Master of Clinical Health Services Degree Curriculum
162 Credits total
The MCHS courses and requirements will build on the established MEDEX curriculum already in place. These core content courses will be coded 400/500 level to serve the different degree options. Some coursework will include common core content for both the undergraduate and graduate programs. In such cases the courses will be listed as 400 level for the BCHS degree and a parallel 500 level course for the MCHS will require additional work beyond that expected in the 400 level course. New courses are also being created specifically for the MCHS program.
Though much of the curriculum will be similar for all students, MCHS students will have additional assignments, papers and select a focused subject area for one course requirement as well as the Capstone Project. Graduation from the master’s degree program will take place upon achievement of minimum required grades in each course (2.7 or above per the UW graduate school), an overall GPA of 3.0 or higher within the program (per UW graduate school) and successful completion of the clinical experience as well as the Capstone Project and related assignments.
Summer Quarter (1st quarter) on campus in Seattle: 12 credits total
| MEDEX 551: Anatomy & Physiology |
6 credits |
Students learn the anatomy and physiology of the following organ systems: endocrine, immune, respiratory, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, genitourinary, gynecological, integumentary, musculoskeletal and neurologic, with a focus on clinical examples of anatomic and physiologic principles encountered in primary care practice. The course is delivered partly on-line before arrival on campus, with two full weeks of in-class instruction and testing. MCHS students will participate in an additional online discussion and presentation focused on the application of course material to clinical practice. |
| MEDEX 550: Basic Sciences for P.A.s |
6 credits |
This course is an intensive review of important basic science topics relevant to clinical medicine at the PA level. The material is necessary to the understanding and integration of information that will be presented throughout the remainder of the MEDEX curriculum. Topics include cell biology, genetics, immunology and microbiology. This course requires a short research paper. MCHS students will write a longer paper that relies on more in-depth research and application of higher analytical skills. 4 weeks on campus in Seattle. |
Autumn Quarter 2009: 15 credits total
| MEDEX 552: Pathophysiology |
6 credits |
The course covers basic pathological and pathophysiological concepts of diseases commonly encountered in primary care practice. Pathophysiology is studied per organ system. MCHS students will expand on the 400 level research paper requirement, submitting an evidence-based paper of greater length and depth with additional analytical and clinical application components. |
| MEDEX 553: Basic Clinical Skills |
5 credits |
This course helps the student develop mastery of a screening history and physical examination and thorough data-collection skills. In addition, students learn branching exams of the major organ systems, medical record-keeping and verbal presentation skills. MCHS students will investigate and present the medical evidence supporting a specific branching examination. |
| MEDEX 570: Professional Role Development I |
1 credit |
This course covers relationships with other health professions and emerging issues in primary care in a wide range of urban and rural communities. MCHS students will apply their critical analytical skills to a selection of web sites, and present their findings on how those web sites rate in terms of accurate medical evidence, academic reliability, and appropriateness as resources for making clinical decisions. |
| MEDEX 577: Behavioral Medicine |
2 credits |
Students learn process skills and interpersonal skills needed for primary care practice, assessment skills needed for the diagnosis of emotional problems, and management skills used in primary care practice to deal with these problems. MCHS students will submit an evidence-based research paper on a case with a duel diagnosis. |
| MEDEX 573: Technical Skills I |
1 credit |
Through hands-on experience this course introduces clinical skills and procedures common in the primary care setting. The first quarter focuses on clinical lab medicine including microcsopy, blood smears and urine analysis. Workshops include heart sounds, fundoscopy, dental coating, and venipuncture. MCHS students will focus on one testing mechanism and present their research on the medical evidence for and cost-effectiveness of that test in a range of applications.
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Winter Quarter 2010: 19 credits total
| MEDEX 554: Adult Medicine I |
7 credits |
This course provides a problem-oriented approach to the diagnosis and initial management of common primary care conditions. The organ systems covered in winter include eye-ear-nose-throat, rheumatology, gynecology, sexually transmitted disease, HIV, gastroenterology and hematology. MCHS students will also work in groups to develop an evidence-based, clinical case study that requires integration and application of focused material from each of the winter quarter courses. |
| MEDEX 556: Maternal Child Health I |
3 credits |
This course is designed to acquaint students with principles of primary care pediatrics. They will cover newborn, well-child, adolescent and sports exams as well as pediatric health maintenance and an overview of normal pregnancy and delivery in the primary care setting. A systems-oriented approach to the diagnosis and initial management of common primary care problems in pediatrics and obstetrics generally follows the topic sequence of MEDEX 544. MCHS students will participate in moderated online discussions on women’s health controversies (e.g. women’s and obstetric health workforce and access in underserved areas).
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| MEDEX 571: Professional Role Development II |
1 credit |
This quarter emphasizes knowledge, skills and attitudes for dealing with diverse population groups. MCHS students will work in groups, focus on a specific disease process that is pertinent to a particular minority population and make a presentation on how to implement a population-based solution in terms of either health promotion or treatment. |
| MEDEX558: Behavioral Medicine II |
2 credits |
This course provides in-depth coverage of common emotional problems seen in primary care. Topics include children’s issues, sexuality, sexual assault, domestic violence, anxiety, behavior modification and negotiation training. MCHS students will prepare a poster presentation on the topic of instituting behavior change in the context of health promotion and disease prevention. |
| MEDEX 574: Technical Skills II |
1 credit |
This quarter focuses on the interpretation of radiographs. Students will be introduced to ultrasound, magnetic resonance imaging, computerized tomography, chest radiographs, abdominal radiographs, and extremity radiographs. The workshops this quarter will include the slit lamp eye exam, the gynecological exam, and casting and splinting. MCHS students will work in groups to develop an evidence-based treatment algorithm or best practices guideline. |
| MEDEX 568: Emergency Medicine I |
2 credits |
This course provides an approach to the diagnosis and management of common emergency conditions for primary care physician assistants. Topics include initial trauma assessment, multiple trauma to include head and abdominal trauma, eye-ear-nose-throat and dental emergencies, orthopedic emergencies, psychiatric emergencies and toxicology. MCHS students will participate in monitored online discussion groups focused on the dilemma of access
to healthcare and how that impacts the emergency room and vulnerable populations.
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| MEDEX 560: Patient Management I |
3 credits |
This course teaches a systematic approach to patient management applicable to a primary care setting. The course is devoted to drug therapy and its administration. This course is devoted to drug therapy and its administration. The organ-system approach generally matches the topic sequence in MEDEX 544. MCHS students will submit a research paper on a focused topic related to the pharmaceutical industry. |
Spring Quarter 2010: 19 credits total
| MEDEX 555: Adult Medicine II |
7 credits |
This course provides a system-oriented approach to the diagnosis and initial management of common primary care conditions. The organ systems covered in spring include endocrinology, nephrology, urology, cardiology, dermatology, pulmonology and neurology. MCHS students will submit a research paper on a chronic disease management in the clinical setting. |
| MEDEX 562: Maternal Child Health II |
3 credits |
This course continues a system-oriented approach to the diagnosis and initial management of common primary care pediatric conditions. Topics include common respiratory, cardiac and dermatologic problems, and also issues of chronic illness in children. MCHS students will participate in a supervised visit to a vulnerable pediatric population (either a homeless shelter or to see terminally ill patients at a pediatric inpatient facility) and deliver group presentations. |
| MEDEX 572: Professional Role Development III |
1 credit |
Current issues in healthcare delivery systems will be the focus of this quarter. Topics include medical ethics, managed care, reimbursement, access and related issues. MCHS students will participate in a moderated, in-depth series of online case discussions that address various aspects of medical ethics and bioethical decision-making. Care review will require research and written presentation of the analysis.
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| MEDEX 559: Behavioral Medicine III |
2 credits |
This quarter includes topics such as alcoholism, addictions, personality disorders and problems related to aging. MCHS students will write an evidence-based review of how the popular media presents a specific mental illness or addiction. |
| MEDEX 575: Technical Skills III |
2 credits |
Students will focus on 12-lead electrocardiogram interpretation. Workshop topics include the prostate and male rectal exam, suturing and orientation to the operating room. MCHS students will work individually to develop an evidence-based treatment algorithm or best practices guideline.
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| MEDEX 569: Emergency Medicine II |
2 credits |
Topics this quarter include chest trauma, environmental emergencies, pulmonary emergencies, wound management, genitourinary emergencies, endocrine emergencies, neurological emergencies and cardiac emergencies including arrhythmias, acute coronary syndrome and shock. MCHS students will make group presentations to the class on new or controversial treatment modalities in the emergency room.
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| MEDEX 561: Patient Management II |
3 credits |
The organ system approach generally matches the topic sequent of MEDEX 555. MCHS students will prepare poster presentations in groups on the creation of drug formularies and their application to established and new medications. |
Summer Quarter 2010: 12 credits total
| MEDEX 588: Investigative Skills |
5 credits |
Students will gain facility with the tools necessary to organize and conduct academic and clinical research. Beyond merely reading the medical literature, students are expected to demonstrate proficiency in such areas as conducting a time-effective literature search, assessing potential source material critically, describing various techniques to investigate questions of academic and clinical significance, identifying the analytical and statistical models appropriate to different types of research, applying a core set of quantitative and qualitative evaluative models to data sets, and interpreting the results. The course will also review the principles of research ethics, the processes of obtaining human subjects approval and identifying funding sources. |
| MEDEX Focused Study |
5 credits |
The focused study course will follow a small-group seminar design that allows students to select an area of special interest. The various sections will share a common theme of providing high quality care within healthcare systems,
but will diverge in focus and application. Two topic-focused sections will be offered in the initial year of the program. An additional two sections are proposed for implementation in subsequent years of program operation. Students may select only one subject focus, and the different subject sections will run concurrently. This course will also equip students with the tools to identify an appropriate subject-related capstone project idea of reasonable scope, and may impact site selection for the clinical phase of training. |
MEDEX 540: Rural Healthcare and the Medically Underserved: Students will gain a broad knowledge and understanding of the challenges and rewards in providing primary care in rural and medically underserved settings, with a focus on features of rural and underserved healthcare in the Pacific Northwest. Material will include delivery systems that reach rural and medically underserved patients, governmental and other policy impacts on access to care, biomedical ethics unique to these settings, quality of care, and cultural competency. |
MEDEX 541: Healthcare Administration and Public Health: The goal is to introduce students to current issues in public health and healthcare administration and to equip graduates with the tools to recognize, articulate and address existing and emerging challenges in the delivery of accessible, high-quality healthcare through the American healthcare system. Material will include management of office systems, insurance, patients and providers; health promotion and disease prevention; disease management; public health principles; and community health. |
MEDEX 542: Academic Medicine and Specialty Practice: This focus area is a proposed addition to the course for the second cohort of the MCHS program. Material will include faculty skill development, tools to thrive in an academic environment, interdisciplinary collaboration between primary care and specialty disciplines, and specialty practice at an academic medical center. |
MEDEX 543: Global Health: This focus area is a proposed addition to the course for the second cohort of the MCHS program. Material will include international healthcare systems, international models of healthcare professions, disease processes and management tools in developing countries, healthcare in areas experiencing armed conflict, promoting health and managing disease across borders, cultural competency, and national and international government and agency policy-making and its impact on care, quality and access. |
| MEDEX 581: Capstone Project |
11 credits total |
The MCHS is a professional, rather than a thesis program. The capstone project is the final academic product of the program, and related coursework runs throughout the second year of the program. Students will select a topic within the theme of their Focused Study topic (see course description below). At the conclusion of the final quarter, students will submit a 10-page paper, make a 10–15-minute oral presentation to their colleagues and faculty, and will display a poster presentation describing their project. Capstone project credits will be required in each quarter of the second year, and will be graded on a credit/no credit basis. |
Project Design (3 credits): By the end of the first quarter in this course sequence, students will be able to formulate a structured research question and design a study in the appropriate format. Students will participate in small-group meetings with faculty in which potential projects will be identified and assessed for suitability and practicality. At the conclusion of the quarter, students will submit a project design that includes an implementation plan, a secondary plan should circumstances change, and a realistic timeline leading to completion and reporting by the final week of the program. |
Project Application and Completion (1 credit each, autumn-winter-spring; 5 credits final summer): Students will work throughout the academic year to apply for and obtain human subjects approval where necessary, implement the planned project, collect and analyze data from the project, and report on project results. Regular online meetings and/or discussions with faculty will allow monitoring and advising as students progress through the process. Assignments at regular intervals will demonstrate satisfactory progress, and specific milestones must be met each quarter in order to achieve a passing grade for the term. A satisfactory final paper, oral presentation and poster presentation will lead to overall completion of the project and a final passing grade. |
Autumn Quarter 2010: 20 credits total
| MEDEX 563: Clinical Clerkship I |
19 credits |
Rotating clerkships offer clinical experience in selected community-based, institution-based or specialty practice settings such as inpatient medicine, ambulatory medicine, general surgery, emergency medicine, psychiatry, occupational health, orthopedics or geriatrics. One clerkship must take place in a rural or urban medically underserved setting. Each clerkship includes seminars or self-study in combination with concentrated clinical experience. Student assignments are based on required rotations. MCHS students will select a case from their clinical experiences and write an analytical, structured, evidence-based research paper on a topic that represents a medical ethical dilemma. Offered credit/no credit only. |
| MEDEX 582: Capstone Project |
1 credit |
Winter Quarter 2011: 20 credits total
| MEDEX 565: Clinical Clerkship II |
19 credits |
Rotating clerkships offer clinical experience in selected community-based, institution-based or specialty practice settings such as inpatient medicine, ambulatory medicine, general surgery, emergency medicine, psychiatry, occupational health, orthopedics or geriatrics. One clerkship must take place in a rural or urban medically underserved setting. Each clerkship includes seminars or self-study in combination with concentrated clinical experience. Student assignments are based on required rotations. MCHS students will select a case from their clinical experiences and write an analytical, structured, evidence-based research paper on a topic that represents a medical ethical dilemma. Offered credit/no credit only. |
| MEDEX 583: Capstone Project |
1 credit |
Spring Quarter 2011: 20 credits total
| MEDEX 566: Family Practice Preceptorship |
19 credits |
Preceptorship is conducted under the supervision of a family practice physician. Preceptorships are located throughout the WWAMI region. Students are trained to deal with common primary care problems and both student and preceptor are educated in the utilization and management of the physician assistant in practice. Students keep records of patient encounters and complete a variety of written assignments in addition to their clinical experience. The preceptorship is generally a two-quarter segment. MCHS students will be required to add depth and length to the population-based research paper, and also add a research component to the existing elder home visit assignments. Offered credit/no credit only. |
| MEDEX 584: Capstone Project |
1 credit |
Summer Quarter 2011: 24 credits total
| MEDEX 567: Family Practice Preceptorship |
19 credits |
Preceptorship is conducted under the supervision of a family practice physician. Preceptorships are located throughout the WWAMI region. Students are trained to deal with common primary care problems and both student and preceptor are educated in the utilization and management of the physician assistant in practice. Students keep records of patient encounters and complete a variety of written assignments in addition to their clinical experience. The preceptorship is generally a two-quarter segment. MCHS students will be required to add depth and length to the population-based research paper, and also add a research component to the existing elder home visit assignments. Offered credit/no credit only. |
| MEDEX 585: Capstone Project |
5 credits |
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