Guided by a diversified faculty who are educators, clinicians, and scientists, our students become not only technically competent but well-prepared to deliver high quality humanistic patient care to a diverse population.

The clinic’s mission aligns with the PA program’s mission to both educate students and engage with the local community—students are exposed to a clinical setting early in their training and have an opportunity to learn first-hand how to address socioeconomic determinants of health.

Didactic Phase Students

Students begin serving in the clinic in their very first semester of the program. The experience of a didactic phase student is designed to:

• Relate patient care cases to lessons from current didactic coursework.
• Acknowledge socioeconomic barriers to patient care.
• Practice obtaining vital signs.
• Demonstrate professional behavior with all members of the patient-centered team.
• Appreciate the dynamics of a team based approach to patient care.

Clinical Phase Students

Clinical phase students have an opportunity to lead a patient encounter under the supervision of a licensed PA or MD. The clinical phase student experience allows students to:

• Practice taking ownership of a clinical encounter, following the usual procedure of history taking, examination, assessment, and plan of care.
• Clearly communicate the plan of care to the other students, faculty, and other members of the healthcare team.
• Engage with the patients in discussing diagnosis, treatment, and other health care education.
• Identify barriers to healthcare and develop strategies to improve access to care.

Student Interpreters