During the second year of the PA program, students complete 10 rotations. These clinical experiences are composed of eight required and two elective rotations, and a senior seminar capstone course that runs longitudinally. All students are required to complete at least one of these rotations in a medically underserved area. Reliable transportation is necessary for clinical year students. Clinical year students will return to campus throughout the second year to participate in Call Back days and evaluation exercises as part of the Senior Seminar course. Students will complete 51 course credits for the clinical year. Successful completion of the clinical year includes demonstrating achievement of all clinical year benchmarks, course requirements, learning outcomes, and program summative assessments. Successful demonstration of all clinical year course elements and competencies, as well as successful completion of program summative assessments.
Clinical Year Schedule
Duke PA program has over 200 clinical sites located in the state of North Carolina, with limited out-of-state opportunities. Faculty clinical coordinators match each student with a schedule that best meets each student’s learning needs and elicits input from each student about their elective and rotation preferences.
Assigned Clinical Experiences
Prospective and enrolled students are not expected to provide or solicit clinical sites or preceptors for their clinical training. All clinical sites and preceptors are evaluated and approved by the PA Program faculty. Students may suggest clinical sites or preceptors to faculty for consideration of new site development. All students must adhere to assigned clinical and patient experiences in both the preclinical and clinical years of the program.
Students should plan to be out of the local area for a minimum of two rotations and housing is provided for rotations greater than 50 miles from the PA program. On average, clinical year students complete four assigned rotations greater than 50 miles from the PA program, with a maximum assigned distance of 250 miles. Any rotation assignments greater than 250 miles away, or any out of network rotation assignments, would be a result of a student preference or request, therefore the student is responsible for housing and transportation costs.
Technology in the Clinical Year
Clinical year schedules and objectives can be accessed via the web for all second-year students. On each rotation, students are required to log each patient care experience using a web-based program. Web-based end of rotation exams are given at the conclusion of each required rotation. Students will also be required to complete evaluations of each clinical rotation site.
Courses of Instruction
Refer to the Bulletin of the School of Medicine for full course descriptions.
Required Clinical Courses
- PHYASST 299. Bridge: The Path to Patient Care
- PHYASST 300A and 300B. Primary Care 1 & 2
- PHYASST 310. Behavioral Medicine
- PHYASST 320A and 320B. Internal Medicine 1 & 2
- PHYASST 340. Principles of Surgery
- PHYASST 350. Emergency Medicine
- PHYASST 360. Pediatrics
- PHYASST 370. Obstetrics/Gynecology
- PHYASST 390. Practice and the Health System IV
Elective Clinical Courses
In addition to the above required core rotations, each student must complete two electives that can be chosen from primary care, behavioral health, internal medicine, surgical, pediatric, OB/GYN, and emergency medicine specialties and subspecialties. The list of elective options can be found in the Bulletin of the School of Medicine.
Visiting Students
Limited opportunities for clinical year rotations are available to non-Duke PA students. A complete application must be submitted at least 180 days in advance of a requested rotation. More information is available on the Visiting Students page.