| Module | Credits | Compulsory/optional |
|---|
| Core Clinical Competencies and Conditions 1 | 45 Credits | Compulsory |
| This module consists of classroom teaching and also 800 hours of clinical placement and focuses on the study of clinical competencies, diseases, conditions and presentations contained within the national physician associate curriculum (DH, 2006, DH, 2012, DH, 2016) which spans across the following specialities and disciplines of Clinical Medicine:
1. Cardiology,
2. Respiratory,
3. Gastroenterology,
4. Endocrinology,
5. Renal/Nephrology/Urology,
6. Genitourinary and Sexual Health,
7. Haematology and Oncology,
9. Neurology,
10. Psychiatry,
11. Orthopaedics,
12. Rheumatology,
13. Ear Nose Throat,
14. Ophthalmology,
15. Dermatology,
17. Infectious Diseases and Microbiology,
18. Obstetrics and Gynaecology,
19. Paediatrics,
20. Public Health,
21. Ethics, Law and Professionalism.
This module will cover 50% of the national curriculum.
The students will learn about the common medical conditions and diseases within these specialities with respect to the determinants of health, including psychological and social, development, growth and ageing, health and wellbeing promotion, public health, epidemiology, behaviour change and health education. There will be a focus on medical assessment and management of illness and disease, clinical decision making in diagnosis and management planning, problem-solving, documentation and information management within the context of the wider multi-disciplinary team.
There will be integrated teaching of core clinical conditions to include anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, histology, immunology and microbiology, pathology, aetiology, epidemiology, natural history, clinical features, interpretation of findings, determining need for investigations and applied pharmacology in therapeutic management of conditions. |
| Core Clinical Competencies and Conditions 2 | 45 Credits | Compulsory |
| This module consists of classroom teaching and focuses on the study of clinical competencies, diseases, conditions and presentations contained within the national Physician Associate curriculum (DH, 2006, DH, 2012, DH, 2016) which spans across the following specialties and disciplines of Clinical Medicine: Cardiology, Respiratory, Gastroenterology, Endocrinology, Renal/Nephrology/Urology, Genitourinary and Sexual Health, Haematology and Oncology, Neurology, Psychiatry, Orthopaedics, Rheumatology, Ear Nose Throat, Ophthalmology, Dermatology, Infectious Diseases and Microbiology, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Paediatrics, Public Health, and Ethics, Law and Professionalism. This module will cover 50% of the national curriculum. The students will learn about the common medical conditions and diseases within these specialties with respect to the determinants of health, including psychological, social, development, growth and ageing, health and wellbeing promotion, public health, epidemiology, behaviour change and health education. There will be a focus on medical assessment and management of illness and disease, clinical decision making in diagnosis and management planning, problem-solving, documentation and information management within the context of the wider multi-disciplinary team. There will be integrated teaching of core clinical conditions to include anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, histology, immunology and microbiology, pathology, aetiology, epidemiology, natural history, clinical features, interpretation of findings, determining need for investigations and applied pharmacology in therapeutic management of conditions. |
| Professional Development, Communication and Clinical Skills | 15 Credits | Compulsory |
| This module will consist of Classroom reaching on medical models of consultation, comprehensive patient history taking including biomedical, psychological and social evidence to perform holistic assessment. Practical teaching on advanced communication skills, Physical examination of defined procedures relating, for example, to the cardiovascular, respiratory, gastrointestinal, musculoskeletal, neurological, and genito-urinary systems and related anatomy, physiology and pathophysiology of these systems. The above includes clinical decision making processes and problem-solving techniques, professional aspects of documentation, record keeping, accountability, risk assessment and management. Multi-disciplinary and interprofessional teamwork, ethical aspects and consent, principles of Health and Safety legislation and policy relevant to persons, procedures, identification of risks and hazards and the principles of Health policy relating to infection control, specimens and equipment use, notifiable diseases. |
| Medicines Optimisation | 15 Credits | Compulsory |
| This module will equip the PA student with the skills, knowledge, competencies and attributes required to be able to propose medical and therapeutic management plans as part of the overall management of patients. Students will develop a critical understanding of prescribing practice, systematic approaches to assessment and diagnosis, drug actions and the use of evidence-based information sources to guide the selection of the appropriate pharmacological product. The module is mapped to the national curriculum (DH, 2006, DH, 2012, DH, 2016) and will cover broad areas of consultation and decision-making regarding medical therapy of patients, legal and ethical aspects of prescribing practice, professional accountability and responsibility in proposing prescriptions, dispensing and administering medications, prescribing in the public health context, basic and applied aspects of pharmacology and therapeutics, influences on and psychology of prescribing, prescribing within the context of the multidisciplinary team and evidence-based prescribing. |
| Clinical practice project | 30 Credits | Compulsory |
| This module will enable PA students to design, plan and conduct a clinical practice project. This module is designed to build on learning opportunities in clinical practice through a project in a chosen field. Students will be required to discuss the rationale for the choice of clinical practice underpinned by available evidence-based literature, negotiate with supervisors on specific target outcomes that can be evaluated and contribute to clinical provision, and include critical analysis of the implications of practice. |
| Integrated evidence based practice | 30 Credits | Compulsory |
| This module provides the basis for students to develop a further understanding of the management of chronic disease processes and illness. It will develop students knowledge of assessment and management using evidence-based practice. Students will be able to develop research skills which will help them in the second year whilst doing their clinical practice project. The module will increase understanding of holistic patient care by considering all parameters using holistic models such as SWOT and PEST(LE) analyses. This module will increase understanding of the contributory roles of the multidisciplinary team in the management of patients with chronic diseases to promote an inter-professional approach. |
| Placement Portfolio 1 | 0 Credits | Compulsory |
| This module consists of 558 hours of clinical placement and focuses on the study of clinical competencies, diseases, conditions and presentations contained within the national physician associate curriculum (DH, 2006, DH, 2012, DH, 2016) which spans across the following specialties and disciplines of Clinical Medicine: Cardiology, Respiratory, Gastroenterology, Endocrinology, Renal/Nephrology/Urology, Genitourinary and Sexual Health, Haematology and Oncology, Neurology, Psychiatry, Orthopaedics, Rheumatology, Ear Nose Throat, Ophthalmology, Dermatology, Infectious Diseases and Microbiology, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Paediatrics, Public Health, Ethics, Law and Prof essionalism. The students will learn about the common medical conditions and diseases within these specialties with respect to the determinants of health, including psychological and social, development, growth and ageing, health and wellbeing promotion, public health, epidemiology, behaviour change and health education within the clinical context. There will be a focus on medical assessment and management of illness and disease, clinical decision making in diagnosis and management planning, problem-solving, documentation and information management within the context of the wider multi-disciplinary team. |
| Placement Portfolio 2 | 0 Credits | Compulsory |
| This module consists of 1225 hours of clinical placement and focuses on the study of clinical competencies, diseases, conditions and presentations contained within the national physician associate curriculum (DH, 2006, DH, 2012, DH, 2016) which spans across the following specialties and disciplines of Clinical Medicine: Cardiology, Respiratory, Gastroenterology, Endocrinology, Renal/Nephrology/Urology, Genitourinary and Sexual Health, Haematology and Oncology, Neurology, Psychiatry, Orthopaedics, Rheumatology, Ear Nose Throat, Ophthalmology, Dermatology, Infectious Diseases and Microbiology, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Paediatrics, Public Health, and Ethics, Law and Professionalism. The students will learn about the common medical conditions and diseases within these specialties with respect to the determinants of health, including psychological and social, development, growth and ageing, health and wellbeing promotion, public health, epidemiology, behaviour change and health education within clinical settings. There will be a focus on medical assessment and management of illness and disease, clinical decision making in diagnosis and management planning, problem-solving, documentation and information management within the context of the wider multi-disciplinary team. |
