history taking and physical examination with additional focus on GI, endocrine and obstetric and gynecologic systems.
ProComp: Medical ethics and medical decision making.
LP
Medical Foundation 3 (MF3)
Clinical Science: Infection, neoplasia, neurologic, psychiatric and musculoskeletal physiology and disease
IER: Continued development of communication skills (negotiation and conflict resolution), history taking and physical examination with additional focus on the neurologic, psychiatric and musculoskeletal systems.
ProComp: Standards of care, laws and codes relevant to medical practice, institutional policies, mental health and society, breaking bad news, end of life decision-making, resource allocation
LP
Evaluations in 1st year PA School
Types of Evaluations
Clinical Reasoning Exams (CRE): This is a handwritten test where you answer questions around clinical concepts and scenarios. It usually requires you to apply what you’ve learned so far in your MF and demonstrate your clinical reasoning and problem solving skills. There is usually a CRE mid-medical foundation (MF), and one at the end of the MF for a total of 6 CREs.
Interview, Evaluations and Clinical Reasoning (IER) Evaluations: Once you have learned basic skills, there is a day dedicated to IER where you practice your physical exam skills on a simulated patient (SP) who plays out a clinical scenario. The preceptor observes you, and you submit a completed SOAP note from the encounter in which you’ll receive feedback. This occurs about once a month.
Objective Structured Clinical Evaluations (OSCE) Evaluations: OSCEs are used to assess a broad range of clinical skills, including history taking, physical examination, diagnosis, patient management, and communication skills. You have two OSCEs in PA school, one in first year in June, and another in second year of PA school.
Click here to read more about Year 1 Evaluations from the McMaster PA Student Resource.
How the Pass/Fail Zoning Grading System works for CREs
McMaster’s PA program does not assign numerical or letter grades. It is closer to a “pass/fail” system, where you get a zone based on how many Z-scores you are from the mean score of the class. This is a measure of relative standing.
For example, let’s say on the most recent CRE the mean score of the class is 70 (out of 100). The standard deviation is 10. If you as a student, scored 80 on the exam - you would have a Z-score of 1. Therefore a Z-score of 1 or higher could be considered passing, while a Z-score below 1 could be considered failing.
This method of grading allows for the comparison of scores relative to the mean and standard deviation of the class, rather than an absolute number. It also provides a more objective method of determining whether a student has passed or failed, as it takes into account the difficulty of the exam relative to the class as a whole.
Zone - Green: You performed above class average.
Zone - Yellow: You are at class average.
Zone - Red: You performed below class average. Will likely require remediation/additional tutoring.
Benefits of Pass-Fail-Zone
Reduced stress: With this grading system, you are not necessarily competing against each other for grades, which can reduce stress and create a more collaborative learning environment.
Emphasis on learning: This method of grading places emphasis on learning and mastery of course material, rather than grades. This can help you focus on what is truly important, which is the acquisition and development of your medical knowledge, clinical reasoning, and skills.
Final Notes
The first year of McMaster's Physician Assistant Education Program is an exciting and challenging time for incoming PA students and prospective PAs!
With a well-rounded curriculum that covers both theoretical and practical aspects of the profession, the program provides students with a strong foundation for their future careers as PAs.
