To enroll an academically qualified student body with a variety of lived experiences. To graduate students who demonstrate necessary core medical knowledge for entry to clinical practice. To enable graduates to practice in a primary care setting or in a federally designated underserved area. To promote the development of professional clinicians working as members of an interprofessional team.

The Penn State College of Medicine Physician Assistant Program’s core values are Respect-Integrity-Teamwork-Excellence: Respect: Embrace diverse backgrounds, talents, and perspectives Active listening and attentiveness Compassion, thoughtfulness, consideration, and kindness Integrity: Honesty, consistency, and fairness Adherence to moral and ethical principles Teamwork: Commitment to collaboration across interdisciplinary teams Knowledge sharing Accountability and trust Excellence: Alignment of personal performance to our mission, vision, values, and goals Set personal goals for professional development Commitment to promoting positive change

Requirements for Admission

Advanced Placement Policy A3.12c The Penn State College of Medicine PA Program is a full-time academic program administered in a sequential fashion that builds from courses completed in the prior term. The program does not award credit for experiential learning or advanced placement, nor does the program accept transfer credits. Preference Factors A3.12a In alignment with the PA Program’s mission and goals, a cornerstone of the program is to enroll an academically qualified student body from a variety of lived experiences. To accomplish this goal, the PA Program gives interview preference to the following: Applicants from a rural or federally designated underserved community Applicants from educationally or economically disadvantaged regions Applicants who are first generation in college Applicants who are veterans or active duty military Applicants who are Pennsylvania residents Applicants who are Penn State graduates Applicants who are Penn State Health employees General Application Requirements A3.12b Applicants to Penn State College of Medicine must be U.S. citizens, permanent residents, or have official DACA status. International candidates are not eligible. All applicants must have a bachelor’s degree with completion of all academic requirements from an accredited U.S. or Canadian college/university. Health science majors are preferred; however, this is not a mandatory requirement for application or admission. Incomplete applications will not be considered. For applications to be screened by the admissions committee, applicants must complete the program’s secondary application and have a verified CASPA application that includes: Personal/biographic information, experiences, achievements, and certifications Academic history with official transcripts from all post-secondary institutions attended CASPA-calculated overall cumulative GPA of > 3.0 CASPA-calculated overall science GPA of > 3.0 Completion of the GRE (no minimum score requirement): GRE school code 0900 In lieu of the GRE, applicants may provide MCAT, PCAT, or DAT scores. The program has not adopted using the PA-CAT test results as a substitution for the GRE. MCAT (old version) 29 or MCAT (new version) 505 required PCAT total score 75th percentile rank or higher DAT total score of 18 or higher Three letters of recommendation Completion of the release statement Submission of personal essay All applicants must agree to abide by the CASPA Professional Code of Conduct and the CASPA Admissions Code of Cooperation. Incomplete applications will not be considered or screened by the admissions committee. Following completion of the CASPA application for admission, each applicant must submit a secondary application to receive full consideration by the admissions committee. There is no application fee associated with submission of the secondary application. Candidates should have a CASPA-calculated overall cumulative GPA of at least 3.0 and a CASPA-calculated overall science GPA of at least 3.0. A minimum of 500 hours of healthcare experience (paid or volunteer) is required for admission. Hours as a personal trainer or lifeguard are not accepted by the program. Pre-Requisite Course Requirements Applicants must complete the following courses with a C or better: General Biology Anatomy and Physiology (two semesters or one semester each) Microbiology General or Principles of Chemistry Biochemistry or Organic Chemistry General Psychology Statistics or Biostatistics English Composition (two semesters, or two writing intensive courses) Online courses from regionally accredited institutions are accepted. AP credits accepted by the undergraduate institution can satisfy general biology, general chemistry, psychology, statistics, and English composition courses. Anatomy, physiology, and microbiology should have a 7-year currency for completion, which may be waived for applicants who have been working full-time in the healthcare field since completion. AP and CLEP credit accepted by the undergraduate institution can be used to satisfy pre-requisite requirements for general biology, general chemistry, general psychology, statistics, and English composition. Three pre-requisite courses have a seven-year currency: Anatomy / A&P I Physiology / A&P II Microbiology This currency requirement will be waived for any applicant who has been working full time and continuously in the healthcare field since completion of coursework.

Technical Standards For PA Program Admission, Academic Progress and Graduation

Technical Standards A3.12e The technical standards for the Penn State College of Medicine PA Program have been established to ensure that candidates can demonstrate academic mastery, competence when performing clinical skills, and ability to communicate clinical information. These technical standards are intended to ensure that each candidate has the academic and physical ability to acquire competencies, as defined by the National Commission on Accreditation of Physician Assistants (NCCPA), the Accreditation Review Commission for Education of the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA), the PA Education Association (PAEA), and the American Academy of Physician Associates (AAPA). The technical standards are consistent with the technical standards set forth by the Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). The Penn State College of Medicine PA Program is committed to creating a respectful, accessible, and inclusive learning environment for all students and does not discriminate based on race, sex, age, sexual preference, gender identity, ethnicity, handicap, or socioeconomic status. Out of that commitment, and in accordance with both the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, the Program offers support to those individuals who may require a disability accommodation. If a candidate states they are unable to meet the technical standards due to a diagnosed disability, the Penn State College of Medicine will determine whether the candidate can meet the technical standards with reasonable accommodation. This includes a review of whether the accommodations requested would jeopardize patient safety or the educational process of the student or the institution, including all coursework and clinical rotations deemed essential to graduation. A candidate with a documented disability who wishes to request academic accommodation is encouraged to contact the College of Medicine’s Student Advocacy Specialist in the Office of Health Advancement and Community Engagement. All candidates, with or without reasonable accommodation, are required to meet the program’s technical standards; including patient care, medical knowledge, practice-based learning and improvement, interpersonal and communication skills, professionalism, and systems-based practice. These technical standards must be maintained from matriculation to graduation from the program. The ability to meet the technical standards established by the program is essential for the fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies degree. In the event that a matriculated student is unable to fulfill these technical standards, with or without reasonable accommodations, the student will be reviewed with the Academic Progress Committee, and may be dismissed from the program with career counseling support in pursuing alternate careers. All candidates must be able to independently meet the following standards: Observation – A candidate must possess: vision, hearing, and touch, or the functional equivalent, in order to be able to integrate, analyze, and synthesize data in a consistent and accurate manner o the ability to perceive pain, pressure, temperature, position, vibration, equilibrium, and movement the ability to observe demonstrations, exercises, and patients accurately at a distance and close at hand the ability to note non-verbal as well as verbal signals Communication – A candidate must be able to: communicate effectively in a professional manner with patients, families, caregivers, faculty and colleagues elicit and transmit patient information in oral and written English to all members of the healthcare team accurately describe changes in mood, activity and posture o read at a level sufficient to accomplish curricular requirements and provide clinical care for patients write or type appropriate medical documents according to protocol in a thorough and timely manner Motor Function – A candidate must be able to: perform the basic and advanced clinical procedures that are requirements of the PA program curriculum execute motor movements required to provide and/or direct the provision of general care and emergency treatment to patients o perform routine physical examination and diagnostic maneuvers carry out treatment maneuvers, which may include lifting, transferring of patients and assisting during ambulation while assuring their own safety as well as the safety of the patient coordinate the use of both gross and fine muscular movements, equilibrium, and prolonged standing or sitting elicit information from patients by palpation, auscultation, percussion, and movement of limbs Critical Thinking Ability – A candidate must be able to: independently access and interpret medical histories or files identify significant findings from history, physical examination, and laboratory data o provide a reasoned explanation for likely diagnoses and prescribed medications and therapy recall and retain information in an efficient and timely manner and be able to ascertain the relationship between this retained information and its application in clinical practice calculate, reason, analyze and synthesize incorporate new information from peers, teachers, and the medical literature in formulating diagnoses and plans Behavioral and Social Skills – A candidate must be able to: demonstrate the maturity and emotional stability required for full use of their intellectual abilities exercise good judgment and professionalism in both the educational and clinical settings be honest, self-assess own mistakes, respond constructively to feedback and assume responsibility for maintaining professional behavior promptly complete responsibilities attendant to the diagnosis and care of patients under potentially stressful circumstances, emergency situations, and extended hours develop empathic, sensitive, and effective relationships with patients, families, caregivers, faculty and colleagues adapt to changing environments and to learn in the face of uncertainties inherent in the practice of medicine respond to supervision appropriately and act within the scope of practice, when indicated Ethical and Legal Standards – A candidate must: behave in an ethical and moral manner consistent with professional values and standards understand the legal and ethical aspects of the practice of medicine and function within both the law and ethical standards of the medical profession meet the legal standards to be licensed to practice medicine. Physical Demands The U.S. Dictionary of Occupational Titles (DOT) defines the physical demands strength rating as the estimated overall strength requirement of the job. It represents the strength requirements which are considered to be important for average, successful work performance. The strength rating is expressed by one of five terms and the PA profession is considered light work (L). A candidate must: possess the physical ability to learn and implement the various technical skills required by the program. possess an adequate range of body motion and mobility, with or without accommodation, to perform the following essential functions: prolonged periods of sitting and/or standing, occasional bending and stooping and the ability to lift and carry books and other items such as medical instruments weighing up to ten (10) pounds with or without accommodation. be able to exert up to twenty (20) pounds of force occasionally, and/or up to 10 pounds of force frequently, and/or a negligible amount of force constantly (constantly is defined as an activity or condition that exists 2/3 or more of the time) to lift, carry, push or pull or otherwise move objects including the human body. physical demand requirements are in excess of those for sedentary work. Light work requires walking or standing to a significant degree but may also involve sitting for prolonged periods of time. (View Physical Demands Strength Rating)

Dress Code Guidelines

Dress Code A3.04 Students are expected to maintain good, personal hygiene at all times. This includes regular bathing, use of deodorants/antiperspirants, combing/brushing hair, and regular dental hygiene. Students may dress in accordance with their gender identity and gender expression, but must dress in a way that meets the following guidelines: Students display their identification badges at all timesA3.04 Students do not wear open-toe shoes/sandals in laboratory or clinical settings Students will not wear heavy fragrances, perfumes or colognes Students will not wear fishnet stockings, crop-tops or other see-through clothing Students will not wear suggestive or revealing clothing Students will not display undergarments while wearing clothing Students will not wear sunglasses, hats or caps in the building, unless for religious reasons For anatomy dissection laboratory sessions, students will be issued scrubs to wear. Students are expected to dress professionally for all sessions that involve working with actual or standardized patients and for all practicals/OSCEs. Professional attire includes: Slacks or dress pants Dresses or skirts below the level of mid-thigh Blouses, sweaters or collared shirts and ties Closed-toed shoes Short white coat

Equipment and Supplies

Stethoscope: Provided by the Office of Alumni Relations If students choose to utilize a different stethoscope than the one provided, it must include a separate bell & diaphragm. Short White Coat: Provided Tromner Reflex Hammer: Included in program fee Medical Penlight: Included in program fee Suture Practice Kit: Included in program fee Practice Suture: approximately $25 - recommended Knot Tying Practice Kit: Included in program fee Flexible Ruler (2): Included in program fee EKG Calipers: Included in program fee Tuning Forks: Included in program fee Hand-held/Pocket Eye Chart: Included in program fee Flexible Tape Measure: Included in program fee Sphygmomanometer (Blood Pressure Cuff): Students should purchase an adult cuff with sphygmomanometer (approximately $25) Watch: Stop-watch or wristwatch with a second hand (approximately $25-100) Students may choose to purchase an otoscope and ophthalmoscope for their own personal practice at home; however, this is not a PA program requirement as students will have access to these items in the SIM lab and clinical practice areas. Therefore, these items will not be included in the annual estimated costs for attendance

Attendance at Clinical Rotations The Clinical Year of the PA Program does not follow the Penn State University/Penn State College of Medicine Academic Calendar and may require weekend, evening, and holiday attendance at Clinical Rotation Sites per the schedule developed by Clinical Preceptors. Attendance for all clinical rotations is mandatory unless otherwise approved by the Penn State College of Medicine PA Program using the Absence Request Form. Submission of the Absence Request Form does not guarantee approval of an excused absence. Students are expected to be present at their clinical sites as scheduled by their preceptors, and should remain at their clinical site for the duration designated on their clinical schedule submitted via CANVAS. It is NOT acceptable for students to request an absence or early dismissal from a clinical site/preceptor to study or prepare for assessments/callback days and other reasons without first discussing this with the Clinical Year Team. Participation in this behavior is considered academic dishonesty and will be subject to review by the CPC/APC following submission of a professionalism concern form. As arriving on-time is considered a part of professionalism, students should arrive fifteen (15) minutes prior to the start of their shift unless otherwise instructed by the clinical preceptor. Tardiness to clinical rotations and/or callback day activities is not acceptable. Students with more than two tardy days will receive a professionalism concern form and must meet with the Clinical Year Team as well as their Faculty Advisor to discuss a plan of action. Students with more than three tardy days must meet with the Program Director and will be referred to CPC for competency progress review. Communication with the College of Medicine and PA Program. Clinical Year students must check their Penn State e-mail for announcements and updates at least once per day. Communication with the Clinical Year Team. Students must contact the Clinical Year Team immediately via phone if there is a safety concern. For non-safety concerns, students must complete the electronic Student Form to Submit a Concern. Students may contact the Clinical Year Team at any time with questions or concerns. Students can expect regular contact between the program and students or preceptors by telephone and/or email to relay messages, arrange site visits, or to obtain feedback on student performance. This communication is intended to foster dependable relationships and provide a mechanism for informal monitoring of the teaching, learning, and evaluation processes at various rotations sites. By the first Friday of each clinical rotation, students must complete and submit their Clinical Rotation Schedule (to CANVAS) and the Student Progress Report (to E*Value), which describes the student’s general progress at the clinical site and provide a study plan to the Clinical Year team for the remainder of the clinical rotation. Students should upload completed forms to E*Value. Communication of Safe Arrival and Orientation at the Clinical Site. Students must submit the following information via E*Value via the Student Progress Report. Confirmation of safe arrival at the clinical site. Name of direct preceptor, preceptor’s phone number, pager number, and/or email. Confirmation of orientation to the clinical site. Confirmation of daily schedule for the upcoming clinical assignment. Students will not be granted individual badge access to outpatient clinical sites and must make arrangements with their preceptor/designated provider for site access. Absences. Students must contact the Clinical Year Team to report illness-related/emergency absences prior to their scheduled shift. In the event that a student leaves a rotation early, the student must notify the Clinical Year Team within one (1) hour of leaving the Clinical Site. Preceptor Directed Absence. In the event that Clinical Preceptors will not be at their clinical site for personal reasons and cannot designate delegates to supervise students for that period of time, students are to contact the Clinical Year Team and Clinical Site Coordinator immediately. If the Preceptor absence will be for an extended period of time, students may be reassigned to a different Clinical Rotation Site to facilitate adequate clinical exposure. Failure to notify the Clinical Year Team will be considered an unexcused absence. Excused Absences. Students may have one (1) excused medical absence per clinical rotation. Absences of greater than one day will require additional clinical time to ensure adequate clinical exposure, which may result in deceleration or need to delay graduation. Students with illnesses requiring an absence of three (3) or more consecutive days requires a written excuse from the licensed health care provider rendering their treatment. Students may require additional clinical time in that rotation to ensure clinical competency, which may result in deceleration or need to delay graduation. More than one (1) week of absence in any given rotation may result in the need to repeat the rotation, which will cause deceleration and a delay in graduation. Students who are ill, hospitalized, or incapacitated in some way that affects their ability to safely and satisfactorily perform their duties in a clinical setting must provide official medical clearance that states their ability to return to clinical rotations without restrictions prior to returning to the clinical site. Failure to report these health-related changes is considered unprofessional behavior that puts yourself, other healthcare providers, and patients at risk which will prompt completion of a professionalism concern form and referral to CPC/APC. Students will not be excused from clinical rotations for personal vacations or non-medical/non-military needs. Students may submit one (1) scheduling accommodation per semester to the Clinical Year Team for personal needs. Requests must be submitted thirty (30) days prior to the start of the semester via Absence Request Form. These requests will be reviewed and submitted to Clinical Year sites for scheduling accommodations. Time off is a request and not a guarantee. Students must meet minimum hour requirements for the rotation regardless of the scheduling request made. Educational/research related conference attendance as a presenter or challenge bowl participant will not be counted as an absence from clinical education, but must be approved by the Clinical Year Team via submission of the absence request form. These will be logged as educational hours in E*Value and on your schedule submission to CANVAS. The PA program encourages all students to take the opportunity to vote during elections. Please ensure that you are arriving to the voting polls prior to or after your scheduled clinical rotation hours, or taking the opportunity to complete absentee ballots if you are unsure of your ability to vote in person due to clinical rotations. In the event that neither of these options are possible, please contact the Clinical Year Team to make additional arrangements. Absences for Students with Medical Appointments. Every attempt should be made by the student to ensure that medical appointments are scheduled outside of clinical rotation hours. If this is not possible, appointments should be scheduled at the beginning or end of the shift to ensure that the least possible amount of time is missed from clinical time. An Absence Request Form must be submitted for all medical appointments requiring absence from clinical rotations. Students with recurring medical/appointment needs should reach out to disability services for an accommodation to attendance requirements for clinical year. Unexcused Absences. Unexcused absences are considered unprofessional behavior. For the first occurrence of an unexcused absence, the student will meet with the Clinical Year Team and their Faculty Advisor. A professionalism form will be submitted and the student will be referred to the Competency Progress Committee (CPC) for review. For the second occurrence of an unexcused absence, the student will meet with the Program Director and will be referred to APC for review. Recommendations from APC may include sanctions including professional probation or dismissal from the PA Program. Bereavement Leave. Students requesting bereavement leave are required to submit the absence request form to the Clinical Year Team prior to leaving their clinical rotation site. Submission of the absence request form does not guarantee approval. Students may receive than three (3) days for the death of an immediate family member and two (2) days for extended family members unless arrangements to complete rotation hour requirements, repeat the rotation, or decelerate have been made. Failure to submit written verification of clinical hour completion will result in an unexcused absence.

Callback Day At the completion of each clinical rotation, all students will return to the Penn State College of Medicine for participation in Callback Day. During this time, a series of direct and indirect assessments on student achievement of rotation learning outcomes and program graduate competencies will be performed. Attendance at Callback Day is mandatory. Students should anticipate being at the College of Medicine from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The following items must be completed and returned to the Clinical Year team before 7:00 a.m. on each Callback Day: Student evaluation of the clinical site and preceptor—online Case presentation paper and PowerPoint (if applicable)—uploaded to Canvas Remediation questions (if applicable)—uploaded to Canvas ID badges from other clinical sites not otherwise returned to the clinical site It is the student’s responsibility to verify completion of all paperwork due for each Callback Day. Paperwork that is submitted after the time indicated will not be acknowledged or accepted and will result in a ZERO for that portion of the assignment grade. Attendance at Callback Day Students are not permitted to miss Callback Day unless a written request demonstrating a significant life emergency or hardship is submitted to the Clinical Year Team via Absence Request Form. All requests will be reviewed by the Clinical Year Team, and students will be notified in writing of the decision. Students who are absent from Callback Day activities due to illness must submit a note from the health care provider treating their illness within 24 hours of the absence. Students will be required to fulfill the educational goals of Callback Day at another time as arranged by the Clinical Year team, which may result in deceleration or delay in graduation. Students who miss any mandatory component of Call Back Day activities without prior notification and approval from the Clinical Year Team will receive a ZERO for assignments/examinations that were missed, which may result in failure of the rotation and delay in graduation. Students will be referred to APC due to professionalism concerns. Callback Day Assignments End of Rotation Examination. Written examinations for students begin promptly at 8:00 a.m. unless otherwise depicted in the Callback Day Schedule. Students will have 120 minutes from the start time to complete the written examination unless accommodations are granted in advance by the student advocacy specialist in Disability Services. Oral and Written Case Presentations. During the completion of clinical year, students must satisfactorily perform two (2) case presentations that contain both a written and oral component. Each student will perform one (1) case presentation during both their ambulatory care and elective rotations, unless remediation is necessary. At least one (1) presentation must be ethically based, with the other being an approved medical or surgical topic of interest or case study. Topic Approval: Students must submit their topic to the Clinical Year Team via CANVAS drop box to obtain topic approval prior to Friday of the third week of the rotation in which oral presentations are assigned. The case presented must be one that the student either personally saw or directly participated in care of, and should be represented in student logging. Oral Component: A HIPAA compliant oral case presentation must include the utilization of PowerPoint as a reference, which is uploaded to the appropriate CANVAS drop box prior to 7:00 a.m. on Callback Day. Students will have ten (10) minutes to present their case and should be prepared to answer questions about the case. Points will be awarded and deducted as noted in the rubric, which can be found on CANVAS. Ethical Case Presentations should include a brief description of the patient, pertinent history, physical examination findings, and a detailed discussion of the ethical dilemma present. Medical and Surgical Case Presentations should include a brief description of the patient, pertinent history, physical examination findings, pertinent laboratory and radiographic findings. A brief discussion should ensue about the management of the patient and the outcome. The disease or dilemma should then be discussed with the class and the student presenter should be prepared to answer questions about the case or disease presented. Written Component: The written portion of the case presentation should be a five-to-ten page, HIPAA compliant paper. A brief summation of the patient’s case or ethical dilemma should be presented followed by elaboration on the disease entity or ethical background information. Students should follow the guidelines presented in the rubric, which can be found on CANVAS for formatting and grading expectations of the written paper. No exceptions will be made for late submissions. All late submissions will result in 20% deduction in grade per day. Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCEs). During OSCE scenarios students will utilize a standardized patient to obtain a history, perform a physical examination, formulate a differential diagnosis, order appropriate diagnostic tests, diagnose the patient, and provide appropriate treatment. Rubrics for OSCE grading will be placed on CANVAS. During an OSCE scenario, any acts of patient harm will result in automatic failure (i.e. failure to ask allergies prior to prescribing medications, administration of tPA to a patient with a hemorrhagic stroke, etc.). Kienle Groups and Self-Reflection. Students must perform a self-reflection during each rotation that identifies a case, discussion, interaction, or knowledge-based challenge that they faced during their clinical rotation in preparation for Kienle Group Discussions. These reflections should be kept in a journal. During each Callback Day, students will meet with their Kienle Groups to debrief the rotation and collaborate with one another through shared clinical practice experiences. Participation, confidentiality, and respectful behavior is expected from all students. Failure to maintain these requirements for professionalism will result in a meeting with their Kienle group advisor and submission of a professionalism concern form and referral to CPC/APC for review.

Dress Code A3.04 Students must be clearly identified in the clinical setting to distinguish them from other health profession students and practitioners and must wear their PA Student Identification badges at all times during Clinical Rotations.A3.04 Proper Attire: A healthcare professional's dress and appearance are essential in establishing a relationship of trust and confidence. In some cases, this requires that individual personal attire preferences be balanced with the need for effective patient interaction. Scrubs should be worn only when identified as the standard dress for the clinical site. Short white coats should be worn at all times during clinical rotations unless instructed otherwise by your preceptor. The following attire guidelines are required in all student clinical educational settings: Students may dress in accordance with their gender identity and gender expression, but must dress in a way that meets the following guidelines: General Standards Good, personal hygiene is to be maintained at all times. This includes regular bathing, use of deodorants/antiperspirants, combed/brushed hair and regular dental hygiene. Students display their identification badges at all timesA3.06 Students do not wear open-toe shoes/sandals in laboratory or clinical settings Students will not wear heavy fragrances, perfumes, or colognes Students will not wear fishnet stockings, crop-tops, low-cut necklines, tank tops, crop tops, or other see-through clothing Students will not wear suggestive, restrictive, or revealing clothing Students will not display undergarments while wearing clothing, even with movement Students will not wear sunglasses, hats, or caps in the building, unless for religious reasons. Garments that show the trunk with movement should not be worn. Students are expected to cover tattoos if requested by the clinical site. Hair Should be neat... when in doubt, wear it back. Shoulder length hair must be secured to avoid interference with work or patient care. Natural human color. Beards are acceptable, but must be neatly trimmed. Religious Head Coverings Religious head coverings (such ashijabs, turbans, kippahs, yarmulkes, headscarves, etc.) are permissible in the OR and procedural areas. For infection control purposes, the head covering must be clean, constructed of tightly-woven and low-linting material, without adornments, fit securely with loose ends tucked into the scrub top as applicable, and covered with a surgical bonnet. Nails Muted tones of nail polish. NO chipped, gel, or acrylic nail polish in the OR, unless otherwise noted in site policies. No artificial nails and/or nail tips. Shoes Comfortable, clean, and in good repair. No open toed shoes. Clogs are acceptable. Hiking boots are acceptable in the winter. Jewelry Septum piercings may not exceed the size of a dime and cannot contain dangling or loose items. No additional facial piercings are permitted in the clinical environment unless otherwise noted by the clinical site. No excessive jewelry (to decrease risk of cross-infection; or may be pulled by angry or confused patients). The following are permitted: a watch, small earrings of either small hoops or studs (large earrings are distracting and may be pulled through the ear), academic pin/s, other pins, badges, or insignias which represent an award or health care message. Within the clinical settings where students and patients interact (Emergency Department observations, hospitals / clinics, rotation sites) the following additional professional attire will be required unless otherwise designated by the clinical preceptor (Example: Pediatrics or Behavioral Medicine settings may require more casual attire). All Students: White lab jacket (short) with appropriate student identification. A3.06 Professional attire (khakis, slacks, or dress pants; blouses or collared shirts and ties; dresses or skirts no shorter than mid-thigh.) Students are reminded that low cut shirts, t-shirts, short skirts, jeans, or open-toed shoes are not considered professional attire. Scrubs as deemed appropriate by the preceptor. Failure to comply with the dress code will result in a written warning via professional concern form. Additional occurrences will result in referral to the CPC/APC due to professionalism concerns.

Student Documentation Guidelines

As an academic medical center, the Information Technology division at Hershey Medical Center has developed a “medical/PA student” notes section which allows for students to make electronic entries into the patient files for review by the clinical preceptor. Within Penn State Health and its affiliate sites, student notes may be billable and legally binding in some clinical rotations. Students will be made aware during Transition Block which rotations allow this, and will be updated as new sites are piloted and transition to student billable notes. The EHR system shall clearly list the title of a student note and notes shall include History and Physical, Progress Note, Consult, Clinic Note, and Phone Note. Student authors will then be clearly identified, allowing for coding/billing accountability. Outside of the Penn State Health system student access to office and health system electronic health record (EHR) systems will depend on the clinical site in which they are assigned. Regardless of access to an EHR system, students are expected to be practicing documentation of patient encounters to ensure that they are able to perform independent documentation and should seek out feedback from their preceptors on the notes they have completed. When these records are available to them, students must follow the protocol for accessing and data entry in these medical sites since this access is at the discretion of the clinical site and preceptor. Students shall only access the records of individuals for whom they are providing direct patient care. Current Medicare guidelines per the Medicare Claims Processing Manual (Medicare Claims Processing Manual (cms.gov)for student contact and documentation with patient encounters state: "Any contribution and participation of a student to the performance of a billable service (other than the review of systems and/or past family/social history which are not separately billable, but are taken as part of an E/M service) must be performed in the physical presence of a teaching physician or physical presence of a resident in a service meeting the requirements set forth in this section for teaching physician billing. Students may document services in the medical record. However, the teaching physician must verify in the medical record all student documentation or findings, including history, physical exam and/or medical decision making. The teaching physician must personally perform (or re-perform) the physical exam and medical decision-making activities of the E/M service being billed, but may verify any student documentation of them in the medical record, rather than re-documenting this work.” Students may not perform the services of a scribe. Students may not perform consults on their own. All patients seen by PA students must be evaluated by their preceptor or other designated provider. Final signature of student notes may be from a PA, NP, attending, fellow, or resident, as determined by the respective chair in each corresponding department.

Student Evaluations of Clinical Sites, Courses, Faculty, Staff, Preceptors and Program

As part of the Professionalism competency domain, we expect you to follow conscientious behaviors consistent with those of a developing health professional by providing constructive comments regarding areas of strength and opportunities for improvement of the clinical rotation sites for future students. Course and faculty evaluations will be administered anonymously to all students at the end of their rotations via E*Value. Guest lecture evaluations will be administered anonymously immediately following the lecture. Unprofessional or inappropriate comments on Clinical Site evaluations/Preceptor evaluations will be reviewed with the student and Clinical Year Team. Additional occurrences of unprofessional feedback will result in completion of a professionalism form and referral to CPC. Program evaluations will be completed in OASIS. Students with repeated incomplete evaluations will receive professionalism forms. While we will track who has completed course/faculty evaluations and evaluations of the program, neither ratings nor comments are traced to students

Student Logging of Patient Encounters

Maintenance of Patient Database As a requirement for the completion of clinical year, ALL patient encounters are to be logged in the E*Value system. Failure to maintain adequate patient encounters, diagnoses evaluated/treated, and procedures performed may delay graduation. Students are expected to log into E*Value on each clinical day. Students must submit accurate and complete records through all electronic entries in compliance with the Penn State College of Medicine PA Program Academic Integrity Policy. Falsification of patient logging will result in referral to the APC and may result in program dismissal due to professionalism concerns. Final patient logs and timecard submissions must be made prior to 11:59p.m. on the Sunday after each Callback Day. No late submissions will be accepted. Patient logs will be reviewed at the culmination of each rotation and graded as Pass/Fail based on completion and correlation between patient encounters and hours recorded. Students must receive a passing score to successfully complete their rotation. Missed or inaccurate logging will result in a 5% deduction in final course grade and submission of a professionalism concern form resulting in referral to CPC. Recurrent instances or failure to rectify the issue will result in course failure and the need to repeat the rotation, resulting in deceleration or dismissal from the program. Technical Difficulties: Students should attempt to troubleshoot technical difficulties using the E*Value technical support. If unsuccessful, students should contact Lori Schreckengast.

The Penn State College of Medicine PA Program requires the completion of a summative assessment for all students near the end of their education as a means to determine a student’s readiness for graduation. The summative experience will evaluate each student in the following areas: Medical Knowledge PAEA end of curriculum examination OSCEs Management of acute emergencies in Simulated Patient Scenarios Interpersonal/Communication Skills Written assignment on population health and team care Evaluation of implicit bias and education with assessment OSCEs Clinical and Technical Skills Management of acute emergencies in Simulated Patient Scenarios OSCEs Clinical skill assessment Professionalism OSCEs Written reflection on quality improvement Written assignment on population health and team care Evaluation of implicit bias and education with assessment Clinical Reasoning and Problem-Solving Abilities Management of acute emergencies in Simulated Patient Scenarios OSCEs Successful completion (70% of greater) and/or remediation of all components of the summative experience is required prior to graduation. Students that fail the summative end of curriculum written examination (score <1475), must complete a remediation provided by the program, followed by repeat assessment to ensure that the student has gained the knowledge necessary to graduate. Completion of remediation and reassessment will result in a delay of program graduation.

Academic Probation May occur one (1) time during the program for students earning an academic semester or cumulative GPA of 2.75-2.99. Students placed on academic probation will be evaluated for removal from probationary status at the completion of each semester by the APC. A second occurrence of semester or cumulative academic GPA of 2.75-2.99 will result in referral of the student to APC for academic dismissal from the PA Program. Academic Warning A decision designed to bring a student considered at risk from ongoing academic to the attention of those who can assist in supporting the students’ academic success. Students put on academic warning remain in good academic standing. Academic warning is not reported on the student’s transcript or academic record. Deceleration A3.14d Deceleration is defined by the ARC-PA as “the loss of a student from the entering cohort, who remains matriculated in the physician assistant program.” Didactic Year: The PSCOM PA program does not offer academic deceleration to students in the Didactic phase of the Program. Students in the Didactic phase of the program who do not meet academic standards as outlined in the student handbook are dismissed from the Program and may apply for readmission in the next application cycle. Students within the Didactic phase of the program who take a leave of absence due to family/medical emergencies or military deployment may be considered for deceleration if they are in good academic and professional standing at the time of the request. Students should note that re-entry to the program is not a guarantee, and is a space dependent decision. Clinical Year: The PSCOM PA program will consider voluntary and mandatory decelerations for Clinical Year students if they are in otherwise good academic and professional standing at the time of the request. Voluntary Deceleration: Students must submit a written request to the PA program director and the Associate Dean of Student Affairs to voluntarily decelerate. Reasons for voluntary deceleration include personal, family, or health concerns that will impact the student’s ability to successfully complete the program curriculum. Required Deceleration: Students earning a failing final course grade (“F”) in any course must repeat the class to be eligible for progression through the program. Eligibility for academic deceleration will be addressed on a case-by-case basis following review of the student’s entire academic and professional performance while enrolled in the program. Students that decelerate from the Clinical Year due to leave of absence or the need to repeat a rotation, but successfully complete the program before the next graduating class are considered delayed graduates of the program as they do not join an additional cohort of students at any point in their educational journey. In the event that a student is decelerated, the student will be provided with a detailed plan for deceleration, approved by the Academic Progress Committee, which includes all courses to be completed and the timeframe for completion of all components of the program. The plan for deceleration must be signed by the student and the program director, and will be maintained in the student’s permanent program record. Deceleration Procedures. Students must submit a written request to the PA program director and the Associate Dean of Student Affairs for deceleration. Reasons for deceleration include personal, family, health, or academic concerns that will impact the student’s ability to successfully complete the program curriculum. Students will receive an approval or denial from the Program Director and Associate Dean of Student Affairs following submission of their deceleration request. Students that decelerate during the clinical year curriculum and miss two (2) or more consecutive rotations must take a competency examination before being readmitted to clinical rotations. The competency examination will consist of an evaluation of medical knowledge, problem solving, critical thinking, and clinical/technical skills in the form of a comprehensive written exam. Students must achieve a 70% or greater to restart clinical rotations. If a student fails the examination, they may retake it one additional time after remediation is performed. If the remediation examination is not passed with a grade of at least 70% on the second examination, the student will be reviewed by the APC for dismissal from the PA program. Students that decelerate during the didactic year must resume their studies with the start of a cohort of students. All courses must be retaken, unless the student requests and successfully passes a knowledge retention examination with a score of 80% or higher. The knowledge retention examination will consist of an evaluation of medical knowledge, problem solving, and critical thinking skills in the form of a comprehensive written exam. Failure to meet academic and/or professional standards while decelerated will result in referral to APC for dismissal from the program. Re-entry to the program is not a guarantee and is a space-dependent decision that will be made on a case-by-case basis. All costs associated with deceleration are the responsibility of the student. Dismissal A3.14f Students may be dismissed from the PA Program for inability to meet program technical standards, failure to maintain satisfactory academic progress, or professionalism concerns. Inability to Meet Technical Standards: Students will attest at the start of each semester to their ability to fulfill program Technical Standards. Students who are unable to fulfill the Technical Standards set forth by the program will not be permitted to matriculate into or progress through the PA program and will be referred to APC for a comprehensive evaluation of performance in all competency domains of the PA Program. Students unable to meet competency domain requirements of the PA program due to persistently identified deficiencies despite programmatic intervention through remediation, advising, mentoring, and referrals for student support services will be dismissed from the program due to inability to maintain program Technical Standards. Academic Dismissal: Didactic Year: Any student who earns a grade less than a “C” or “Low Pass” in one term, or more than two grades equivalent to a “C” or “Low Pass” in one term throughout Didactic Year will be unable to complete the PA program due to academic performance concerns and must be referred to the APC for a comprehensive evaluation of performance in all competency domains of the PA program. Students unable to meet competency domain requirements of the PA program due to persistently identified deficiencies despite programmatic intervention through remediation, advising, mentoring, and referrals for student support services will be dismissed from the program due to inability to maintain satisfactory academic progress. Clinical Year: Any student who earns a grade less than a “C” or “Low Pass” in more than one course, or more than two grades equivalent to a “C” or “Low Pass” throughout Clinical Year will be automatically dismissed from the PA program following referral to APC for a comprehensive evaluation of performance in all competency domains of the PA program due to inability to maintain satisfactory academic progress. Professionalism Dismissal: The following inappropriate, unprofessional, and threatening behaviors are considered grounds for dismissal from the PA program, and possibly the University: Insubordination Illicit drug use Writing unauthorized prescriptions Cheating, forgery, or plagiarism of any kind Theft Working under the influence of alcohol or unprescribed controlled substances Actions that may result in legal action against the student by the clinical site or University Falsifying medical records Submitting falsified documentation to the program for grading Consistent failure to complete assignments or meets deadlines Unprofessional behavior, including HIPAA violations Illegal activities while enrolled in the program Inability to demonstrate a positive and constructive attitude, emotional stability, and/or maturity Students with egregious professionalism concerns, or multiple professionalism violations will be reviewed by the APC for dismissal from the PA program. Clinical Year students may be removed from their clinical site assignment at the request of the clinical preceptor. Students exhibiting unprofessional or unacceptable behavior that negatively impacts patients, staff, students, or others is grounds for immediate removal of the student from the rotation. Students that are dismissed from a clinical site will be placed on an immediate Leave of Absence from the PA program pending an investigation into the offense(s). The student will then be referred for formal review by the APC; which may result in need for probation, need to repeat the rotation, deceleration with delay of graduation, or dismissal from the PA program. Reapplication to the Program following Dismissal: Students that have been dismissed from the PA program may reapply for matriculation in future cohorts if they choose, unless otherwise noted. Students that have been dismissed from the College of Medicine must follow Penn State University/College of Medicine Guidelines for re-enrollment prior to reapplying to the PA program. Dismissal Procedures: Students will be referred to the APC for a comprehensive review of their academic record. A recommendation for dismissal will be made to the Program Director and the Dean of the College of Medicine in the following situations: Failure to meet program-defined technical standards Failure to maintain program-defined technical standards Failure to maintain satisfactory academic progress Egregious professionalism concerns, or recurrent non-egregious professionalism concerns Students will be notified of the decision for dismissal from the PA program and/or the College of Medicine. Students may request a review of the APC decision by following the program appeal policy and procedure. All costs associated with dismissal from the program are the responsibility of the student. Professionalism Probation May occur one (1) time during the program for students with multiple documented lapses of professional behaviors despite CPC recommendations. Students placed on professional probation will be evaluated for removal from probationary status at the completion of each semester by the APC. Additional documented lapses of professional behaviors while on professional probation will be referred to APC for consideration of dismissal from the PA program. Professionalism Warning A decision designed to bring a student considered at risk from ongoing professional behavior concerns to the attention of those who can support the student in addressing their professionalism issues. Students put on professionalism warning remain in good standing. Professionalism warning is not reported on the student’s transcript or academic record. Withdrawal Policy A3.14e Students requiring a significant amount of time off for any reason (greater than two weeks of coursework) may need to consider withdrawing from the program given its nature and intensity. Students may submit a written request for withdrawal to the Program Director and Associate Dean of Student Affairs. Students are strongly encouraged to meet with their advisor and the Program Director prior to initiating the withdrawal process. Matriculation back into the PA Program may be possible, but it is not guaranteed and will be addressed on a case-by-case basis following a detailed review of the student’s academic record. Withdrawal Procedures. Students should meet with their program faculty advisor or the PA Program Director to discuss their intent to withdrawal from the PA Program. Students should meet with the Office of Student Aid to discuss the financial implications of their decision to withdrawal from the PA Program. Students should meet with the Housing Office if residing in campus-affiliated housing to discuss implications of their decision to withdrawal from the PA Program. Students must notify the PA program director and the Associate Dean of Student Affairs in writing of their intent to withdrawal from the College of Medicine. Students must complete the withdrawal form prior to the last day of classes for the semester. All costs associated with withdrawal from the program are the responsibility of the student.

Leave of Absence Policy

Students requiring a significant amount of time off for any reason (greater than one week of coursework for any course) may need to consider a leave of absence. The purpose of the leave of absence is to allow students to interrupt their coursework without having to apply for re-enrollment and without changing conditions and requirements of their academic program. Furthermore, the APC may determine that a leave of absence is necessary for students that are unable to meet the technical standards of the PA program until a condition, illness, injury, or other circumstance is resolved. Students will be provided with the indication for leave of absence and the expectations that must be fulfilled to return to didactic or clinical year coursework. Upon receipt of such documents by the Associate Dean for Student Affairs, the program will work to return the student to their coursework as soon as possible. Except in circumstances of family/medical emergencies or military deployment, a leave of absence will only be granted to students that have successfully completed the didactic phase of the program. Students may request a leave of absence due to personal, health, or educational reasons. A leave of absence will not be granted to students on academic probation. A leave of absence request will not be granted for a period in excess of one (1) year. Students will be expected to return to the College of Medicine according to the conditions of the approved leave set forth by the PA Program Director and Associate Dean of Student Affairs If at the end of the specified length for the leave of absence the student does not notify the PA Program Director and/or Associate Dean, in writing, of the intentions to resume formal studies, it will be assumed that the student has withdrawn from the College of Medicine. Students who are unable to fulfill the Technical Standards set forth by the program will not be permitted to matriculate into or progress through the PA Program. Students with medical emergencies during didactic or clinical year coursework; including but not limited to medical response calls in the classroom or clinical setting, hospital admission, surgical procedures, mental health emergencies, or other injuries that limit class/lab participation must be evaluated by a licensed healthcare provider and submit a medical clearance/fitness for duty to the Associate Dean of Student Affairs office prior to returning to class or clinical duties. Students requesting a leave of absence for health reasons must provide a written request from the treating health professional involved in care at the time the request is made. In addition, re-evaluation of the treating health professional and a fitness for duty confirmation must be received by the Associate Dean of Student Affairs prior to resuming studies. Leave of Absence Procedures If a student desires a leave of absence for any given reason, the student will schedule a meeting with the Program Director to discuss the leave of absence. The student will then submit a written request for leave of absence that provides the effective date of the leave of absence with rationale, including supporting documentation as necessary: Students requesting a leave of absence that will span less than one semester must submit a written request for leave of absence to the PA program director, which will be granted or denied at the program’s discretion. Students requesting a leave of absence that will span greater than one semester must submit a written request for leave of absence to the PA program director, which will be granted or denied, at the discretion of the PA Program Director and Associate Dean of Student Affairs. As applicable, the student will receive official approval in writing that summarizes the conditions pertinent to the leave and set a date by which time the student must notify the PA Program Director and/or Associate Dean of Student Affairs in writing of their intent to return as scheduled. Students requesting a leave of absence for health reasons must provide a written request from the treating health professional involved in care at the time the request is made. In addition, re-evaluation of the treating health professional and a fitness for duty confirmation must be received by the Associate Dean of Student Affairs prior to resuming studies. This fitness for duty must include a statement equivalent to the following: “the student is able from a medical/mental health standpoint to meet program required technical standards and resume studies under usual and customary conditions for students within the PSCOM.” Student Medical Documentation should only be submitted to the Associate Dean of Student Affairs, where it will be kept confidential. The student is responsible for completing all necessary steps on the leave of absence form. Upon completion, the original copy of the leave of absence form will be placed in the student’s academic file and a copy will be provided to the Registrar and the student for their records. A request for an extension of the leave of absence must be approved by the PA Program Director and Associate Dean for Student Affairs. A leave of absence may not exceed 1 year. Students should note that re-entry to the program is not a guarantee and is a space-dependent decision that will be made on a case-by-case basis. All costs associated with dismissal from the program are the responsibility of the student.

PA Program

Student Handbook

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As a student enrolled in the Penn State University College of Medicine PA program, you should be knowledgeable of policies, rules, regulations, and administrative procedures within the College of Medicine and the PA program that affect you. This Student Handbook provides guidelines, policies, and requirements for program completion. Students are responsible for all information presented in this Handbook.

College of Medicine Educational Leadership Team

Karen Kim, MD, Dean
Kevin Black, MD, Interim Vice Dean for Educational Affairs
Inginia Genao, MD, FACP, Vice Dean of Health Advancement and Community Engagement
Emmanuelle Williams, MD, Associate Dean for Student Affairs
Britta Thompson, PhD, Associate Dean for Evaluation, Assessment, and CQI
Eileen Moser, MD, Associate Dean for Medical Education
Myles Nickolich, MD, Assistant Dean for Medical Education
Larissa Whitney, DBA MHS PA-C, Assistant Dean, Program Director PA Program

Educational Leadership across the College of Medicine and the PA Program reserves the freedom to change, without notice, degree requirements, curriculum, courses, teaching personnel, rules, regulations, tuition, fees, and any other information published herein.

Program Accreditation Statement

The Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant, Inc. (ARC-PA) has granted Accreditation-Continued status to the Penn State University College of Medicine PA Program sponsored by Penn State University College of Medicine. Accreditation-Continued is an accreditation status granted when a currently accredited program is in compliance with the ARC-PA Standards.

Accreditation remains in effect until the program closes or withdraws from the accreditation process or until accreditation is withdrawn for failure to comply with the Standards. The approximate date for the next validation review of the program by the ARC-PA will be September 2027. The review date is contingent upon continued compliance with the Accreditation Standards and ARC-PA policy.

The program’s accreditation history can be viewed on the ARC-PA website.

All policies, procedures, curriculum, and information within this handbook apply to all students, principal faculty, and the program director regardless of location. Components of this handbook are subject to change at any time in order to maintain compliance with ARC-PA standards, the Penn State College of Medicine, the PA Program, and Hospital policies. The PA Program administration will notify students of these changes in a timely manner. ^{A3.01, A3.02}

Mission, Vision, Goals and Core Values

The Penn State College of Medicine PA Program’s mission is to prepare graduates to be academically, clinically, professionally, and culturally competent PAs who are devoted to serving patients in their communities through the application of clinical reasoning, critical thinking, and evidence-based practice to deliver compassionate and comprehensive care.

The vision of the Penn State College of Medicine PA Program is to prepare motivated and academically qualified students from diverse backgrounds for certification and licensure as competent PAs that will improve healthcare delivery through education, direct patient care, and community outreach.

To enroll an academically qualified student body with a variety of lived experiences.
To graduate students who demonstrate necessary core medical knowledge for entry to clinical practice.
To enable graduates to practice in a primary care setting or in a federally designated underserved area.
To promote the development of professional clinicians working as members of an interprofessional team.

The Penn State College of Medicine Physician Assistant Program’s core values are Respect-Integrity-Teamwork-Excellence:

Respect:
- Embrace diverse backgrounds, talents, and perspectives
- Active listening and attentiveness
- Compassion, thoughtfulness, consideration, and kindness
Integrity:
- Honesty, consistency, and fairness
- Adherence to moral and ethical principles
Teamwork:
- Commitment to collaboration across interdisciplinary teams
- Knowledge sharing
- Accountability and trust
Excellence:
- Alignment of personal performance to our mission, vision, values, and goals
- Set personal goals for professional development
- Commitment to promoting positive change

Program Admissions

Advanced Placement Policy ^A3.12c

The Penn State College of Medicine PA Program is a full-time academic program administered in a sequential fashion that builds from courses completed in the prior term. The program does not award credit for experiential learning or advanced placement, nor does the program accept transfer credits.

Preference Factors ^A3.12a

In alignment with the PA Program’s mission and goals, a cornerstone of the program is to enroll an academically qualified student body from a variety of lived experiences.

To accomplish this goal, the PA Program gives interview preference to the following:

Applicants from a rural or federally designated underserved community
Applicants from educationally or economically disadvantaged regions
Applicants who are first generation in college
Applicants who are veterans or active duty military
Applicants who are Pennsylvania residents
Applicants who are Penn State graduates
Applicants who are Penn State Health employees

General Application Requirements ^A3.12b

Applicants to Penn State College of Medicine must be U.S. citizens, permanent residents, or have official DACA status. International candidates are not eligible.

All applicants must have a bachelor’s degree with completion of all academic requirements from an accredited U.S. or Canadian college/university. Health science majors are preferred; however, this is not a mandatory requirement for application or admission. Incomplete applications will not be considered.

For applications to be screened by the admissions committee, applicants must complete the program’s secondary application and have a verified CASPA application that includes:

Personal/biographic information, experiences, achievements, and certifications
Academic history with official transcripts from all post-secondary institutions attended
CASPA-calculated overall cumulative GPA of > 3.0
CASPA-calculated overall science GPA of > 3.0
Completion of the GRE (no minimum score requirement): GRE school code 0900
- In lieu of the GRE, applicants may provide MCAT, PCAT, or DAT scores. The program has not adopted using the PA-CAT test results as a substitution for the GRE.
  - MCAT (old version) 29 or MCAT (new version) 505 required
  - PCAT total score 75^th percentile rank or higher
  - DAT total score of 18 or higher
Three letters of recommendation
Completion of the release statement
Submission of personal essay

All applicants must agree to abide by the CASPA Professional Code of Conduct and the CASPA Admissions Code of Cooperation.

Incomplete applications will not be considered or screened by the admissions committee.

Following completion of the CASPA application for admission, each applicant must submit a secondary application to receive full consideration by the admissions committee. There is no application fee associated with submission of the secondary application.

Candidates should have a CASPA-calculated overall cumulative GPA of at least 3.0 and a CASPA-calculated overall science GPA of at least 3.0. A minimum of 500 hours of healthcare experience (paid or volunteer) is required for admission. Hours as a personal trainer or lifeguard are not accepted by the program.

Pre-Requisite Course Requirements

Applicants must complete the following courses with a C or better:

General Biology
Anatomy and Physiology (two semesters or one semester each)
Microbiology
General or Principles of Chemistry
Biochemistry or Organic Chemistry
General Psychology
Statistics or Biostatistics
English Composition (two semesters, or two writing intensive courses)

Online courses from regionally accredited institutions are accepted. AP credits accepted by the undergraduate institution can satisfy general biology, general chemistry, psychology, statistics, and English composition courses. Anatomy, physiology, and microbiology should have a 7-year currency for completion, which may be waived for applicants who have been working full-time in the healthcare field since completion.

AP and CLEP credit accepted by the undergraduate institution can be used to satisfy pre-requisite requirements for general biology, general chemistry, general psychology, statistics, and English composition.

Three pre-requisite courses have a seven-year currency:

Anatomy / A&P I
Physiology / A&P II
Microbiology

This currency requirement will be waived for any applicant who has been working full time and continuously in the healthcare field since completion of coursework.

Healthcare and Patient Care Experience Hours ^A3.12d

Applicants must have a minimum of 500 healthcare experience hours (paid or volunteer) prior to matriculation into the PA program. These hours can be in progress or planned during the application and interview cycle. While the program is flexible in accepting a wide variety of hours to help satisfy the 500-hour requirement, hours as a personal trainer or lifeguard are not accepted.

For admissions related questions, please contact 717-531-0003, ext 285595, or PSUPAProgram@pennstatehealth.psu.edu.

The Penn State PA Program has early assurance programs with the following institutions:

Franklin and Marshall College
Hampton University
Lebanon Valley College
Lincoln University
Gettysburg College

The Early Assurance program allows students to apply to the PA Program during their junior year of undergraduate coursework. Early Assurance applicants have the opportunity to be granted admission at the completion of the Early Assurance process, forgoing the entire CASPA application process as a senior.

Information regarding this program is available by request. Students at these institutions should speak directly to their pre-med, pre-health, or pre-PA advisors to discuss requirements and eligibility.

Admissions decisions will be made in accordance with clearly defined and published practices of the institution and program as noted above.

The Penn State College of Medicine PA Program requires that all students complete criminal background checks prior to matriculation. Information regarding the completion of a criminal background check is sent to students prior to matriculation and again prior to clinical year.

The following clearances must be completed prior to matriculation and in advance of clinical year:

Pennsylvania Criminal History (PATCH)
Child Abuse History Clearance
Federal Criminal History/ Fingerprinting via Cogent

The history of some criminal activity may preclude students/graduates from clinical preceptorships, professional licensing, and/or hiring into clinical practice. The program is not responsible for the student’s inability to complete clinical rotation requirements due to a history of criminal activity.

All criminal background check requirements will be initiated through a Penn State College of Medicine PA Student Portal in partnership with Castle Branch to offer the most secure and user-friendly way for students to initiate and maintain their background check documents, immunization records, and health forms via the student portal which provides the program with a secure and confidential method for reviewing records that arise from these checks.

All candidates for admission must acknowledge and provide a written explanation of any felony offense or disciplinary action taken against them prior to matriculation. Students convicted of any felony offense while enrolled in the PA Program must notify the Program Director as to the nature of the conviction within five (5) days of the conviction. Failure to disclose prior or new offenses will result in referral to the APC and may be grounds for dismissal from the program.

Cost is the responsibility of the student.

PA Program Criminal Background Check (CBC) Procedures

Image description: The flow chart starts with a candidate depositing to the PA program, after which the CBC is requested via CastleBranch. Next, results are reviewed by a Program Admissions Specialist. If no discrepancies are identified, admission is granted. If discrepancies are found, the process continues through additional levels of review. Discrepancies between the CASPA application and CBC are sent to the Admissions Committee for review. If concerns continue, further review is required by the Assistant Dean for the PA Program. Continued concerns lead to a review by the Vice Dean of Educational Affairs and the Associate Dean of Student Affairs. If the issues remain unresolved and are deemed unacceptable, admission is denied. If at any step a review is deemed acceptable, admission is granted. The cycle is repeated prior to Year 2.

It is the policy of The Pennsylvania State University that the unlawful manufacture, distribution, dispensation, possession, or use of a controlled substance, on property owned, leased or controlled by the University and used in the performance of university services is prohibited. Every student shall abide by the terms of this policy and they shall notify the PA Program of any criminal drug conviction for a violation occurring in the University no later than five (5) days after such conviction. View the full Drug-Free Workplace Policy here.

The Penn State College of Medicine PA Program prides itself on having professional and competent students. Pursuant to this goal, it is the expectation that students will not be under the influence of alcohol or non-prescribed drugs while attending class, laboratory sessions, or clinical rotations.

The following policy will be enforced for all students in the PA program:

Students should be prepared for drug testing at any point in their training and must comply when a test is requested. Failure to obtain drug testing when requested will be interpreted in the same manner as a positive drug test and will be referred to the APC, which may be grounds for dismissal from the PA Program.

Drug screen may be requested by a hospital or provider office that requires screening prior to students completing a rotation in their facility.
If concern arises surrounding drug or alcohol use during classroom, laboratory, or clinical rotation settings a request for drug screen may be made by the Program Director.

The PA Program has partnered with Castle Branch to initiate, collect and share drug screening tests and test results. Drug testing often requires an appointment, which may be scheduled on the same day as the incident, especially if alcohol use is suspected. If the student does not go for testing at the appointed time, the student’s test results will be considered a positive drug screen or positive for alcohol, even if the screening process was not completed.

The results will be interpreted, and the report will be sent to the Program via Castle Branch. A positive drug test not related to a legally prescribed therapy drug use will result in immediate referral to APC, which may be grounds for dismissal from the PA Program.

If the student is on a prescribed substance, they must immediately provide documentation from their licensed health care provider that there is a medical necessity for the medication to the Associate Dean of Student Affairs. Despite the medical necessity for taking this medication, the student may not be able to attend a clinical site if this medication impairs the ability of the student to function in a safe and effective capacity. Students may be pulled from their clinical sites if the APC determines that they are not able to safely function in the clinical setting. Students are able to request a medical leave of absence if they believe that a medical condition would prohibit them from appropriately functioning in their role as a student health care provider.

The cost of the drug screen is at the student’s expense.

The Penn State College of Medicine PA Program will not be held liable for a student’s dismissal or inability to obtain a state license as the result of a positive drug screen or noncompliance with statutes regarding impaired provider performance.

Technical Standards and Program Competencies

Technical Standards ^A3.12e

The technical standards for the Penn State College of Medicine PA Program have been established to ensure that candidates can demonstrate academic mastery, competence when performing clinical skills, and ability to communicate clinical information.

These technical standards are intended to ensure that each candidate has the academic and physical ability to acquire competencies, as defined by the National Commission on Accreditation of Physician Assistants (NCCPA), the Accreditation Review Commission for Education of the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA), the PA Education Association (PAEA), and the American Academy of Physician Associates (AAPA). The technical standards are consistent with the technical standards set forth by the Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education (ACGME).

The Penn State College of Medicine PA Program is committed to creating a respectful, accessible, and inclusive learning environment for all students and does not discriminate based on race, sex, age, sexual preference, gender identity, ethnicity, handicap, or socioeconomic status. Out of that commitment, and in accordance with both the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, the Program offers support to those individuals who may require a disability accommodation. If a candidate states they are unable to meet the technical standards due to a diagnosed disability, the Penn State College of Medicine will determine whether the candidate can meet the technical standards with reasonable accommodation. This includes a review of whether the accommodations requested would jeopardize patient safety or the educational process of the student or the institution, including all coursework and clinical rotations deemed essential to graduation.

A candidate with a documented disability who wishes to request academic accommodation is encouraged to contact the College of Medicine’s Student Advocacy Specialist in the Office of Health Advancement and Community Engagement.

All candidates, with or without reasonable accommodation, are required to meet the program’s technical standards; including patient care, medical knowledge, practice-based learning and improvement, interpersonal and communication skills, professionalism, and systems-based practice. These technical standards must be maintained from matriculation to graduation from the program.

The ability to meet the technical standards established by the program is essential for the fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies degree. In the event that a matriculated student is unable to fulfill these technical standards, with or without reasonable accommodations, the student will be reviewed with the Academic Progress Committee, and may be dismissed from the program with career counseling support in pursuing alternate careers.

All candidates must be able to independently meet the following standards:

Observation – A candidate must possess:

vision, hearing, and touch, or the functional equivalent, in order to be able to integrate, analyze, and synthesize data in a consistent and accurate manner o the ability to perceive pain, pressure, temperature, position, vibration, equilibrium, and movement
the ability to observe demonstrations, exercises, and patients accurately at a distance and close at hand
the ability to note non-verbal as well as verbal signals

Communication – A candidate must be able to:

communicate effectively in a professional manner with patients, families, caregivers, faculty and colleagues
elicit and transmit patient information in oral and written English to all members of the healthcare team
accurately describe changes in mood, activity and posture o read at a level sufficient to accomplish curricular requirements and provide clinical care for patients
write or type appropriate medical documents according to protocol in a thorough and timely manner

Motor Function – A candidate must be able to:

perform the basic and advanced clinical procedures that are requirements of the PA program curriculum
execute motor movements required to provide and/or direct the provision of general care and emergency treatment to patients o perform routine physical examination and diagnostic maneuvers
carry out treatment maneuvers, which may include lifting, transferring of patients and assisting during ambulation while assuring their own safety as well as the safety of the patient
coordinate the use of both gross and fine muscular movements, equilibrium, and prolonged standing or sitting
elicit information from patients by palpation, auscultation, percussion, and movement of limbs

Critical Thinking Ability – A candidate must be able to:

independently access and interpret medical histories or files
identify significant findings from history, physical examination, and laboratory data o provide a reasoned explanation for likely diagnoses and prescribed medications and therapy
recall and retain information in an efficient and timely manner and be able to ascertain the relationship between this retained information and its application in clinical practice
calculate, reason, analyze and synthesize
incorporate new information from peers, teachers, and the medical literature in formulating diagnoses and plans

Behavioral and Social Skills – A candidate must be able to:

demonstrate the maturity and emotional stability required for full use of their intellectual abilities
exercise good judgment and professionalism in both the educational and clinical settings
be honest, self-assess own mistakes, respond constructively to feedback and assume responsibility for maintaining professional behavior
promptly complete responsibilities attendant to the diagnosis and care of patients under potentially stressful circumstances, emergency situations, and extended hours
develop empathic, sensitive, and effective relationships with patients, families, caregivers, faculty and colleagues
adapt to changing environments and to learn in the face of uncertainties inherent in the practice of medicine
respond to supervision appropriately and act within the scope of practice, when indicated

Ethical and Legal Standards – A candidate must:

behave in an ethical and moral manner consistent with professional values and standards
understand the legal and ethical aspects of the practice of medicine and function within both the law and ethical standards of the medical profession
meet the legal standards to be licensed to practice medicine.

Physical Demands

The U.S. Dictionary of Occupational Titles (DOT) defines the physical demands strength rating as the estimated overall strength requirement of the job. It represents the strength requirements which are considered to be important for average, successful work performance. The strength rating is expressed by one of five terms and the PA profession is considered light work (L).

A candidate must:

possess the physical ability to learn and implement the various technical skills required by the program.
possess an adequate range of body motion and mobility, with or without accommodation, to perform the following essential functions: prolonged periods of sitting and/or standing, occasional bending and stooping and the ability to lift and carry books and other items such as medical instruments weighing up to ten (10) pounds with or without accommodation.
be able to exert up to twenty (20) pounds of force occasionally, and/or up to 10 pounds of force frequently, and/or a negligible amount of force constantly (constantly is defined as an activity or condition that exists 2/3 or more of the time) to lift, carry, push or pull or otherwise move objects including the human body.
physical demand requirements are in excess of those for sedentary work. Light work requires walking or standing to a significant degree but may also involve sitting for prolonged periods of time. (View Physical Demands Strength Rating)

1. Medical Knowledge:

MK 1.1 Apply principles of anatomy, physiology, pathophysiology, pharmacology, and genetics to explain disease and guide patient management across the lifespan. ⁽^{B2.02: a–e, B2.08a-f}⁾

MK 1.2 Develop a differential diagnosis using history and physical exam findings for medical and surgical conditions. ⁽^{B2.03, B2.07: a–c, B2.08a-f}⁾

MK 1.3 Incorporate epidemiologic trends and genetic risk factors to inform diagnostic and preventive care strategies. ⁽^{B2.05, B2.1b,e3, B2.15a,d, B2.08a-f}⁾

MK 1.4 Differentiate normal from abnormal findings using clinical, lab, and imaging data.⁽^{B2.07: a,b,d, B2.08a-f}⁾

2. Interpersonal Skills:

IPS 2.1 – Evaluate how cultural, socioeconomic, environmental, and behavioral factors influence patient health, and integrate this to guide care. ^{(B2.06; B2.15d)}

IPS 2.2 – Provide care that is equitable, understandable, respectful, and consistent with patients’ beliefs. ^{(B2.04; B2.06c-e, B2.11a-e, B2.12d)}

IPS 2.3 – Demonstrate effective verbal, nonverbal, and written communication with patients, in a person-centered communication style to encourage shared decision making. ^{(B2.04; B2.07g)}

IPS 2.4 – Collaborate effectively in interprofessional teams. ^{(B2.10a–c; B2.07g)}

IPS 2.5 – Identify when to refer and coordinate appropriate specialty care. ^{(B2.07g; B2.0a-f8)}

IPS 2.6 – Advocate for individual and community health needs by identifying and addressing health disparities, systemic barriers, and structural inequities that affect health outcomes.

^{(B2.06a–f; B2.14c, B2.15a–d)}

IPS 2.7 – Connect patients to community and public health resources. ^{(B2.15b,c; B2.06f)}

3. Clinical Skills:

CS 3.1 – Illicit comprehensive and focused medical histories from patients across the lifespan.^{(B2.07a B2.08a-f)}

CS 3.2 – Perform age-appropriate, comprehensive, and problem-focused physical examinations.⁽^{B2.07b; B2.08a-f)}

CS 3.3 – Order and interpret appropriate laboratory and diagnostic tests to support clinical decision-making and management across the lifespan. ⁽^{B2.07d; 2.08a-f)}

CS 3.4 – Document the care provided in inpatient, outpatient, telehealth, and operative settings using professional, timely, and accurate medical records that support continuity of care and reimbursement requirements. ^{(B2.07e; B2.08b-f; B2.14a,b; B4.03a; B2.17c)}

4. Technical Skills

TS 4.1 – Safely and effectively perform entry-level diagnostic and therapeutic technical procedures in accordance with current professional practice standards. ^(B2.09)

5. Professional Behaviors:

PB 5.1 – Engage in conversations with patients, families, and colleagues using patient-centered communication that reflects empathy and nonjudgmental language. ⁽^{B2.04; B2.11a-e; B2.12c,d)}

PB 5.2 – Demonstrate professionalism, accountability, and reliability. ⁽^B2.19a–c)

PB 5.3 – Maintain confidentiality and respect while upholding HIPAA, and ethical communication standards in all interactions. ⁽^{B2.04; B2.18; B2.19c)}

PB 5.4 – Apply the four pillars of medical ethics to clinical decision making. ⁽^{B2.18; B2.19c)}

PB 5.5 – Demonstrate knowledge of licensure, certification, credentialing, scope of practice, history of the profession, healthcare law, and regulatory policies that govern PA practice. ^{(B2.17ag; B2.14d)}

PB 5.6 – Apply concepts of billing, coding, and reimbursement to patient encounters. ⁽^{B2.14a–b; B2.17c)}

PB 5.7 – Analyze healthcare delivery models, insurance types, funding sources, and health policy related to their impact on patient care and access. ⁽^{B2.14c–d; B2.15b–d)}

PB 5.8 – Identify signs of burnout in self and others and use strategies that promote resilience, self-care, and professional sustainability. ⁽^B2.20a–c)

6. Clinical Reasoning and Problem Solving:

CRPS 6.1 – Differentiate between healthy, acutely ill, chronically ill, and at-risk patients across the lifespan. ⁽^{B2.05; B2.0a,b,d; B2.08a-f)}

CRPS 6.2 - Develop and prioritize a differential diagnosis based on the integration of history, physical exam findings, and diagnostic data for patients across the life span.^(B2.05;^{B2.07c; B2.08a)}

CRPS 6.3 – Create individualized patient care plans using up-to-date clinical guidelines and shared decision-making to manage acute and chronic conditions across the lifespan. ^(B2.05;^{B2.07e; B2.12a,b; B2.13e)}

CRPS 6.4 – Apply preventive and health maintenance strategies across the lifespan. ⁽^{B2.07e, f; B2.0a,b,e,f; B2.15a)}

CRPS 6.5 – Evaluate and apply evidence-based medicine in clinical decisions and patient education. ⁽^{B2.05, B2.07f, B2.13a-e)}

CRPS 6.6 – Recognize opportunities for quality improvement, patient safety, prevention of medical errors, and minimization of risk in healthcare delivery. ^{(B2.05; B2.14c,d; B2.167a-d)}

Curriculum, Assessment, and Evaluation

Academic Calendar is subject to change at the discretion of the PA Program. Students will be apprised of all schedule changes via email as changes are made.

Program duration: 24 months; 12 months didactic and 12 months clinical

Program completion: 101 credits; 55 in the didactic year and 46 in clinical year

View list of courses and credits on the Course Timeline page.

Course descriptions can be found in the Penn State Graduate Bulletin.

Grading Policy^A3.14c

The Penn State College of Medicine PA Program has adopted the grading scale utilized for all 700 level courses within the College of Medicine and at Penn State University. The following scale lists the final course grade, the translated GPA, and the quality point assignment to each grade.

Students must complete all assignments for each course offered in the PA program. Failure to complete the assignment will result in a zero for the assignment and a failing grade for the course.

Late Assignments:

Unless otherwise noted in course syllabi, students are expected to submit all written assignments in readable files by the due date provided.
- A deduction of 20% from the assignment grade will occur for each day the assignment is late.
- No assignments will be accepted after five (5) days.
- Recurrent submission of late assignments will result in completion of a professionalism form.

For Clinical Year Students:

PAEA End of Rotation Examinations are graded through PAEA software using scale scores of 300-500 points for each examination. Composite performance reports are provided by PAEA to the student/program, which indicate the national average score, the program score, and the standard deviation for each.

Historical reports have demonstrated that using a bell-shaped curve, 68% of test takers fall within 1 standard deviation (SD) above and below the mean, and 95% of test takers fall within 2 standard deviations (SD) above and below the mean.

With the current program threshold of 70% for a passing score, the program utilizes the below cut points for End of Rotation Examination grading.

Students receiving a Low Pass or Failing score on the End-of Rotation examinations will require remediation to successfully complete the course, as depicted by the remediation policy below.

Remediation Policy ^A3.14c

The Penn State College of Medicine PA Program will monitor evidence of information mastery through frequent, objective, and documented evaluations of student performance and the ability to meet the program’s learning outcomes and instructional objectives during both the Didactic and Clinical phases of the program.

Given the nature of continuous assessment throughout the program, student progress is monitored and documented in a manner that promotes the prompt identification of deficiencies in knowledge or skills and establishes a means for remediation.

Remediation is defined by the program as the re-teaching and re-learning of material that a student has not achieved information mastery as evidenced by poor performance on written, oral, or practical/technical examinations and/or assessments.

The goal of remediation within the PA program is to utilize course instructional objectives to identify areas of weakness within course material and assist students in overcoming such weaknesses to develop mastery of course material, professionalism, and program competencies.

Academic Remediation ^A3.14c:

In alignment with the Penn State College of Medicine MD Program, the PA Program recognizes a passing grade for any evaluation or assignment the achievement of a grade of 70% or greater. Unless otherwise noted in the course syllabus, any grade < 70% will constitute failure of an evaluation or assignment and require remediation of course material.

Remediation requirements will be maintained in StarFish to enhance transparency in student performance and academic progress for students, faculty, and advisors.

Remediation of assignments in which a failing grade was received will not replace the initial grade earned by students unless otherwise noted in the course syllabus.

Professionalism Remediation ^A3.14c:

Professionalism is one of the core competencies of the Penn State College of Medicine PA Program. As such, students are expected to adhere to professionalism guidelines set forth by the program as a requirement for graduation.

Students will complete a professionalism self-assessment once per semester while enrolled in the didactic phase of the PA program that will be submitted as part of the Professional Practice course. Students in Clinical Year will be evaluated during each clinical rotation.

Students will be formally assessed during practical examinations, OSCEs, and through preceptor evaluations in the clinical year of the program.

More frequent assessments of professional behavior will occur if the need arises.

Students with an instance of professionalism concern on an informal or formal evaluation must meet with their advisor to address the concern.
Students with a second professionalism concern must meet with the Program Director to discuss the concern and complete a self-reflection via personal improvement plan (PIP) on the unacceptable behavior(s) identified. The student will then be re-evaluated on the unacceptable behavior(s) and ability to follow the remediation plan by their faculty advisor within a designated timeframe.
Failure to improve the unacceptable behavior(s), follow the remediation plan established, or the presence of additional/persistent concerns for professional misconduct will prompt referral to the College of Medicine CPC for review.
A student with multiple documented lapses of professional behaviors despite CPC recommendations will be referred to the APC for consideration of professional probation.
Students with documented lapses of professional behaviors while on professional probation will be referred to the APC for consideration of dismissal from the PA program.
Egregious acts will be referred immediately to the APC for review and may result in immediate dismissal from the PA Program. As necessary, students committing egregious acts may be placed on an immediate leave of absence pending formal comprehensive review by the APC.

Graduation requirements ^A3.14b for PA Students include the following:

Enrollment in the entirety of the 24-month program as accredited by the ARC-PA.
Satisfactory completion of all curricular requirements within 36 months of matriculation, while
- Maintaining a cumulative GPA of 3.00 or greater.
- Maintaining no failing (“F”) course grades.
Attainment of satisfactory professional standing.
Successful completion of all components in the summative experience.
Meet or exceed the minimum requirements for clinical experiences and competencies.
Recommendation for graduation by the program with approval by the APC.
Fulfillment of all financial obligations to Penn State University and the College of Medicine.

Satisfactory Academic Progress ^A3.14

Academic Progress for all students enrolled in the Penn State College of Medicine PA Program is monitored by the course faculty/staff in addition to the College of Medicine Competency Progress Committee (CPC) and Academic Progress Committee (APC).

The CPC and APC are composed of program faculty and administrative representatives from the Penn State College of Medicine.

The CPC convenes on a monthly basis and as needed to review academic and professionalism concerns of students in both the PA and MD programs. The CPC may provide recommendations and resources to the students which are meant to enhance their academic performance and demonstrate professional behaviors necessary for a career in healthcare. CPC may also recommend more frequent meetings with their academic advisors, or refer the student for a more detailed review of performance by the APC.

The APC serves as the committee responsible for monitoring academic performance, professionalism, progress between semesters, promotion to clinical year, approval for graduation, and student conduct for PA students enrolled at the College of Medicine. The APC convenes at the end of each term, monthly, and as necessary, to review the academic record of each graduate student and determine their academic standing.

Failure to maintain satisfactory academic standing may result in academic probation, professionalism probation, academic dismissal, and/or professionalism dismissal from the program.

Satisfactory Academic Progress

All students enrolled in the Penn State College of Medicine PA Program must comply with all policies set forth by the Penn State College of Medicine and the PA Program. The College of Medicine supports the continued assessment and review of student progress towards academic and competency requirements for graduation.

The PA program defines Satisfactory Academic Progress as:

Maintaining a semester/cumulative GPA of 3.00 or greater
Maintaining no more than two (“LP”) course grades in any semester
Maintaining no failing (“F”) course grades
Maintaining consistent professional behaviors

Satisfactory Academic Progress is monitored at the completion of each course, each semester, prior to advancement to clinical year, and prior to graduation.

Continuous Student Monitoring for Academic and Professional Progress: Following each assessment or evaluation, a student’s ability to meet necessary program competencies will be reviewed. Review of academic progress first occurs at the course director level with entry of LP/F grades as well as assignments requiring remediation to StarFish in the form of a flag.

Flags are reviewed by the course director, student advisor, program director, and designee from the Office of Evaluation and Assessment who oversees the College of Medicine Competency Progress Committee (CPC) and Academic Progress Committee (APC).

Performance concerns that arise from evaluations and assessments throughout the Didactic and Clinical Year showing deficiency in a competency domain(s) will be reviewed by the Competency Progress Committee.

Students who fail to maintain satisfactory academic standing (semester GPA of < 3.00, receipt of an “F” in any course, or egregious professionalism concerns) will be notified by the PA Program Director of their academic standing and will be referred to the APC for a comprehensive evaluation of performance in all competency domains of the PA program.

Indications for program required meetings with your advisor, recommendations for referral to cognitive skills faculty, and referral to CPC or APC include, but are not limited to the following.

Didactic Year Students: At the completion of the Summer and Fall semesters, students in the didactic year of the program must complete comprehensive final examinations with a score of > 70% to progress to the next semester. Students with failing and low pass scores must attend the Remediation Workshop program offered prior to the start of the next semester. Students with persistently identified deficiencies in the ability to meet program competencies and/or technical standards will be evaluated by APC for program dismissal due to academic concerns.

At the completion of Didactic Year, students must complete a comprehensive Didactic Summative Examination with a score of > 70% to progress into Clinical Year. Failure to achieve a passing score on this examination will require remediation and assessment retake to ensure that the student has gained the knowledge necessary to progress to clinical rotations, which will result in a delay to the start of clinical year and a delay in graduation.

Clinical Year Students: At the completion of Clinical Year, students must successfully complete summative testing with a score of > 70% on each component. Failure to achieve a passing score on each component of the summative experience will require remediation and repeat assessment to ensure that the student has gained the knowledge necessary to graduate. Students that fail the summative end of curriculum written examination (score <1475), must complete a remediation provided by the program; followed by repeat assessment to ensure that the student has gained the knowledge necessary to graduate. Completion of remediation and reassessment will result in a delay of program graduation.

Didactic Year

All students enrolled in the Penn State College of Medicine PA Program will be assigned an advisor from the point of matriculation through graduation. The objectives of the program’s academic advising program are to help advisees obtain the maximum benefit from their educational experience by encouraging involvement in both in-and-out of class educational opportunities that promote self-directed learning and decision making.

Students are required to meet with their academic advisor at least once every semester.

The Penn State College of Medicine PA Program has a mandatory attendance policy for all program-required activities. PA students are expected to be in attendance for all didactic and clinical activities and sessions. The PA program module schedule specifically includes times when students are not involved in class, lab, or other program-related activities such that students can attend to outside medical appointments if needed.

As arriving on-time is considered a part of professionalism, tardiness to didactic class/lab sessions, assessments, clinical rotations, and/or callback day activities is not acceptable. Tardiness will be monitored by course instructors. Students with more than two tardy days will receive a professionalism concern form and must meet with their faculty advisor to discuss a plan of action. Students with more than three tardy days and will be referred to CPC for competency progress review.

An essential partner to attendance is preparedness. As such, students are expected to arrive prepared for all class and laboratory sessions. Preparedness will be monitored by course instructors. Students with more than two instances of unpreparedness will receive a professionalism concern form and must meet with their faculty advisor to discuss a plan of action. Students attending classes and laboratory sessions unprepared may not be able to participate, which may result in an unexcused absence or need for remediation. Students with three or more instances of unpreparedness will be referred to CPC for competency progress review.

Attendance at New Student Orientation, Cognitive Skills Training Sessions, and StarFish Training Sessions during the Summer Semester are required for all students. Failure to attend will be considered an unexcused absence.

The PA program recognizes the incredible time commitment of the Didactic Year of the Program and understands that many students will greatly benefit from the opportunity to have a day off from their didactic studies without risking their academic success and ability to meet the program’s technical standards. Students may have one “personal day,” or excused non-medical absence, per semester during didactic year only. This personal day may be used for religious observances and must be submitted using the online absence request form (Absence Request Form) at least five (5) days prior to the date of planned absence.

Students may not submit a request that falls on a day immediately prior to or after a scheduled program break or on a day in which practical, OSCEs, written examinations, interprofessional events, ceremonies, or other mandatory program requirements occur. Students missing team-based learning (TBL) sessions will have the opportunity to make up all individual assessments but will not be permitted to make up the group assessment. Students are responsible for obtaining, reviewing, and submitting any materials or assignments from missed days.

Additionally, students may submit an absence request due to the death of a family member/loved one. Students may be approved for up to three (3) days following the death of an immediate family member and up to two (2) days for extended family.

Students with two (2) unexcused absences within a semester due to non-medical reasons must meet with their faculty advisor and the program director due to absences and professionalism concerns. Students missing more than three days of class within a semester due to unexcused non-medical reasons will be referred to CPC for competency progress review.

Students that miss more than three consecutive days of class due to illness or other medical condition must have a medical excuse to return to class and other program-related activities. Students that require evaluation or hospitalization for emergent/medical/surgical related conditions must have a medical clearance to return to class and other program-related activities. Students that miss more than one (1) week of course material in a given semester will be referred to CPC to evaluate ability to meet course learning outcomes and program competencies. Ability to meet course learning outcomes and competencies will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

All medical excuses, medical clearances, and fitness for duty documentation must be submitted to the Associate Dean for Student Affairs, where they will be kept confidentially. These documents should not be submitted to the Program Director or Program Faculty.

In the event of inclement weather requiring the cancellation of classes, information will be detailed on the PSU Alert website.

As deemed necessary by Program Administration, class time may be converted to on-line learning/zoom sessions. Students will be notified of this change in course delivery via CANVAS announcement.

Dress Code ^A3.04

Students are expected to maintain good, personal hygiene at all times. This includes regular bathing, use of deodorants/antiperspirants, combing/brushing hair, and regular dental hygiene.

Students may dress in accordance with their gender identity and gender expression, but must dress in a way that meets the following guidelines:

Students display their identification badges at all times^A3.04
Students do not wear open-toe shoes/sandals in laboratory or clinical settings
Students will not wear heavy fragrances, perfumes or colognes
Students will not wear fishnet stockings, crop-tops or other see-through clothing
Students will not wear suggestive or revealing clothing
Students will not display undergarments while wearing clothing
Students will not wear sunglasses, hats or caps in the building, unless for religious reasons

For anatomy dissection laboratory sessions, students will be issued scrubs to wear.

Students are expected to dress professionally for all sessions that involve working with actual or standardized patients and for all practicals/OSCEs. Professional attire includes:

Slacks or dress pants
Dresses or skirts below the level of mid-thigh
Blouses, sweaters or collared shirts and ties
Closed-toed shoes
Short white coat

Stethoscope: Provided by the Office of Alumni Relations
- If students choose to utilize a different stethoscope than the one provided, it must include a separate bell & diaphragm.
Short White Coat: Provided
Tromner Reflex Hammer: Included in program fee
Medical Penlight: Included in program fee
Suture Practice Kit: Included in program fee
- Practice Suture: approximately $25 - recommended
Knot Tying Practice Kit: Included in program fee
Flexible Ruler (2): Included in program fee
EKG Calipers: Included in program fee
Tuning Forks: Included in program fee
Hand-held/Pocket Eye Chart: Included in program fee
Flexible Tape Measure: Included in program fee
Sphygmomanometer (Blood Pressure Cuff): Students should purchase an adult cuff with sphygmomanometer (approximately $25)
Watch: Stop-watch or wristwatch with a second hand (approximately $25-100)

Students may choose to purchase an otoscope and ophthalmoscope for their own personal practice at home; however, this is not a PA program requirement as students will have access to these items in the SIM lab and clinical practice areas. Therefore, these items will not be included in the annual estimated costs for attendance

Academic Remediation ^A3.14c

Remediation requirements will be maintained in StarFish to enhance transparency in student performance and academic progress for students, faculty, and advisors.

Remediation of assignments in which a failing grade was received will not replace the initial grade earned by students unless otherwise noted in the course syllabus.

Remediation Procedures:

Unless otherwise specified in the course syllabus, Didactic Year remediation for all failed assignments/evaluations/practical will follow a four-step process.

Within 2 business days from the release of grades, students that scored < 70% must initiate remediation by contacting the Course Director. Course Directors will identify content areas within the module assessment (ex. pathophysiology, history and physical, clinical medicine, clinical skills, pharmacology, pharmacotherapeutics) that students did not achieve content mastery (greater than or equal to 70%). Students will receive a summary of their evaluation results with details surrounding the topic and task area in which mastery of information was not achieved.

Students will review the information received and develop a personalized remediation study plan based on identified area(s) of weakness.

Students will schedule a time to meet with the Course Director to review their remediation plan, area(s) of weakness, and the need for post-remediation assessment.

Students will demonstrate proficiency in all course instructional objectives and learning outcomes through post-remediation assessment (as applicable).

Post-remediation assessment expectations will be provided to the student by the course instructor or their designee, with documentation in StarFish.

Reassessment activities may include a self-reflection exercise, written responses to selected examination items with referenced citations, written examination, oral examination, written completion of selected course instructional objectives with

reference citations, problem-based learning exercises focused on area(s) of weakness, skills assessment, practical examination, or OSCE.

In the Didactic phase of the program, all remediation assignments must be completed within two weeks, unless otherwise approved by the Program Director. All remediations MUST be completed prior to the last day of the semester. Failure to complete remediation will constitute a failure of the course and will be subject to review as detailed in the Academic Progress Policy above.

We strive to create high-quality courses and expect that students will provide feedback to faculty who teach in the course, as well as course directors in the form of course and faculty evaluations. The evaluations are reviewed by course directors, faculty, the Curriculum Evaluation Sub-Committee (CESC), and the curriculum management committee (PAMPEC) to determine strengths and identify opportunities for improvement in program curriculum and content delivery.

As part of the Professionalism competency domain, we expect you to follow conscientious behaviors expected of a developing health professional by providing constructive comments regarding areas of

strength and opportunities for improvement of this course for future students. Course and faculty evaluations will be administered anonymously to all students at the end of the course via “OASIS.” Guest lecture evaluations will be administered anonymously immediately following the lecture.

Students with repeated incomplete evaluations will receive professionalism forms. While we will track who has completed course and faculty evaluations, neither ratings nor comments are tracked back to students.

Students will be provided with a period of transition from Didactic to Clinical year. This block will provide students with structured training, opportunities for additional certifications, and a formalized orientation to the clinical year.

Students must submit HIPAA, MAT Waiver, BLS, ACLS, PALS, Child Abuse Training, and NIH Stroke Scale Certification to the Clinical Year course on CANVAS prior to the start of Clinical Rotations.

Failure to provide required documentation will result in the inability of students to begin clinical rotations, which will result in a delay in graduation due to deceleration. All costs associated with deceleration are the responsibility of the student.

Clinical Year

The purpose of Clinical Year education is to provide the students with supervised clinical practice experiences in specific medical disciplines and settings. Through these experiences, students will integrate didactic year training into the clinical context.

Advising Sessions: Students must meet with their academic advisors at least one (1) time per semester during their Clinical Year.

Attendance at Clinical Rotations

The Clinical Year of the PA Program does not follow the Penn State University/Penn State College of Medicine Academic Calendar and may require weekend, evening, and holiday attendance at Clinical Rotation Sites per the schedule developed by Clinical Preceptors.

Attendance for all clinical rotations is mandatory unless otherwise approved by the Penn State College of Medicine PA Program using the Absence Request Form. Submission of the Absence Request Form does not guarantee approval of an excused absence.

Students are expected to be present at their clinical sites as scheduled by their preceptors, and should remain at their clinical site for the duration designated on their clinical schedule submitted via CANVAS. It is NOT acceptable for students to request an absence or early dismissal from a clinical site/preceptor to study or prepare for assessments/callback days and other reasons without first discussing this with the Clinical Year Team. Participation in this behavior is considered academic dishonesty and will be subject to review by the CPC/APC following submission of a professionalism concern form.

As arriving on-time is considered a part of professionalism, students should arrive fifteen (15) minutes prior to the start of their shift unless otherwise instructed by the clinical preceptor. Tardiness to clinical rotations and/or callback day activities is not acceptable.

Students with more than two tardy days will receive a professionalism concern form and must meet with the Clinical Year Team as well as their Faculty Advisor to discuss a plan of action.
Students with more than three tardy days must meet with the Program Director and will be referred to CPC for competency progress review.

Communication with the College of Medicine and PA Program. Clinical Year students must check their Penn State e-mail for announcements and updates at least once per day.

Communication with the Clinical Year Team. Students must contact the Clinical Year Team immediately via phone if there is a safety concern. For non-safety concerns, students must complete the electronic Student Form to Submit a Concern.

Students may contact the Clinical Year Team at any time with questions or concerns.

Students can expect regular contact between the program and students or preceptors by telephone and/or email to relay messages, arrange site visits, or to obtain feedback on student performance. This communication is intended to foster dependable relationships and provide a mechanism for informal monitoring of the teaching, learning, and evaluation processes at various rotations sites.

By the first Friday of each clinical rotation, students must complete and submit their Clinical Rotation Schedule (to CANVAS) and the Student Progress Report (to E*Value), which describes the student’s general progress at the clinical site and provide a study plan to the Clinical Year team for the remainder of the clinical rotation. Students should upload completed forms to E*Value.

Communication of Safe Arrival and Orientation at the Clinical Site. Students must submit the following information via E*Value via the Student Progress Report.

Confirmation of safe arrival at the clinical site.
Name of direct preceptor, preceptor’s phone number, pager number, and/or email.
Confirmation of orientation to the clinical site.
Confirmation of daily schedule for the upcoming clinical assignment.

Students will not be granted individual badge access to outpatient clinical sites and must make arrangements with their preceptor/designated provider for site access.

Absences. Students must contact the Clinical Year Team to report illness-related/emergency absences prior to their scheduled shift. In the event that a student leaves a rotation early, the student must notify the Clinical Year Team within one (1) hour of leaving the Clinical Site.

Preceptor Directed Absence. In the event that Clinical Preceptors will not be at their clinical site for personal reasons and cannot designate delegates to supervise students for that period of time, students are to contact the Clinical Year Team and Clinical Site Coordinator immediately. If the Preceptor absence will be for an extended period of time, students may be reassigned to a different Clinical Rotation Site to facilitate adequate clinical exposure.
- Failure to notify the Clinical Year Team will be considered an unexcused absence.
Excused Absences. Students may have one (1) excused medical absence per clinical rotation.
- Absences of greater than one day will require additional clinical time to ensure adequate clinical exposure, which may result in deceleration or need to delay graduation.
- Students with illnesses requiring an absence of three (3) or more consecutive days requires a written excuse from the licensed health care provider rendering their treatment. Students may require additional clinical time in that rotation to ensure clinical competency, which may result in deceleration or need to delay graduation.
- More than one (1) week of absence in any given rotation may result in the need to repeat the rotation, which will cause deceleration and a delay in graduation.
- Students who are ill, hospitalized, or incapacitated in some way that affects their ability to safely and satisfactorily perform their duties in a clinical setting must provide official medical clearance that states their ability to return to clinical rotations without restrictions prior to returning to the clinical site.
  - Failure to report these health-related changes is considered unprofessional behavior that puts yourself, other healthcare providers, and patients at risk which will prompt completion of a professionalism concern form and referral to CPC/APC.
- Students will not be excused from clinical rotations for personal vacations or non-medical/non-military needs.
  - Students may submit one (1) scheduling accommodation per semester to the Clinical Year Team for personal needs. Requests must be submitted thirty (30) days prior to the start of the semester via Absence Request Form. These requests will be reviewed and submitted to Clinical Year sites for scheduling accommodations.
    - Time off is a request and not a guarantee.
    - Students must meet minimum hour requirements for the rotation regardless of the scheduling request made.
- Educational/research related conference attendance as a presenter or challenge bowl participant will not be counted as an absence from clinical education, but must be approved by the Clinical Year Team via submission of the absence request form. These will be logged as educational hours in E*Value and on your schedule submission to CANVAS.
- The PA program encourages all students to take the opportunity to vote during elections. Please ensure that you are arriving to the voting polls prior to or after your scheduled clinical rotation hours, or taking the opportunity to complete absentee ballots if you are unsure of your ability to vote in person due to clinical rotations. In the event that neither of these options are possible, please contact the Clinical Year Team to make additional arrangements.

Absences for Students with Medical Appointments. Every attempt should be made by the student to ensure that medical appointments are scheduled outside of clinical rotation hours. If this is not possible, appointments should be scheduled at the beginning or end of the shift to ensure that the least possible amount of time is missed from clinical time.

An Absence Request Form must be submitted for all medical appointments requiring absence from clinical rotations. Students with recurring medical/appointment needs should reach out to disability services for an accommodation to attendance requirements for clinical year.

Unexcused Absences. Unexcused absences are considered unprofessional behavior. For the first occurrence of an unexcused absence, the student will meet with the Clinical Year Team and their Faculty Advisor. A professionalism form will be submitted and the student will be referred to the Competency Progress Committee (CPC) for review.

For the second occurrence of an unexcused absence, the student will meet with the Program Director and will be referred to APC for review. Recommendations from APC may include sanctions including professional probation or dismissal from the PA Program.

Bereavement Leave. Students requesting bereavement leave are required to submit the absence request form to the Clinical Year Team prior to leaving their clinical rotation site. Submission of the absence request form does not guarantee approval.

Students may receive than three (3) days for the death of an immediate family member and two (2) days for extended family members unless arrangements to complete rotation hour requirements, repeat the rotation, or decelerate have been made.

Failure to submit written verification of clinical hour completion will result in an unexcused absence.

Callback Day

At the completion of each clinical rotation, all students will return to the Penn State College of Medicine for participation in Callback Day. During this time, a series of direct and indirect assessments on student achievement of rotation learning outcomes and program graduate competencies will be performed.

Attendance at Callback Day is mandatory.

Students should anticipate being at the College of Medicine from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

The following items must be completed and returned to the Clinical Year team before 7:00 a.m. on each Callback Day:

Student evaluation of the clinical site and preceptor—online
Case presentation paper and PowerPoint (if applicable)—uploaded to Canvas
Remediation questions (if applicable)—uploaded to Canvas
ID badges from other clinical sites not otherwise returned to the clinical site

It is the student’s responsibility to verify completion of all paperwork due for each Callback Day.

Paperwork that is submitted after the time indicated will not be acknowledged or accepted and will result in a ZERO for that portion of the assignment grade.

Attendance at Callback Day

Students are not permitted to miss Callback Day unless a written request demonstrating a significant life emergency or hardship is submitted to the Clinical Year Team via Absence Request Form. All requests will be reviewed by the Clinical Year Team, and students will be notified in writing of the decision.

Students who are absent from Callback Day activities due to illness must submit a note from the health care provider treating their illness within 24 hours of the absence.

Students will be required to fulfill the educational goals of Callback Day at another time as arranged by the Clinical Year team, which may result in deceleration or delay in graduation.

Students who miss any mandatory component of Call Back Day activities without prior notification and approval from the Clinical Year Team will receive a ZERO for assignments/examinations that were missed, which may result in failure of the rotation and delay in graduation.

Students will be referred to APC due to professionalism concerns.

Callback Day Assignments

End of Rotation Examination. Written examinations for students begin promptly at 8:00 a.m. unless otherwise depicted in the Callback Day Schedule. Students will have 120 minutes from the start time to complete the written examination unless accommodations are granted in advance by the student advocacy specialist in Disability Services.

Oral and Written Case Presentations. During the completion of clinical year, students must satisfactorily perform two (2) case presentations that contain both a written and oral component. Each student will perform one (1) case presentation during both their ambulatory care and elective rotations, unless remediation is necessary. At least one (1) presentation must be ethically based, with the other being an approved medical or surgical topic of interest or case study.

Topic Approval: Students must submit their topic to the Clinical Year Team via CANVAS drop box to obtain topic approval prior to Friday of the third week of the rotation in which oral presentations are assigned. The case presented must be one that the student either personally saw or directly participated in care of, and should be represented in student logging.
Oral Component: A HIPAA compliant oral case presentation must include the utilization of PowerPoint as a reference, which is uploaded to the appropriate CANVAS drop box prior to 7:00 a.m. on Callback Day. Students will have ten (10) minutes to present their case and should be prepared to answer questions about the case. Points will be awarded and deducted as noted in the rubric, which can be found on CANVAS.
- Ethical Case Presentations should include a brief description of the patient, pertinent history, physical examination findings, and a detailed discussion of the ethical dilemma present.
- Medical and Surgical Case Presentations should include a brief description of the patient, pertinent history, physical examination findings, pertinent laboratory and radiographic findings. A brief discussion should ensue about the management of the patient and the outcome. The disease or dilemma should then be discussed with the class and the student presenter should be prepared to answer questions about the case or disease presented.
Written Component: The written portion of the case presentation should be a five-to-ten page, HIPAA compliant paper. A brief summation of the patient’s case or ethical dilemma should be presented followed by elaboration on the disease entity or ethical background information.
Students should follow the guidelines presented in the rubric, which can be found on CANVAS for formatting and grading expectations of the written paper.
No exceptions will be made for late submissions. All late submissions will result in 20% deduction in grade per day.

Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCEs). During OSCE scenarios students will utilize a standardized patient to obtain a history, perform a physical examination, formulate a differential diagnosis, order appropriate diagnostic tests, diagnose the patient, and provide appropriate treatment. Rubrics for OSCE grading will be placed on CANVAS. During an OSCE scenario, any acts of patient harm will result in automatic failure (i.e. failure to ask allergies prior to prescribing medications, administration of tPA to a patient with a hemorrhagic stroke, etc.).

Kienle Groups and Self-Reflection. Students must perform a self-reflection during each rotation that identifies a case, discussion, interaction, or knowledge-based challenge that they faced during their clinical rotation in preparation for Kienle Group Discussions. These reflections should be kept in a journal. During each Callback Day, students will meet with their Kienle Groups to debrief the rotation and collaborate with one another through shared clinical practice experiences.

Participation, confidentiality, and respectful behavior is expected from all students. Failure to maintain these requirements for professionalism will result in a meeting with their Kienle group advisor and submission of a professionalism concern form and referral to CPC/APC for review.

All students must complete a Capstone Project as part of the Summative Experience course prior to graduation. Students will work to identify a Quality Improvement Project that relates to a patient case they saw during their first semester of clinical rotations.

Each student will be assigned a Capstone Advisor from within the PA program to provide feedback and support in their research throughout Clinical Year.

Successful completion of the Capstone Project requires submission of the following items:

Formal capstone project proposal plan
Development of a poster
Oral project presentation
Completion of a poster presentation

Additional details on expectations surrounding completion of the Capstone Project can be found in the Capstone Handbook and on the Clinical Year/Summative Experience course CANVAS pages.

Students may not solicit their own clinical sites or preceptors^A3.08, nor may they trade preceptorships with other students. Students may, however, suggest potential clinical preceptors using the (PA Clinical Site Development Request Form) to facilitate the program establishing affiliation agreements or clinical rotation site opportunities.

The assignment of students to Clinical Rotation sites is the responsibility of the Clinical Year Team. There are a number of factors that influence student placement into clinical rotation sites; including student performance, student interest in a particular specialty, and site/preceptor capacity. Changes to

clinical site assignment will only occur in extreme situations such as site cancellation, a serious issue that cannot be resolved for all parties, or a student/preceptor emergency. All changes to clinical site assignments will be made solely at the discretion of the Clinical Year Team and the Program Director.

Elective and Selective Opportunities

Elective rotations are designed to provide students with the opportunity to explore any of the previous rotation specialties, or a rotation designed by the student, in conjunction with the Clinical Year Team to enhance the student’s knowledge or skill in a specific specialty area. Selective rotations are available for Ambulatory Care Medicine and will include outpatient medical specialties. Students will be provided with a list of possible rotation opportunities during the Fall Clinical Year Overview Meeting in their Didactic Year.

The PA Program cannot guarantee placement in any elective or selective rotation, but will work closely with students to identify their strengths and professional goals for employment upon graduation to provide each student with an opportunity to gain the skills, knowledge, and experience needed for graduation.

Request for the Development of New Clinical Sites

Students may not develop or arrange their own clinical rotation sites as the assignment of students to clinical rotation sites is the responsibility of the CY team. Students with an interest in a particular specialty, or students that present additional opportunities for establishing clinical rotation sites outside of the Penn State Health system may communicate their recommendations using the request for new clinical site form. Following submission of this recommendation, the program will contact the site, speak with potential preceptors, evaluate the site’s suitability for student education, and (as appropriate) develop an affiliation agreement with the Penn State College of Medicine PA Program.

Student requests for the development of new clinical sites must occur at least 12 weeks prior to the start of the semester in which the scheduled rotation occurs. Rotations may not be completed with a preceptor who is a family member or personal provider.

Submission of a request for a new clinical site does not guarantee placement of the student in that rotation site, and determination of site viability is made solely at the discretion of the PA Program.

Procedure for Request to Change Clinical Rotation Assignments:

Student requests to change the location of a clinical site must be submitted in writing to the Clinical Year Team
- No changes to summer rotations unless extenuating circumstances arise
- Deadline for Fall semester: July 1
- Deadline for Spring semester: November 1
Only requests demonstrating significant hardship, emergency, or a violation of the Penn State University Code of Ethics Policy will be considered outside of the above timeframes.
Students will then schedule a meeting with the Clinical Year Team to discuss their request.
- The Clinical Year Team will then discuss the request with the Program Director, as necessary.
Students will then be notified by the Clinical Year Team of the decision on Clinical site change.

Approved clinical rotation sites frequently require information about those students who will participate in training at their facilities for the protection of their patients and personnel.

Clinical sites have the right to decline acceptance for training of students who do not comply with the provision of such information.

Students must submit clinical compliance requirements by the published due date
If not received, the student will be considered non-compliant and will not be permitted to progress in the clinical year, which may result in deceleration and delay of graduation.
The requirements for each site are available to students in E*Value and should be checked and completed by the student 30 days prior to the rotation start.
Any questions regarding specific requirements or difficulty with submission of them should be directed to Lori Schreckengast: lschreckengast1@pennstatehealth.psu.edu

If a student cannot meet all of a clinical site’s requirements, the Program will attempt to identify an alternative placement.

If alternative sites that will accept the student cannot be found the student may not be able to complete requirements necessary for graduation, which will result in referral to APC for consideration of program dismissal.

Clinical Site Closures and Delays

Students on Clinical Rotations are expected to follow the schedule that their preceptor has established. If the clinical site office/practice has closed due to inclement weather, the student must submit the Absence Request Form and report a change in their schedule. If students are unable to make it to their clinical site due to inclement weather students must notify the Clinical Year Team, their preceptors, submit an Absence Request Form, and report a change in their schedule.

Federal Holidays

All clinical year students are excused from clinical rotations on Thanksgiving Day and the Friday following Thanksgiving.

At the discretion of the preceptor,students on clinical rotations may have off on the following Federal Holidays:

Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Memorial Day
Juneteenth
Fourth of July
Labor Day

Dress Code ^A3.04

Students must be clearly identified in the clinical setting to distinguish them from other health profession students and practitioners and must wear their PA Student Identification badges at all times during Clinical Rotations.^A3.04

Proper Attire: A healthcare professional's dress and appearance are essential in establishing a relationship of trust and confidence. In some cases, this requires that individual personal attire preferences be balanced with the need for effective patient interaction.

Scrubs should be worn only when identified as the standard dress for the clinical site.

Short white coats should be worn at all times during clinical rotations unless instructed otherwise by your preceptor.

The following attire guidelines are required in all student clinical educational settings: Students may dress in accordance with their gender identity and gender expression, but must dress in a way that meets the following guidelines:

General Standards

Good, personal hygiene is to be maintained at all times. This includes regular bathing, use of deodorants/antiperspirants, combed/brushed hair and regular dental hygiene.
Students display their identification badges at all times^A3.06
Students do not wear open-toe shoes/sandals in laboratory or clinical settings
Students will not wear heavy fragrances, perfumes, or colognes
Students will not wear fishnet stockings, crop-tops, low-cut necklines, tank tops, crop tops, or other see-through clothing
Students will not wear suggestive, restrictive, or revealing clothing
Students will not display undergarments while wearing clothing, even with movement
Students will not wear sunglasses, hats, or caps in the building, unless for religious reasons.
Garments that show the trunk with movement should not be worn.
Students are expected to cover tattoos if requested by the clinical site.

Hair

Should be neat... when in doubt, wear it back.
Shoulder length hair must be secured to avoid interference with work or patient care.
Natural human color.
Beards are acceptable, but must be neatly trimmed.

Religious Head Coverings

Religious head coverings (such ashijabs, turbans, kippahs, yarmulkes, headscarves, etc.) are permissible in the OR and procedural areas.
For infection control purposes, the head covering must be clean, constructed of tightly-woven and low-linting material, without adornments, fit securely with loose ends tucked into the scrub top as applicable, and covered with a surgical bonnet.

Nails

Muted tones of nail polish. NO chipped, gel, or acrylic nail polish in the OR, unless otherwise noted in site policies.
No artificial nails and/or nail tips.

Shoes

Comfortable, clean, and in good repair. No open toed shoes.
Clogs are acceptable.
Hiking boots are acceptable in the winter.

Jewelry

Septum piercings may not exceed the size of a dime and cannot contain dangling or loose items. No additional facial piercings are permitted in the clinical environment unless otherwise noted by the clinical site.
No excessive jewelry (to decrease risk of cross-infection; or may be pulled by angry or confused patients).
The following are permitted: a watch, small earrings of either small hoops or studs (large earrings are distracting and may be pulled through the ear), academic pin/s, other pins, badges, or insignias which represent an award or health care message.

Within the clinical settings where students and patients interact (Emergency Department observations, hospitals / clinics, rotation sites) the following additional professional attire will be required unless otherwise designated by the clinical preceptor (Example: Pediatrics or Behavioral Medicine settings may require more casual attire).

All Students:

White lab jacket (short) with appropriate student identification.^A3.06
Professional attire (khakis, slacks, or dress pants; blouses or collared shirts and ties; dresses or skirts no shorter than mid-thigh.)
Students are reminded that low cut shirts, t-shirts, short skirts, jeans, or open-toed shoes are not considered professional attire.
Scrubs as deemed appropriate by the preceptor.

Failure to comply with the dress code will result in a written warning via professional concern form. Additional occurrences will result in referral to the CPC/APC due to professionalism concerns.

Requests for an interview day during Clinical Year must be submitted at least one week prior to the requested interview day, using the Absence Request Form. If your interview will be conducted virtually or require only a partial day, please indicate the specific details on the Absence Request Form.

Submission of the Absence Request Form does not guarantee approval for the absence.

All efforts should be made by the student to schedule interviews around current rotation hours. In the event that students are unable to do so, they are allotted a total of three (3) interview days during the

Clinical Year phase of the PA Program. Students must make up the missed time in clinical rotations prior to the day of the absence. No more than two (2) interview days may be used per clinical rotation unless arrangements can be made to ensure that adequate clinical hours are achieved for the rotation.

Students may not use an interview day during callback day activities, exams, remediation activities, or summative activities.

Reference Release Policy

The Penn State College of Medicine PA Program recognizes the need for employers and educational institutions to obtain meaningful reference information from course instructors, clinical preceptors, and program leadership as well as the need for a student’s written consent prior to providing information protected by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) to third parties.

As such, the PA program requires that students provide their written consent through submission of the University’s Consent for Release of Information to Third Parties Form and the Request for Letter of Recommendation Form prior to faculty, staff, and program leadership providing a reference on their behalf that may include FERPA-protected student information to potential employers, educational institutions, or other third-parties.

Following completion of the above form, students should complete the PA Program Reference Request form available on the program webpage.

Students should allow ten (10) days for the completion of a letter of recommendation by program faculty, staff, and administration.

Academic Remediation ^A3.14c

Remediation requirements will be maintained in StarFish to enhance transparency in student performance and academic progress for students, faculty, and advisors.

Remediation of assignments in which a failing grade was received will not replace the initial grade earned by students unless otherwise noted in the course syllabus.

Remediation in the Clinical Year of the program is required for failed EORs, H&Ps and SOAP Notes, written papers, oral presentations, and OSCEs, as follows:

PAEA End of Rotation Examination: Students will receive a performance report at the completion of each PAEA end of rotation examination in which they receive feedback on their scale score based on content area and task area.
The program has identified ‘content experts’ amongst program faculty for each of the content areas covered by the PANCE and PAEA End of Rotation Examinations.
Students may reach out to those content experts at any time throughout Clinical Year to schedule a time to meet and discuss their study plans for successful studying and examination preparation.
- Dan: Pulm, ID, Renal/GU
- Kristi: Ortho/Rheum, GI, Radiology
- Kristin: Heme, Endocrine, Pharm
- Lexie: Oncology
- Dave: Communication
- Kim: Derm, ENT, Psychiatry
- Larissa: CV, Neurology, OB/GYN

Remediation Procedures

Students receiving a low pass score on the End of Rotation Examination must complete remediation.

Students must contact the Director of Clinical Education by email within one (1) week of score release to arrange a time to meet to review their exam.
Students must perform self-reflection on their performance report to remediate the content and task areas in which they have a score below the national average
Review of the keyword feedback items listed on their report—due by 7am on the next Callback Day
- For example, “Pulmonology: History & Physical, Pneumonia” would require an outline of the history and physical exam findings that are pertinent to a diagnosis of pneumonia.
Completion of twenty-five (25) review questions on Rosh Review, Board Vitals, or UWorld pertinent to content and task areas in which they have scored below the national average with a completion average of > 80%.

Students receiving a failing score (< 70%) as defined by the PA program on the End of Rotation Examination must complete remediation.

Students must contact the Director of Clinical Education by email within one (1) week of score release to arrange a time to meet to review their exam
Students must perform self-reflection on their performance report and will work with the Clinical Year Team or Program Faculty Designee to develop a plan for remediation.
Review of the keyword feedback items listed on their report due by 7am on the next Callback Day
- For example, “Pulmonology: History & Physical, Pneumonia” would require an outline of the history and physical exam findings that are pertinent to a diagnosis of pneumonia.
Completion of fifty (50) review questions on Rosh Review, Board Vitals, or UWorld pertinent to content and task areas in which they have scored below the national average with a completion average of > 80%.
Students with a score of < 70% must retake the End of Rotation Examination. Failure to achieve a passing score on the remediation will result in course failure.
- Students that do not pass the repeat End of Rotation Examination will be evaluated by APC for recommendations, which may include deceleration, completion of an independent study course to enhance knowledge deficits, or program dismissal.

All components of remediation must be completed prior to the next Callback day unless extenuating circumstances arise that are approved by the Clinical Year Team.

If a student fails an End of Rotation Examination on the final Callback Day, they must complete their remediation assignment prior to taking the Summative Examination.

Students failing one End of Rotation Examination will be referred to CPC.
Students failing two End of Rotation Examinations will be referred to APC.
Students failing three End of Rotation Examinations will return to APC for consideration of program dismissal.

H&Ps and SOAP Notes: Students will receive recommendations for improvement of their clinical documentation from program faculty and must resubmit the H&P or SOAP note with improvements implemented. Failure to submit a corrected H&P or SOAP note by the following Callback Day will result in failure of the clinical rotation. If a student fails their clinical documentation assignments on the final Callback Day, they must make the recommended changes and resubmit the notes prior to completion of the Summative Experience.

Written Paper: Students will receive recommendations for improvement of their written reference paper from program faculty and must resubmit the paper with improvements implemented. Failure to submit a corrected reference paper by the following Callback Day will result in failure of the clinical rotation. If a student fails their written reference paper on the final Callback Day, they must make the recommended changes and resubmit the paper prior to completion of the Summative Experience.

Oral Presentation: Students who fail their oral presentation will receive feedback from program faculty and must submit a recorded presentation with improvements implemented. Failure to submit a corrected recording by the following Callback Day will result in failure of the clinical rotation. If a student fails their oral presentation on the final Callback Day, they must make the recommended changes and submit a recorded oral presentation prior to completion of the Summative Experience

OSCEs: In addition to recommendations and feedback for performance improvement, students will need to meet with the Director of Clinical Education to review their performance on OSCEs. Students will need to return to campus at the discretion of the Clinical Year Team for this to be completed. Students will have up to one (1) additional opportunity to successfully pass an OSCE exam by the following Callback Day. Failure to pass the OSCE will result in course failure.

Completion of the electronic clinical year passport is required for all PA students prior to completion of the Clinical Year. It is the responsibility of the student to have all passport requirements signed by clinical preceptors to demonstrate student competence in history taking, physical examination, diagnostic/procedural skills, and participation in the management of certain diseases processes that have been identified as essential for degree completion according to the Penn State College of Medicine and PA Program Standards.

The goal of utilizing a clinical year passport is to encourage bedside teaching and feedback, enhance the involvement of students in patient care, improve exposure to clinical skills, and enhance the exposure of students to various faculty while on clinical rotations.

All core procedures and skills must be signed off by clinical preceptors/college of medicine faculty prior to graduation.

Progress towards completion of the electronic clinical year passport will be monitored and reviewed at the completion of each clinical rotation to ensure adequate exposure and participation in essential components of PA student education.

Failure to update the clinical year passport during each rotation may result in referral to the CPC due to professionalism concerns. Repeat occurrences will result in the completion of a behavior concern form and referral to the APC for formal review, which may result in probation, need to repeat the rotation, deceleration with delay in graduation, or program dismissal.

Forgery or misrepresentation of skills completed on the clinical year passport will result in completion of a professionalism concern form and referral to APC for consideration of dismissal from the PA program due to egregious unprofessional behavior and academic dishonesty.

As an academic medical center, the Information Technology division at Hershey Medical Center has developed a “medical/PA student” notes section which allows for students to make electronic entries into the patient files for review by the clinical preceptor.
- Within Penn State Health and its affiliate sites, student notes may be billable and legally binding in some clinical rotations. Students will be made aware during Transition Block which rotations allow this, and will be updated as new sites are piloted and transition to student billable notes.
- The EHR system shall clearly list the title of a student note and notes shall include History and Physical, Progress Note, Consult, Clinic Note, and Phone Note. Student authors will then be clearly identified, allowing for coding/billing accountability.
Outside of the Penn State Health system student access to office and health system electronic health record (EHR) systems will depend on the clinical site in which they are assigned.
- Regardless of access to an EHR system, students are expected to be practicing documentation of patient encounters to ensure that they are able to perform independent documentation and should seek out feedback from their preceptors on the notes they have completed.
- When these records are available to them, students must follow the protocol for accessing and data entry in these medical sites since this access is at the discretion of the clinical site and preceptor. Students shall only access the records of individuals for whom they are providing direct patient care.
Current Medicare guidelines per the Medicare Claims Processing Manual (Medicare Claims Processing Manual (cms.gov)for student contact and documentation with patient encounters state:
- "Any contribution and participation of a student to the performance of a billable service (other than the review of systems and/or past family/social history which are not separately billable, but are taken as part of an E/M service) must be performed in the physical presence of a teaching physician or physical presence of a resident in a service meeting the requirements set forth in this section for teaching physician billing.
- Students may document services in the medical record. However, the teaching physician must verify in the medical record all student documentation or findings, including history, physical exam and/or medical decision making. The teaching physician must personally perform (or re-perform) the physical exam and medical decision-making activities of the E/M service being billed, but may verify any student documentation of them in the medical record, rather than re-documenting this work.”
Students may not perform the services of a scribe.
Students may not perform consults on their own.
All patients seen by PA students must be evaluated by their preceptor or other designated provider.

Final signature of student notes may be from a PA, NP, attending, fellow, or resident, as determined by the respective chair in each corresponding department.

As part of the Professionalism competency domain, we expect you to follow conscientious behaviors consistent with those of a developing health professional by providing constructive comments regarding areas of strength and opportunities for improvement of the clinical rotation sites for future students.

Course and faculty evaluations will be administered anonymously to all students at the end of their rotations via E*Value.
Guest lecture evaluations will be administered anonymously immediately following the lecture.

Unprofessional or inappropriate comments on Clinical Site evaluations/Preceptor evaluations will be reviewed with the student and Clinical Year Team. Additional occurrences of unprofessional feedback will result in completion of a professionalism form and referral to CPC.

Program evaluations will be completed in OASIS. Students with repeated incomplete evaluations will receive professionalism forms. While we will track who has completed course/faculty evaluations and evaluations of the program, neither ratings nor comments are traced to students

While in the clinical setting, all PA students must be clearly identified to distinguish them from other health profession students and practitioners. PA Students must wear their PA student identification badges at all times while in the clinical setting as a Penn State College of Medicine PA Student.

PA students may not substitute for, or function as, clinical or administrative staff while in the clinical setting as a PA student.

Maintenance of Patient Database

As a requirement for the completion of clinical year, ALL patient encounters are to be logged in the E*Value system. Failure to maintain adequate patient encounters, diagnoses evaluated/treated, and procedures performed may delay graduation.

Students are expected to log into E*Value on each clinical day.

Students must submit accurate and complete records through all electronic entries in compliance with the Penn State College of Medicine PA Program Academic Integrity Policy. Falsification of patient logging will result in referral to the APC and may result in program dismissal due to professionalism concerns.

Final patient logs and timecard submissions must be made prior to 11:59p.m. on the Sunday after each Callback Day.
No late submissions will be accepted.
Patient logs will be reviewed at the culmination of each rotation and graded as Pass/Fail based on completion and correlation between patient encounters and hours recorded.
Students must receive a passing score to successfully complete their rotation.
Missed or inaccurate logging will result in a 5% deduction in final course grade and submission of a professionalism concern form resulting in referral to CPC.
Recurrent instances or failure to rectify the issue will result in course failure and the need to repeat the rotation, resulting in deceleration or dismissal from the program.

Technical Difficulties: Students should attempt to troubleshoot technical difficulties using the E*Value technical support. If unsuccessful, students should contact Lori Schreckengast.

Students will receive an evaluation from their clinical preceptors following each 5-week clinical rotation which will be completed via E*Value during week four of the clinical rotation.

Often times, students may find that their schedule more closely aligns with providers other than their assigned clinical preceptor. In this case, the clinical preceptor may complete a collective evaluation on behalf of the team that has worked closest with the student. Students must ensure that the Clinical Year Team has an updated preceptor name, credentials, and email address by verifying preceptor information in the student progress report.

Prior to leaving the clinical rotation site, students are required to ensure that their evaluation has been completed and notify the Clinical Year Team if they have met difficulty in evaluation completion. Students should share their patient logging with clinical preceptors and review the results of their evaluation with their clinical preceptors to receive feedback on strengths and areas in need of improvement.

The program reserves the right to visit students and clinical sites at any time during the clinical phase of the program.

Site visits will be conducted during Pediatrics and inpatient Internal Medicine Rotations for all students by the Clinical Year Team or Designated Program Representative. Site visits will be graded and will replace the traditional end of rotation OSCE during Callback Day.

Student-related site visits will consist of an evaluation of PA student performance during interactions with a patient and their preceptor. During the site visit, students will perform appropriate histories and physicals, present cases to program faculty, and be responsible for answering questions regarding the problem asked by the faculty member.

Additionally, site visits will be conducted for new clinical rotation sites, and on an as needed basis for students with academic or professionalism concerns.

An unsatisfactory site visit may necessitate additional site visits. Reasons which may necessitate a second site visit includes:

Unsatisfactory performance by students
Interruption of patient-student encounters by staff, physicians, etc.
Inability to evaluate student-patient interaction
Unprofessional behavior

Failure to perform satisfactorily during additional site visits will result in student referral to CPC.

Students are expected to have reliable transportation for clinical year, and are responsible for the cost of travel to and from clinical rotation sites. ^A3.14j

Students who are required by the program to travel to a clinical rotation site greater than sixty (60) miles from the Hershey Medical Center campus, or the location in which the student resides, will be provided an option for housing. Students are not required to utilize program provided housing, however, students choosing to utilize different accommodations than what is provided by the program will be responsible for all associated costs.

Students are responsible for costs associated with housing and travel to and from clinical rotation sites that are developed at the request of the student, or in a location requested by the student but not required by the program.

The Penn State College of Medicine PA Program requires the completion of a summative assessment for all students near the end of their education as a means to determine a student’s readiness for graduation.

The summative experience will evaluate each student in the following areas:

Medical Knowledge
- PAEA end of curriculum examination
- OSCEs
- Management of acute emergencies in Simulated Patient Scenarios
Interpersonal/Communication Skills
- Written assignment on population health and team care
- Evaluation of implicit bias and education with assessment
- OSCEs
Clinical and Technical Skills
- Management of acute emergencies in Simulated Patient Scenarios
- OSCEs
- Clinical skill assessment
Professionalism
- OSCEs
- Written reflection on quality improvement
- Written assignment on population health and team care
- Evaluation of implicit bias and education with assessment
Clinical Reasoning and Problem-Solving Abilities
- Management of acute emergencies in Simulated Patient Scenarios
- OSCEs

Successful completion (70% of greater) and/or remediation of all components of the summative experience is required prior to graduation. Students that fail the summative end of curriculum written examination (score <1475), must complete a remediation provided by the program, followed by repeat assessment to ensure that the student has gained the knowledge necessary to graduate. Completion of remediation and reassessment will result in a delay of program graduation.

Following completion of the Didactic Year curriculum and during the final semester of the program, students will sit for a national in-training examination known as “PACKRAT”, which is a practice examination intended to assist students in identifying their own strengths and areas in need of improvement.

Following completion of the PACKRAT, students will have an opportunity to reflect on, and receive advising from the program about their performance.

Although strongly recommended, students are not required to complete this examination as the results do not influence a course grade or progression through the PA Program.

Program Policies

Academic Integrity is the pursuit of scholarly activity in an open, honest, and responsible manner. Academic integrity is a basic guiding principle for all academic activity at The Pennsylvania State University, and all members of the University community are expected to act in accordance with this principle.

According to Penn State policy G-9: Academic Integrity, an academic integrity violation is “an intentional, unintentional, or attempted violation of course or assessment policies to gain an academic advantage or to advantage or disadvantage another student academically.” Unless your instructor tells you otherwise, you must complete all coursework entirely on your own, using only sources that have been permitted by your instructor, and you may not assist other students with papers, quizzes, exams, or other assessments.

Students may use generative AI tools to brainstorm ideas, to create an outline or headings for their paper, to generate practice exam questions, and to improve their use of grammar. Students may not use generative AI tools to complete multiple-choice, matching, fill-in-the blank, open ended, or essay exam questions, or for written assignments such as SOAP or procedural notes.

Other uses of generative AI tools are prohibited. This includes the use of AI tools to create content for coursework, including the AI tools embedded in Grammarly. Students must also list the AI tools they’ve used as a “Sourced Tool” at the end of the paper or project. This policy applies to the use of all generative AI tools, including but not limited to Chat GPT, Grammarly, Copilot, and other AI tools, including those provided by the university.

NOTE: All written assessments shall be generated by the individual student without the use of generative artificial intelligence such as ChatGPT or other AI.

You may not submit false or fabricated information, use the same academic work for credit in multiple courses, or share instructional content. Students with questions about academic integrity should ask their instructor BEFORE submitting work.

Students are fully responsible for the accuracy, originality, and ethical integrity of all submitted work, regardless of whether AI tools were used in the preparation process. Submitting AI-generated work as one’s own without disclosure will constitute an academic integrity violation and misconduct. A link can be found here: Academic Integrity Resources.

Students facing allegations of academic misconduct may not drop/withdraw from the affected course unless they are cleared of wrongdoing (see G-9: Academic Integrity), Attempted drops will be prevented or reversed, and students will be expected to complete course work and meet course deadlines. Students who are found responsible for academic integrity violations face academic outcomes, which can be severe, and put themselves at jeopardy for other outcomes as depicted in the PA program student handbook.

Academic Probation

May occur one (1) time during the program for students earning an academic semester or cumulative GPA of 2.75-2.99. Students placed on academic probation will be evaluated for removal from probationary status at the completion of each semester by the APC. A second occurrence of semester or cumulative academic GPA of 2.75-2.99 will result in referral of the student to APC for academic dismissal from the PA Program.

Academic Warning

A decision designed to bring a student considered at risk from ongoing academic to the attention of those who can assist in supporting the students’ academic success. Students put on academic warning remain in good academic standing. Academic warning is not reported on the student’s transcript or academic record.

Deceleration ^A3.14d

Deceleration is defined by the ARC-PA as “the loss of a student from the entering cohort, who remains matriculated in the physician assistant program.”

Didactic Year:

The PSCOM PA program does not offer academic deceleration to students in the Didactic phase of the Program. Students in the Didactic phase of the program who do not meet academic standards as outlined in the student handbook are dismissed from the Program and may apply for readmission in the next application cycle.

Students within the Didactic phase of the program who take a leave of absence due to family/medical emergencies or military deployment may be considered for deceleration if they are in good academic and professional standing at the time of the request. Students should note that re-entry to the program is not a guarantee, and is a space dependent decision.

Clinical Year:

The PSCOM PA program will consider voluntary and mandatory decelerations for Clinical Year students if they are in otherwise good academic and professional standing at the time of the request.

Voluntary Deceleration: Students must submit a written request to the PA program director and the Associate Dean of Student Affairs to voluntarily decelerate. Reasons for voluntary deceleration include personal, family, or health concerns that will impact the student’s ability to successfully complete the program curriculum.
Required Deceleration: Students earning a failing final course grade (“F”) in any course must repeat the class to be eligible for progression through the program. Eligibility for academic deceleration will be addressed on a case-by-case basis following review of the student’s entire academic and professional performance while enrolled in the program.

Students that decelerate from the Clinical Year due to leave of absence or the need to repeat a rotation, but successfully complete the program before the next graduating class are considered delayed graduates of the program as they do not join an additional cohort of students at any point in their educational journey.

In the event that a student is decelerated, the student will be provided with a detailed plan for deceleration, approved by the Academic Progress Committee, which includes all courses to be completed and the timeframe for completion of all components of the program. The plan for deceleration must be signed by the student and the program director, and will be maintained in the student’s permanent program record.

Deceleration Procedures.

Students must submit a written request to the PA program director and the Associate Dean of Student Affairs for deceleration.
- Reasons for deceleration include personal, family, health, or academic concerns that will impact the student’s ability to successfully complete the program curriculum.
Students will receive an approval or denial from the Program Director and Associate Dean of Student Affairs following submission of their deceleration request.
Students that decelerate during the clinical year curriculum and miss two (2) or more consecutive rotations must take a competency examination before being readmitted to clinical rotations.
- The competency examination will consist of an evaluation of medical knowledge, problem solving, critical thinking, and clinical/technical skills in the form of a comprehensive written exam.
- Students must achieve a 70% or greater to restart clinical rotations.
- If a student fails the examination, they may retake it one additional time after remediation is performed.
- If the remediation examination is not passed with a grade of at least 70% on the second examination, the student will be reviewed by the APC for dismissal from the PA program.
Students that decelerate during the didactic year must resume their studies with the start of a cohort of students. All courses must be retaken, unless the student requests and successfully passes a knowledge retention examination with a score of 80% or higher.
- The knowledge retention examination will consist of an evaluation of medical knowledge, problem solving, and critical thinking skills in the form of a comprehensive written exam.
Failure to meet academic and/or professional standards while decelerated will result in referral to APC for dismissal from the program.

Re-entry to the program is not a guarantee and is a space-dependent decision that will be made on a case-by-case basis.

All costs associated with deceleration are the responsibility of the student.

Dismissal ^A3.14f

Students may be dismissed from the PA Program for inability to meet program technical standards, failure to maintain satisfactory academic progress, or professionalism concerns.

Inability to Meet Technical Standards:

Students will attest at the start of each semester to their ability to fulfill program Technical Standards. Students who are unable to fulfill the Technical Standards set forth by the program will not be permitted to matriculate into or progress through the PA program and will be referred to APC for a comprehensive evaluation of performance in all competency domains of the PA Program.

Students unable to meet competency domain requirements of the PA program due to persistently identified deficiencies despite programmatic intervention through remediation, advising, mentoring, and referrals for student support services will be dismissed from the program due to inability to maintain program Technical Standards.

Academic Dismissal:

Didactic Year:

Any student who earns a grade less than a “C” or “Low Pass” in one term, or more than two grades equivalent to a “C” or “Low Pass” in one term throughout Didactic Year will be unable to complete the PA program due to academic performance concerns and must be referred to the APC for a comprehensive evaluation of performance in all competency domains of the PA program.
Students unable to meet competency domain requirements of the PA program due to persistently identified deficiencies despite programmatic intervention through remediation, advising, mentoring, and referrals for student support services will be dismissed from the program due to inability to maintain satisfactory academic progress.

Clinical Year:

Any student who earns a grade less than a “C” or “Low Pass” in more than one course, or more than two grades equivalent to a “C” or “Low Pass” throughout Clinical Year will be automatically dismissed from the PA program following referral to APC for a comprehensive evaluation of performance in all competency domains of the PA program due to inability to maintain satisfactory academic progress.

Professionalism Dismissal:

The following inappropriate, unprofessional, and threatening behaviors are considered grounds for dismissal from the PA program, and possibly the University:

Insubordination
Illicit drug use
Writing unauthorized prescriptions
Cheating, forgery, or plagiarism of any kind
Theft
Working under the influence of alcohol or unprescribed controlled substances
Actions that may result in legal action against the student by the clinical site or University
Falsifying medical records
Submitting falsified documentation to the program for grading
Consistent failure to complete assignments or meets deadlines
Unprofessional behavior, including HIPAA violations
Illegal activities while enrolled in the program
Inability to demonstrate a positive and constructive attitude, emotional stability, and/or maturity

Students with egregious professionalism concerns, or multiple professionalism violations will be reviewed by the APC for dismissal from the PA program.

Clinical Year students may be removed from their clinical site assignment at the request of the clinical preceptor. Students exhibiting unprofessional or unacceptable behavior that negatively impacts patients, staff, students, or others is grounds for immediate removal of the student from the rotation.

Students that are dismissed from a clinical site will be placed on an immediate Leave of Absence from the PA program pending an investigation into the offense(s). The student will then be referred for formal review by the APC; which may result in need for probation, need to repeat the rotation, deceleration with delay of graduation, or dismissal from the PA program.

Reapplication to the Program following Dismissal:

Students that have been dismissed from the PA program may reapply for matriculation in future cohorts if they choose, unless otherwise noted.

Students that have been dismissed from the College of Medicine must follow Penn State University/College of Medicine Guidelines for re-enrollment prior to reapplying to the PA program.

Dismissal Procedures:

Students will be referred to the APC for a comprehensive review of their academic record.
A recommendation for dismissal will be made to the Program Director and the Dean of the College of Medicine in the following situations:
- Failure to meet program-defined technical standards
- Failure to maintain program-defined technical standards
- Failure to maintain satisfactory academic progress
- Egregious professionalism concerns, or recurrent non-egregious professionalism concerns
Students will be notified of the decision for dismissal from the PA program and/or the College of Medicine.
Students may request a review of the APC decision by following the program appeal policy and procedure.

All costs associated with dismissal from the program are the responsibility of the student.

Professionalism Probation

May occur one (1) time during the program for students with multiple documented lapses of professional behaviors despite CPC recommendations. Students placed on professional probation will be evaluated for removal from probationary status at the completion of each semester by the APC. Additional documented lapses of professional behaviors while on professional probation will be referred to APC for consideration of dismissal from the PA program.

Professionalism Warning

A decision designed to bring a student considered at risk from ongoing professional behavior concerns to the attention of those who can support the student in addressing their professionalism issues. Students put on professionalism warning remain in good standing. Professionalism warning is not reported on the student’s transcript or academic record.

Withdrawal Policy ^A3.14e

Students requiring a significant amount of time off for any reason (greater than two weeks of coursework) may need to consider withdrawing from the program given its nature and intensity. Students may submit a written request for withdrawal to the Program Director and Associate Dean of Student Affairs.

Students are strongly encouraged to meet with their advisor and the Program Director prior to initiating the withdrawal process.

Matriculation back into the PA Program may be possible, but it is not guaranteed and will be addressed on a case-by-case basis following a detailed review of the student’s academic record.

Withdrawal Procedures.

Students should meet with their program faculty advisor or the PA Program Director to discuss their intent to withdrawal from the PA Program.
Students should meet with the Office of Student Aid to discuss the financial implications of their decision to withdrawal from the PA Program.
Students should meet with the Housing Office if residing in campus-affiliated housing to discuss implications of their decision to withdrawal from the PA Program.
Students must notify the PA program director and the Associate Dean of Student Affairs in writing of their intent to withdrawal from the College of Medicine.
Students must complete the withdrawal form prior to the last day of classes for the semester.

All costs associated with withdrawal from the program are the responsibility of the student.

The following policy will be enforced for all students in the PA program:

Drug screen may be requested by a hospital or provider office that requires screening prior to students completing a rotation in their facility.
If concern arises surrounding drug or alcohol use during classroom, laboratory, or clinical rotation settings a request for drug screen may be made by the Program Director.

The cost of the drug screen is at the student’s expense.

Non-Academic Student Grievance Process ^A3.14g

The Pennsylvania State University has adopted an internal grievance procedure providing for prompt and equitable resolution to complaints alleging discrimination on the basis of age, ancestry, color, disability, national origin, race, religious creed, gender, sexual orientation, or veteran status. For further information on the discrimination grievance procedures, refer to the Office of Equal Opportunity and Access website.

Grievances/complaints in this venue can be filed with the Office of Equal Opportunity and Access at Penn State University at the main campus with the contact information related to the above address, phone number, and email address.

Complaints should be addressed to the:

Office of Equal Opportunity and Access
328 Boucke Building
University Park, PA 16802
Phone: (814) 863-0471 V/TTY
E-mail: aao@psu.edu

Students may report mistreatment or harassment using the Resident/Student Mistreatment Reporting Form.

If a student believes that they have been placed in an environment where any type of harassment (including intimidation) has occurred, that student should contact the PA Program Director or the

College of Medicine Ombudspersons. All inquiries or grievances filed by the students will be investigated and resolved.

Peter Lewis, MD serves as ombudspersons for the PA students. If a student believes that they have been placed in an environment where any type of harassment (including intimidation or retaliation) has occurred, that student should contact the PA Program Director or the College of Medicine Ombudspersons. All inquiries or grievances filed by the students will be investigated and resolved.

In this capacity, they will investigate harassment and other complaints brought forward by students and work to achieve an equitable solution. The purpose of an ombudspersons is to enhance communication and clarify misunderstandings in any situation, which involves potential disputes, to provide information about possible courses of action and to help resolve issues so that they do not grow into more serious conflicts. ^A3.10

The ombudspersons shall "thoroughly investigate each incident brought to their attention taking into account all sides of the issue, counsels the involved parties or makes referral for such counseling, provides periodic reports of such incidents and their outcomes/resolution to the Vice Dean of Educational Affairs, and seeks appropriate advice from senior academic or administrative faculty when necessary to assist in resolving issues of concern."

Peter Lewis, MD
Email: plewis@pennstatehealth.psu.edu
Phone: 717-531-8736

The right of confidentiality for any party involved in a harassment incident, including the complainant and the charged, will be respected insofar as it does not interfere with the university’s obligation to investigate allegations of misconduct and to take corrective action where appropriate.

Harassment complaints about a student should be filed with the PA Program Director. If the complaint is with the Program Director, the student should contact the Vice Dean of Educational Affairs. A complaint about a guest or visitor should be called to the attention of the Program Director or other appropriate program employees.

The Office of Human Resources may be contacted for counseling and assistance relating to equal opportunity and access concerns. Anyone with a question or concern about harassment is encouraged to contact one of the above offices for counsel and assistance.

Academic Student Grievance Process ^A3.14g

Exam Question Appeals Policy and Procedure. Students with an academic-related complaint/grievance related to the quality of exam questions are first directed to the Course Director. If the student feels that their complaint or grievance has not been resolved, they may contact the PA Program Director to request a meeting. A meeting with the Program Director does not guarantee a grade change but provides students with an opportunity to meet and discuss their concerns.

Grade Appeal Policy and Procedure. Based on The Penn State Faculty Senate Policy 47-20 on grades, as well as Penn State’s Academic Administrative Policies G-10, the basis for grade determination is “…the instructor’s judgment of the student’s scholastic achievement…”

The PA Program recognizes that there may be times in which students are dissatisfied with grades they have received and may wish to appeal a grade. Individuals grades for assignments and exams within a designated course shall not be appealed. Final Course Grade appeals may be filed on the grounds of discrimination, retaliation, capricious evaluation, or mathematical/clerical error.

In such instances, students must initiate the following process within five (5) business days of the grade posting.

Students must first meet with the Course Director.
- Students must complete the Grade Appeal Form (Appendix E) of the Student Handbook and submit via email to the Course Director within five (5) business days of the grade posting to CANVAS or LIONPATH.
- The Course Director must respond to the student within five (5) business days of email receipt (unless pre-scheduled to be out of the office) to arrange a meeting to discuss the student’s concerns and reason for appeal. Meetings must occur within ten (10) business days of email receipt (unless pre-scheduled to be out of the office).
- The Course Director must respond in writing to the student within 48 hours of the arranged meeting with a decision on the student’s appeal.
If a resolution is not reached, students may appeal to the Program Director.
- Students must submit the grade appeal form via email and request to schedule an appointment with the Program Director within five (5) business days of receiving the Faculty Member’s appeal decision.
- The Program Director must respond to the student within five (5) business days of email receipt (unless pre-scheduled to be out of the office) to arrange a meeting to discuss the student’s concerns and reason for appeal. Meetings must occur within ten (10) business days of email receipt (unless pre-scheduled to be out of the office).
- The Program Director must respond in writing to the student within 48 hours of the arranged meeting with a decision on the student’s appeal.
- If the Program Director is the Course Director assigning the grade, the student may appeal to the Medical Director.
If a resolution is not reached, students may appeal to the Vice Dean of Educational Affairs.
- Students must submit the grade appeal form via email to the Vice Dean of Educational Affairs within five (5) business days of receiving the appeal decision.
- A representative from the Vice Dean’s Office must respond to the student within five (5) business days of email receipt to arrange a meeting to discuss the student’s concerns and reason for appeal. Meetings must occur within two (2) business weeks of email receipt.
- The Vice Dean of Educational Affairs must respond in writing to the student within five (5) business days of the arranged meeting with a decision on the student’s appeal.
- The Vice Dean’s decision is final.

Appeal of APC/Program Recommendation ^A3.14h

Program Recommendations: Students may request a reconsideration of the decision by writing a letter to the Program Director and the Vice Dean of Educational Affairs within five (5) calendar days of the program decision. The decision of the Vice Dean is final.

APC Recommendations: Students may request a review of the decision of the APC by submitting a written request to the Chairperson of the APC no later than five (5) days following receipt of the letter noting the Committee’s decision. In their submission, the student must clearly communicate why the recommendation of the APC should be reconsidered. The student may provide materials they believe support their position for review by the appellate committee. The Chairperson will forward to the Vice Dean for Educational Affairs the student’s written submission along with a summary of the APC’s deliberations and the information presented at the student’s meeting with the APC.

The Vice Dean for Educational Affairs will assemble an ad hoc appellate committee of at least three (3) faculty members, none of whom are members of the APC, in addition to the Associate Dean for Evaluation and Assessment, to consider the student’s appeal.

The student will be provided with an opportunity to meet with the appellate committee. If the student chooses not to meet the committee or requests a meeting and fails to appear at the scheduled time, the committee will decide based on the recommendation of an information presented to the APC, and any additional materials submitted by the student. The appellate committee may decide to uphold the APC’s decision or modify it. The decision of the appellate committee is final.

The Vice Dean for Educational Affairs will provide written notification to the student, Program Director, and the APC Chair of the appellate committee’s decision.

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) requires that all healthcare providers respect patient confidence and realize that healthcare providers are given access to information that is highly confidential and personal. HIPAA mandates that the healthcare provider does not use their position as a healthcare provider to gain inappropriate access to patient records. Furthermore, it mandates that patient information can only be released to others after consent is granted by the patient. HIPAA regulations include fines and/or prosecution for the organization and healthcare provider if information is disseminated without patient consent.

Students receive training and education about HIPAA regulations beginning at student orientation with concepts reintroduced throughout the didactic and clinical years. Annual successful completion of the HIPAA training, as required by Penn State College of Medicine and Penn State Hershey Medical Center, will be documented in the student files. All clinical sites require this training prior to entering clinical rotations.

For students attending clinical rotations, HIPAA is fully enforceable. Students should take every precaution in guarding patient information and should be aware that patient cases should not be discussed in public areas. When documenting student notes for program assignments, all identifying patient information should be removed prior to submitting any documentation to the Program.

The American Academy of Physician Associates has issued a “Code of Ethics of the PA Profession.” The following statement is extracted from this principle regarding patient confidentiality:

“PAs shall uphold the doctrine of confidentiality regarding privileged patient information, unless required to release such information by law or such information becomes necessary to protect the welfare of the patient or community.”

Institutions hold patient privacy in high esteem. Students can be dismissed from clinical rotation sites and from the PA program for violating patient privacy. Students should not access patient files if they are not involved with the patient’s case and should not attempt to access files of people with whom they have no professional relationship.

A confidentiality agreement verifying that the student will maintain confidentiality related to patient matters must be completed by all PA students prior to having contact with patients in a clinical setting. Patient confidentiality is a serious issue and violation of this standard may result in dismissal from the PA Program.

Any violations to HIPAA policies and confidentiality agreements will result in referral to CPC/APC due to professionalism concerns, which may result in dismissal from the PA program.

The University Policy on HIPAA can be found here.

Students requiring a significant amount of time off for any reason (greater than one week of coursework for any course) may need to consider a leave of absence. The purpose of the leave of absence is to allow students to interrupt their coursework without having to apply for re-enrollment and without changing conditions and requirements of their academic program.

Furthermore, the APC may determine that a leave of absence is necessary for students that are unable to meet the technical standards of the PA program until a condition, illness, injury, or other circumstance is resolved. Students will be provided with the indication for leave of absence and the expectations that must be fulfilled to return to didactic or clinical year coursework. Upon receipt of such documents by the Associate Dean for Student Affairs, the program will work to return the student to their coursework as soon as possible.

Except in circumstances of family/medical emergencies or military deployment, a leave of absence will only be granted to students that have successfully completed the didactic phase of the program.

Students may request a leave of absence due to personal, health, or educational reasons.
A leave of absence will not be granted to students on academic probation.
A leave of absence request will not be granted for a period in excess of one (1) year.
Students will be expected to return to the College of Medicine according to the conditions of the approved leave set forth by the PA Program Director and Associate Dean of Student Affairs
If at the end of the specified length for the leave of absence the student does not notify the PA Program Director and/or Associate Dean, in writing, of the intentions to resume formal studies, it will be assumed that the student has withdrawn from the College of Medicine.
Students who are unable to fulfill the Technical Standards set forth by the program will not be permitted to matriculate into or progress through the PA Program.
- Students with medical emergencies during didactic or clinical year coursework; including but not limited to medical response calls in the classroom or clinical setting, hospital admission, surgical procedures, mental health emergencies, or other injuries that limit class/lab participation must be evaluated by a licensed healthcare provider and submit a medical clearance/fitness for duty to the Associate Dean of Student Affairs office prior to returning to class or clinical duties.
- Students requesting a leave of absence for health reasons must provide a written request from the treating health professional involved in care at the time the request is made. In addition, re-evaluation of the treating health professional and a fitness for duty confirmation must be received by the Associate Dean of Student Affairs prior to resuming studies.

Leave of Absence Procedures

If a student desires a leave of absence for any given reason, the student will schedule a meeting with the Program Director to discuss the leave of absence.

The student will then submit a written request for leave of absence that provides the effective date of the leave of absence with rationale, including supporting documentation as necessary:

Students requesting a leave of absence that will span less than one semester must submit a written request for leave of absence to the PA program director, which will be granted or denied at the program’s discretion.
Students requesting a leave of absence that will span greater than one semester must submit a written request for leave of absence to the PA program director, which will be granted or denied, at the discretion of the PA Program Director and Associate Dean of Student Affairs.

As applicable, the student will receive official approval in writing that summarizes the conditions pertinent to the leave and set a date by which time the student must notify the PA Program Director and/or Associate Dean of Student Affairs in writing of their intent to return as scheduled.

Students requesting a leave of absence for health reasons must provide a written request from the treating health professional involved in care at the time the request is made. In addition, re-evaluation of the treating health professional and a fitness for duty confirmation must be received by the Associate Dean of Student Affairs prior to resuming studies.
- This fitness for duty must include a statement equivalent to the following: “the student is able from a medical/mental health standpoint to meet program required technical standards and resume studies under usual and customary conditions for students within the PSCOM.”

Student Medical Documentation should only be submitted to the Associate Dean of Student Affairs, where it will be kept confidential. The student is responsible for completing all necessary steps on the leave of absence form. Upon completion, the original copy of the leave of absence form will be placed in the student’s academic file and a copy will be provided to the Registrar and the student for their records.

A request for an extension of the leave of absence must be approved by the PA Program Director and Associate Dean for Student Affairs. A leave of absence may not exceed 1 year.

Students should note that re-entry to the program is not a guarantee and is a space-dependent decision that will be made on a case-by-case basis.

All costs associated with dismissal from the program are the responsibility of the student.

Breaches in Professional Behaviors

Breaches in student conduct and violations in academic integrity are considered breaches in professional behaviors for the purpose of the MD and PA medical education programs.

The Penn State University has identified specific breaches that are investigated through the Student Conduct process. The Penn State University Student Code of Conduct provides a list of examples of inappropriate, unprofessional or threatening behaviors (not an exhaustive list) that would be considered grounds for an adverse action.

Violations in Academic Integrity are investigated at the level of the course or clerkship with assistance of the Office of Evaluation and Assessment and may be referred to the APC. The Academic Integrity Policy G-9 provides a list of examples of academic integrity violations (not an exhaustive list) that would be considered grounds for adverse actions and/or dismissal from the MD or PA program.

If the alleged breach in student conduct has been determined to 1) require further response, 2) no adaptable resolution has been identified, 3) written notice has been provided to the student, and 4) an informal meeting has been provided to the student, the student will meet with respective APC for review and determination of an action plan, which could include (but not limited to) deceleration, warning, probation, up to and including dismissal.

It is expected that the PA Program is the student’s primary responsibility from matriculation to graduation. ^A3.14i

Employment while enrolled in the PA program is not prohibited and students are not required to disclose to the program whether paid employment is taking place. However, students are strongly discouraged from working while enrolled in the PA program.

Concessions for missed classes, late assignments, scheduled assessments, and clinical rotation obligations due to work outside of the program will not be made.

Students are not permitted to work for the PA program in any capacity while enrolled as a student at the Penn State College of Medicine. ^A3.02

Students may not substitute for, or function as, instructional faculty, clinical staff, or administrative staff while enrolled as a student at the Penn State College of Medicine. ^A3.03a,b

Culture of Respect in Education

The (ORLE) is dedicated to fostering an educational community at Penn State College of Medicine in which all learners and educators feel supported, challenged, valued, and respected. Mistreatment, discrimination, harassment, and sexual harassment are prohibited at Penn State College of Medicine. ORLE also supports students requesting their assistance and provides a means for students to report incidents where the student perceives that mistreatment has taken place.

The can be found here. Questions? Contact the Director of the Office for a Respectful Learning Environment:

Debra Byler, MD
dbyler@pennstatehealth.psu.edu
717.531.8790

As necessary, students may report mistreatment confidentially through the PA Program Director, completion of the Mistreatment Reporting Form, your advisors, or the PA Program . All allegations are investigated.

The Mistreatment Reporting Form can be completed either anonymously or with the student’s contact information as part of this action. Forms can be completed either anonymously or with the student’s contact information as part of this action. Students that wish to receive feedback from their concerns will need to provide their contact information.

Students who violate the anti-harassment policy will be referred to the Academic Progress Committee (APC), as the program expects professional behavior on the part of the student.

If a student on clinical rotations believes that they are being put into an environment where any type of harassment is suspected that student is to immediately contact the Clinical Year Team or Program Director. If a student feels unsafe at any point during the supervised clinical practices, the student is to seek safety at once, notify appropriate authorities, and then notify the Clinical Year Team or Program Director once they are in a safe environment.

The College of Medicine is committed to upholding the Penn State policy of providing a responsive environment free of intolerance, discrimination, harassment, and coercion. Students should never be placed in an environment where harassment occurs. It is the goal and intent of Penn State University, the College of Medicine, and the PA Program to create learning environments that are always conducive to positive and respectful behavior; with the students, faculty, and staff being held to a high standard of professional behavior. Environments which do not encourage, and support respect, dignity, and professionalism will not be tolerated.

Harassment is defined as verbal, written or physical conduct directed at a person, or a group based on color, race, national origin, ethnicity, disability, age, gender or sexual orientation where the offensive behavior is intimidating, hostile or demeaning or could or does result in mental, emotional or physical discomfort, embarrassment, ridicule or harm.

Harassment includes not only offensive behavior that interferes with a person’s or group’s well-being or development, but also behaviors that interfere with one’s employment, educational status, performance, that creates a hostile working, academic or social environment. In this regard, sexual violence is deemed to be a form of sexual harassment.

It is a violation for students, faculty, staff, guests, visitors or anyone else acting at the instigation of a university person — to:

Engage in any form of harassment whether intentional or unintentional on the campus or in the off-campus area.
Retaliate against a person who has initiated an inquiry or complaint having to do with harassment.

Racial Harassment is defined as verbal, written or physical conduct — either a single incident or a persistent pattern of behavior — directed at a person or a group based on one’s color, race, national origin or ethnicity, where the offensive behavior is intimidating, hostile or demeaning or could or does result in mental, emotional or physical discomfort, embarrassment, ridicule or harm.

Harassment based on Sexual Orientation is defined as any verbal, written or physical conduct directed at a person, or a group based on sexual orientation or perceived sexual orientation where the offensive behavior is intimidating, hostile or demeaning or could or does result in mental, emotional or physical discomfort, embarrassment, ridicule or harm.

Sexual Harassment and Violence

Sexual harassment is defined as unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature for submission to such conduct:

is a condition for grades, academic status, promotion, or employment;
is used as a basis for academic/employment/clinical placement decisions affecting an individual;
interferes unreasonably with the individual’s academic/clinical performance or creates an offensive, hostile, or intimidating learning/working environment.

Sexual violence refers to physical sexual acts perpetrated against a person’s will or where a person is incapable of giving consent due to the victim’s use of drugs or alcohol. An individual also may be unable to give consent due to an intellectual or other disability.

Any member of the College of Medicine Community who experiences sexual harassment or inappropriate behavior that interferes with the learning environment should contact the Title IX Coordinator in the Office of Ethics and Compliance.

Amber Grove, Title IX Coordinator, x5088, titleix@psu.edu

Students may also contact the Office of Equal Opportunity and Access (OEOA) at University Park at 814-863-0471, utilize the 24-hour Penn State reporting hotline (800-560-1637), or submit an online report: Office of Sexual Misconduct Reporting & Response Incident Report Form.

For Clinical Year Students—if you experience discrimination, harassment, or bullying at any time during your rotation, contact the Clinical Year Team and/or the Program Director immediately.

Professionalism

Students displaying inappropriate behavior in the classroom, on campus, or in the clinical environment will not be tolerated and may result in dismissal from the classroom or the clinical environment and completion of a Behavior Concern Form with referral to CPC or APC for review.

Students are expected to demonstrate professional and altruistic behavior at all times using the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) guidelines, as detailed below.

Students must exhibit honesty and integrity, including:
- Forthright, truthful and trustworthy behavior.
- Appropriate identification of status when participating in patient care.
- Showing ethical behavior at all times.
Students must demonstrate responsibility and reliability, including:
- Punctuality and meeting deadlines.
- Compliance with policies, rules, regulations and laws.
- Attendance at required sessions.
- Demonstration of appropriate prioritization between personal and professional life.
- Demonstration of accountability, including appropriate assumption of responsibility and reporting inappropriate behaviors.
Students must demonstrate respect for others, including:
- Respecting the authority and knowledge of other professionals.
- Working with and showing respect to all team members.
- Showing appropriate grooming and cleanliness.
Students must demonstrate altruism and empathy, including:
- Showing appropriate concern for others.
- Perception and acknowledgment of others’ physical, emotional and social needs.
- Demonstration of sensitivity and concern regarding those needs.
- Maintenance of objectivity in difficult interactions with other individuals.
Students must demonstrate commitment to competence and excellence, including:
- Setting, achieving and reflecting on realistic goals.
- Routinely seeking to develop additional knowledge and skills.
- Striving for excellence rather than to just meet minimum standards.
Students must demonstrate responsibility for self-assessment and self-improvement, including:
- Admission of errors and accepting responsibility for actions.
- Seeking feedback and implementing changes from feedback.
- Demonstration of appropriate self-confidence.
- Asking for help when appropriate.
Students must demonstrate respect for patients and their families, including:
- Sensitivity to patient beliefs, opinions, gender, race, culture, religion, sexual preference, and status.
- Respecting patients’ autonomy and right to choose.
- Demonstration and maintenance of sensitivity to confidential patient information.

Inability to maintain the above professionalism standards while enrolled in the PA program will result in referral to the Competency Progress Committee and/or the Academic Progress Committee for review, which may result in provision of recommendations for remediation of unprofessional behaviors, professionalism probation, or dismissal from the PA program.

Assessments

Students must abide by the program-related assessment guidelines and uphold academic integrity expectations.

Exams will begin promptly at the start time listed in the Outlook calendar.
- Students that arrive late for the exam will not be given additional time to complete their assessment.
Proctors will not answer questions during the exam or during the exam review. Interpretation is part of the question.
Lecture Hall:
- Backpacks must be placed in the back of the room prior to the exam start.
- Students must spread out across the front half of the lecture hall.
- Upon completion and submission of the exam, students must move to the back half of the lecture hall for exam review.
- During the exam review, students will have the opportunity to independently review the questions that they missed. No notes are to be utilized during the review.
- Following completion of the exam review, students will quietly exit through the back of the lecture hall to minimize distraction.
PA Classroom:
- Backpacks must be placed in the front or back of the room prior to the exam start.
- Upon submission of the exam, students will remain in their seats for exam review.
- During the exam review, students will have the opportunity to independently review the questions that they missed. No notes are to be utilized during the review.
- Following completion of the exam review, students will exit the classroom quietly.
With the exception of the device utilized for taking the examination, no electronic devices are allowed on student’s desks during test taking, including smart watch devices.

No baseball caps, hats, hoods or sunglasses may be worn during test-taking.

Students should utilize the restroom prior to the examination. If necessary, students may utilize the restroom during the examination, but only one (1) student may leave the room at a time. Students may not visit the cafeteria, coffee shop, or other areas during assessments.

Acts of plagiarism, cheating, and other illegal behaviors are subject to disciplinary actions, including dismissal from the Program.

Classroom Conduct

Students are expected to arrive to class ready to learn at least 10 minutes before class starts.
Students are expected to attend all classes.
Students are expected to complete all class assignments within the deadlines provided.
Students should keep all cell phones turned off or silenced during classroom and laboratory sessions unless instructed otherwise.
Students must conduct themselves in a professional manner while in the classroom and demonstrate collegiality with students, faculty, staff, and guest lecturers at all times.
Students should be cognizant of entering and leaving class as to minimize distractions to fellow learners.

Clinical Site Conduct

Students should participate in clinical rotations as active learners. Throughout their clinical rotations, PA students shall be considered an extension of their specific preceptors and are permitted to perform tasks delegated to them with supervision. Although the specific role of the PA student will vary from

rotation to rotation, there are certain broad guidelines that should be followed by all preceptors, clinical faculty, clinical sites, and students.

Conduct:

Students must interact in a professional and respectful manner with all members of the health care and educational team
Students will be under the supervision of the clinical preceptor or a designee at all times while conducting clinical activities (office hours, hospital/nursing home rounds, surgeries, on-call, etc.).
Students are expected to follow the preceptor’s office hours, and may be required on site for evenings, weekends, or immediately before or after a holiday.
Students are expected to complete chart review prior to the start of their clinical day and should be logging this time as clinical hours.
Students are required to arrive 15 minutes prior to the start of their assigned shift. Failure to arrive 15 minutes prior to the start of the shift will be considered late/tardy and may be reflected in the preceptor evaluation and/or submission of a professionalism concern form (see attendance section above on tardiness).
Penn State College of Medicine student badges must be worn during all patient encounters, without exception.
White coats are to be worn at all times unless otherwise directed by your preceptor.
PA Students mustproperly identify themselves at all times as PA Students.
Students will follow and adhere to the guidelines and directions of the preceptor regarding all aspects of patient care, including HIPAA regulations.
Students must notify the Clinical Year Team and their preceptors of all absences due to illness or emergencies prior to the start of their scheduled shift.
Students must follow the appropriate procedures for requesting time off from rotations.
- Student requests for time off from clinical rotations must be submitted to the clinical year team, not to the preceptor.
Students are not permitted to function in settings outside of the preceptor’s practice unless approved by the Clinical Year Team and supervised by a preceptor or program faculty.

In addition to the above outlines for professionalism and conduct, the following guidelines are to be followed during all clinical rotations and at all sites:

Students are expected to conform to the laws, rules and regulations and by-laws of the state, hospitals and/or office practices in which they are being trained.
Students may perform evaluations, examinations, procedures and patient education that the supervising preceptor is willing to train, approve and supervise within the preceptor’s scope of practice.
No student is permitted to carry pre-signed forms or prescription slips.
The student is permitted to examine, document, offer treatment plans and encourage health promotion and disease prevention plans to the patient, in accordance with the medical practice policies and procedures.
Students are not permitted to seek medical advice for themselves, family, or friends while on clinical rotations.
Students may only perform procedural skills under the direct supervision of a clinical faculty member or designated preceptor.
No patient may leave the care of the practice or hospital until evaluated by the preceptor.
Students must have access to their Immunization records at all times. Failure to provide required documentation will result in the inability of students to begin clinical rotations, which will result in a delay in graduation due to deceleration.
Any questions regarding the scope of practice for the student must be addressed with the preceptor and to the Clinical Year Team.
Students may not discuss or criticize the actions of their patients, peers, healthcare professionals, or any others in a public manner and must discuss any problems or concerns directly with the Clinical Coordinator.
Students at clinical sites who benefit from housing provided by the clinical site must abide by the housing guidelines, policies, and procedures outlined by the clinical site or organization that provides the housing. (i.e., cleaning).

Failure to comply with the above conduct expectations result in deduction from course grade and will result in submission of a professionalism form to CPC/APC.

Additionally, students are NOT permitted to substitute for instructional faculty, clinical, or administrative staff during clinical rotations.^A3.05

Communication Etiquette

Students should note that standards of professional behavior apply to all forms of communication and program-related items.

Students:

Students should forward their PSU email to their Penn State Health email.
Students are expected to check their email at the beginning and end of each day.
Students should respond to email correspondences in a timely manner.
Emails shall be written in a professional and appropriate manner
- Designate if message is urgent in the email subject line
- Always address an email with the appropriate salutation
- Sign all emails
- Before pressing send, read your email aloud—maintain a professional demeanor
Urgent student needs will be addressed within twenty-four (24) hours unless faculty/staff are out of the office as signified by an away message in their email.

Faculty/Staff:

Faculty/staff will respond to all non-urgent program/course-related emails from students within seventy-two (72) hours of receipt.
Faculty will notify students of any changes to course syllabi within twenty-four (24) hours of the change via CANVAS (except in cases of emergencies).
Faculty will notify students of changes in course instruction times and locations via CANVAS and/or the program Outlook Calendar.
Faculty are available to students through email, office hours, and personal appointments as designated in their course syllabi and on StarFish.
Faculty will provide students with a grade on assignments and examinations within two (2) weeks of the assignment due date/date of examination.

Interpersonal Behavior

Utilization of appropriate interpersonal behaviors will facilitate a respectful and collegial environment for student learners.

Students must demonstrate emotional maturity and stability through challenges while forming professional work relationships with faculty, staff, preceptorship/clinical rotation personnel, and their peers.
Engagement in physical or verbal altercations will not be tolerated.
Positive and constructive interpersonal skills should be utilized in conflict resolution.

Social Media Policy

When engaging in online communication using social media and networking platforms, the Penn State College of Medicine PA Program expects all students to behave in an ethical and responsible manner with this form of communication.

The definition of social networking includes but is not limited to: Facebook, YouTube, Flickr, X, Reddit, Instagram, TikTok, Weblogs, Snap Chat, Online Discussion Boards, or any other online application that allows an individual to post or publish content on the internet.

The following guidelines have been developed to protect the privacy, confidentiality, and reputation of patients, fellow students, faculty and staff, clinical educators, clinical sites, the Penn State College of Medicine PA Program and Pennsylvania State University.

The PA Program has a ZERO tolerance for any violation of the social media policy, which will result in referral to the CPC for further evaluation.

Statement:

Students may be held personally liable for proprietary, defamatory, libelous material posted on any form of social media.
Students are expected to follow all clinical site policies regarding social media.
Students are not to use social media during classes and may be excused at the discretion of the faculty member facilitating the class, which will reflect as an unexcused absence.
Students will be referred to CPC/APC for posting material that is defamatory, profane, threatening, harassing, hateful or private information that is humiliating to patients and their families, students, hospital/clinical staff, clinical instructors, faculty, staff and subject to disciplinary action.
Occurrences of inappropriate use of social and electronic media may be submitted to the State Board of Medicine, which may affect licensure.
The use of non-PSU email addresses or online identities can be investigated and traced, so their use does not protect the student from responsibility and any liabilities related to posting online materials or social media.
Violation of HIPAA policies may result in legal action against the student and dismissal from the Program for Professionalism violations of HIPAA.

Student Health

Office of Student Health

Location: University Fitness Center

Hours: 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday

Email: student_health@pennstatehealth.psu.edu

Phone: 717-531-5998

The Blood Borne Pathogen Policy ^A3.05a,b,c for Penn State College of Medicine PA Program closely complies with the most current evidence contained within the SHEA (Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America) guideline and CDC Recommendations for Management of Medical Students who are infected with Hepatitis B Virus. This policy also directly aligns with Penn State Health’s policies and discusses the guidelines for students with other blood-borne pathogens, including Hepatitis C Virus and Human Immunodeficiency Virus.

In the event that a student is involved in an invasive incident with a needle or scalpel, or exposed to another person’s blood or bodily fluid, the following procedure should be followed.

Exposure at Penn State Health Sites:

Wash needle sticks and cuts with soap and water
Flush splashes to the nose, mouth, or skin with soap and water
Irrigate eyes with clean water
Report injury/exposure to the supervising physician who is responsible for source testing
Report the incident via ReadySet
- View ReadySet instructions (ePass login required)
If the incident occurs after regular business hours, report to the Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center Emergency Department and follow-up with Employee Health on the next business day

Exposure at Unaffiliated Clinic Sites or Other Institutions:

Report injury/exposure to the supervising physician who is responsible for source testing
Follow the institution/hospital’s established policy for exposure
Report to the emergency department
Report the incident via ReadySet
- View ReadySet instructions (ePass login required)
Students should seek care immediately after the incident

PA Program Faculty will:

Provide education and training to all students in appropriate methods to prevent the transmission of communicable diseases, including blood-borne pathogens as consistent with the CDC’s guidelines for standard and additional precautions. This infection control training will be reviewed during the student’s initial orientation, in didactic coursework, and on entry to the Clinical Year.
Maintain confidentiality to the greatest extent possible regarding information disclosed by students concerning their serological status and disclose relevant information only with appropriate consent.

Students are:

Required to comply with the College of Medicine blood-borne pathogen policies and requirements.
Aware that they will be required to participate in the care of patients with various communicable diseases or infections including hepatitis B, hepatitis C, and HIV.
Ethically and professionally responsible for knowing their serological status with respect to blood-borne pathogens and to inform Student Health if they are positive for a blood-borne pathogen infection. Confidentiality concerning the student’s state of health will be maintained to the greatest extent possible. An Expert Review Panel may be consulted for guidance, keeping the name of the student as confidential as possible.
- Disclosure may be necessary if there is reason to believe that the infected individual has declined or has failed to follow the provisions of this policy regarding personal notification of appropriate personnel or fails to respond within a reasonable amount of time to a recommendation that they personally notify the person in charge of a particular clinic or department.
Expected to be in a state of health such that they may participate in academic programs, including patient care, without posing a risk to themselves or others.
Obligated to comply with hepatitis B immunization policies and requirements as outlined by the College of Medicine and Student Health. This policy requires that all students receive the hepatitis B vaccine and have positive serologies on subsequent quantitative serology titers. Further testing is provided for those students who still do not respond to a second series of the vaccine.
Mandated to comply with the Communicable Disease Protocol as outlined by the College of Medicine according to the most current CDC recommendations.
Required to use standard precautions and additional practices in order to prevent the spread of blood-borne pathogens and other infections.^A3.08a
Required to disclose, as per school policy, if they are potentially exposed to a blood-borne pathogen in a clinical setting and provide a blood specimen if indicated. This information is reviewed annually under the Sharp Injury/Blood and Body Fluid Exposure Policy

PA Students Potentially Exposed to a Blood-Borne Pathogen are:^A3.08b

Required to seek medical attention immediately after the event for HIV rapid testing and post-exposure prophylaxis, if indicated
Required to report and document the occurrence using the Student Exposure Form
Required to follow post-exposure testing and treatment as outlined in the Sharps Injury/Blood and Body Fluid Exposure Policy.
- Students must create an account through Penn State Health Employee Health for assistance with invasive incident/bloodborne pathogen exposures.
  1. Go to Google Chrome; https://pennstatehealth.readysetsecure.com
  2. Select New User
  3. Complete the next screen with the following information:
    1. Access org/code: 3468
    2. Region: Penn State Health Employee Health
    3. Program Type: COM students—invasive incidents only
  4. Complete with personal information
    1. First name, Last name, DOB
    2. For Employee ID: use your full DOB (ex. 05081988 for May 8, 1988)
    3. Last 4 of SSN
    4. Population Type: Student
    5. Home address
  5. Proceed to the next screen and register with ReadySet
  6. Click next and review/confirm your information
  7. Remember what password you enter---you need this to log back in!
  8. Complete the security questions
  9. Select agree
  10. Click Report Incident and complete as detailed as possible
  11. Write down the incident ID (confidential), give it to the person preparing your labs

PA Students Infected with Blood-Borne Pathogens:

Are professionally and ethically obligated to inform Student Health of any blood-borne infection.
- May pursue their studies as long as their continued involvement does not pose a health or safety hazard to themselves or others, which may require modification to their program of study to reduce risks of blood-borne pathogen transmission.
- Are required to immediately disclose if they accidentally expose a patient to their blood-borne pathogen in a clinical setting. Pre-notified to patients is not suggested or required.
Must be offered advice and counseling that will assist them regarding clinical practice and career choices.
- May have clinical duties or exposure modified, limited, or abbreviated based on recommendations from an expert review panel as outlined in the CDC guidelines—particularly as it relates to the performance of exposure prone procedures and the status of the blood borne infection.
Are aware that an expert review panel will review and monitor their condition at the request of Student Health and Vice Dean for Educational Affairs, keeping the name of the student as confidential as possible.
- The expert review panel will include the Vice Dean, an infectious disease and hospital epidemiology specialist, liver disease specialist with expertise in blood-borne pathogens and their infectivity, the Student Health Director, a person with bioethics experience, and legal counsel.
- The expert panel will:
  - Advise the student to apply for ADA status based on their medical condition, which then allows the panel to design necessary accommodations to prevent students from participating in exposure-prone procedures, such as those encountered in surgery or OB/GYN, without jeopardizing their medical education.
  - Designate contact personnel within departments that perform exposure-prone procedures to communicate regarding applicable restrictions that may apply according to CDC guidelines
  - Develop a plan of counseling and advice to assist the student regarding clinical practice and career choices. This information will be discussed with the student by the Vice Dean of Medical Education and/or the Director of Student Health.
  - Evaluate the student’s status and continued testing and/or treatment as indicated in this policy.
Have the right to appeal decisions made by the Vice Dean or Expert Panel to the Dean in writing as a proposed amendment to the decision and the rational supporting such an amendment. The student may submit additional documentation from their personal physician or other health care provider in support of their appeal.

Students should present their insurance to be billed for the initial work-up.

Timely Referral for Student Services ^A3.07

Program faculty, staff, and leadership shall refer students to services addressing personal issues that may impact their progress in the PA program as soon as they become aware of a concern. These services include student health, the office of professional mental health, cognitive skills, student aid, and disability services.

Provision of Medical Care to Students ^A3.06

Except in emergency situations, program principal faculty, the program medical director, and program director may not participate in the medical care of PA students enrolled in the Penn State College of Medicine PA program.

Program faculty, staff, and leadership may recommend that students seek care at the Student Health office, Penn State Health’s complimentary COMMpanion virtual Primary Care service, their PCP, or to the Emergency Department if health care needs arise.

Chemical Hazard Exposure ^{A3.05 a,b,c}

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) devised the Hazard Communication Standard (HCS) to ensure that information about chemical and toxic substance hazards in the workplace and associated protective measures are disseminated to workers via Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS).

Hazardous Chemicals: any chemical classified as a health hazard or simple asphyxiate in accord with the Hazard Communication Standard.

Students exposed to chemical hazards in classroom laboratories must notify Program Faculty immediately during Didactic Year, or their Clinical Preceptor followed by the Clinical Year Team if the exposure occurs during Clinical Rotations. Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) must be readily available wherever chemicals are used. The student is responsible for identifying the location of the MSDS information sheets as part of their orientation to each clinic/hospital site where they are rotating.

Students must complete the Student Exposure Form following exposure. Post-exposure care is dictated by the type of chemical exposure.

Students are strongly recommended to have an evaluation performed by a healthcare provider following any chemical exposure. The protocols set forth at non-Penn State Health clinical sites will supersede those set forth by the College of Medicine and students should follow the directions given by their preceptor.

Students are responsible for all costs related to care and treatment.

A virtual-first primary care service that provides students with accessible, personalized healthcare through a dedicated Primary Care Provider (PCP) and a team of nurses and health navigators. Upon enrollment, students complete an initial appointment where a PCP develops an individualized health plan based on their medical history and current needs. Throughout the year, the care team offers proactive support, including appointment scheduling, prescription management, responses to non-urgent health questions, and coordination of specialist referrals. Sick and well visits can be requested at any time, with most communications receiving timely responses. COMMpanion is intended to supplement, not replace, traditional health insurance and serves as a convenient, high-quality resource for managing everyday health needs.

Communicable Disease Exposure ^A3.05a,b,c

Communicable diseases are those diseases that are caused by an infectious agent that is spread from person-to-person. The CDC identifies reporting cases of communicable diseases as an important aspect of the planning and evaluation of disease prevention and control, a pathway for assuring the distribution of appropriate medical care/treatment, and a way to detect outbreaks.

Students are required to have fit testing and PAPR training prior to the start of clinical rotations through Student Health.

If exposure occurs during didactic year, students must immediately notify Student Health, followed by the Clinical Year Team and Program Director if absence from didactic or clinical year studies is necessary.

Exposure to certain diseases (such as tuberculosis, COVID, or measles) may result in the temporary cessation of in-person learning or clinical rotations. In this case, students will work directly with the Program Faculty and/or the Clinical Year Team to develop a plan for the completion of the program coursework.

Students exposed to communicable diseases should be evaluated by their family healthcare provider, or at the Emergency Department. Recommendations surrounding the communicability of the disease will be managed by Department of Health recommendations on a case-by-case basis.

Students must complete the Student Exposure Form following exposure. Post-exposure care is dictated by the type of chemical exposure. Students are strongly recommended to have an evaluation performed by a healthcare provider following any chemical exposure. The protocols set forth at non-Penn State Health clinical sites will supersede those set forth by the College of Medicine and students should follow the directions given by their preceptor.

Students are responsible for all costs related to care and treatment.

COVID-19 Precautions

Any updates to COVID-19 related guidelines for students within the College of Medicine will be relayed to students as policy changes occur.

For the most updated information please review the Student Health webpage.

Students with questions or concerns regarding COVID-19 vaccination should contact the Office of Student Health at 717-531-5998 or Student_Health@pennstatehealth.psu.edu

Failure to comply with Penn State College of Medicine COVID-19 policies will result in referral to the CPC/APC for review and may result in disciplinary action

All students must maintain personal health insurance throughout their professional education.

At the student’s expense, a limited health insurance policy is provided by the University if the student cannot provide proof of insurance coverage. Students may waive out of the Penn State Student Health Insurance Plan but must do so by the deadline date provided. Otherwise, the fee will be automatically charged to their student account.

For an insurance plan to meet the Penn State University mandatory insurance waiver criteria, the insurance plan must feature, at a minimum, all the following:
- Coverage that allows the insured student to receive outpatient, emergency, specialist and inpatient care, maternity benefits, diagnostic testing and procedures, and mental health inpatient and outpatient care, including alcohol and substance abuse treatment. Pay benefits worldwide.
  - A deductible not greater than $3,000 per policy year.
  - Have an unlimited maximum benefit per incident
  - Must be provided by an insurance company domiciled in the United States or must be provided by an international insurance company with a United States partner for handling of insurance claims in the United States.
For students engaged in school-sanctioned activities outside of the United States, evacuation insurance for medical illness and injury or reasons of civil unrest, must be purchased prior to the time of travel.

Questions may be directed to Student Health Insurance at uhs-insurance@psu.edu or 814-865-4847 ext. 6.

Infectious Disease Prevention Program ^A3.09a

Students matriculating into the Penn State College of Medicine PA Program must complete the mandatory requirements and forms listed on the prior to April 3 of their entering year.

Fees will be incurred for students that do not complete these requirements prior to April 3. Students accepted after March 1 will have five (5) weeks from their acceptance date to complete their requirements before incurring the $50 fee, which increases to $100 after six (6) weeks, and to $150 after eight (8) weeks.

Preventive Health Requirements and Immunization Policy for New PA Students ^A3.07a

Healthcare workers are at risk for exposure to serious and potentially deadly diseases. The PSCOM PA Program requires that all students maintain immunizations as recommended for healthcare workers by the CDC (Recommended Vaccines for Healthcare Workers Page), as well as any Penn State Health, or state specific mandates.

Facilities and hospitals may require additional immunizations and titers from students prior to starting clinical rotations at those sites. Cost is the responsibility of the student.

Failure to comply with the Immunization Policy for PA Students, or any additional immunizations and titers for clinical rotations will result in the inability to enter, continue with, or complete the program.

Health Screening: completed by the student, reviewed and signed by a healthcare provider
- Results of student health screenings are maintained confidentially by Student Health.
- Students identified by Student Health with history of chronic illness or other need to establish care will be contacted to schedule an appointment.
Physical Examination: completed/signed by a health care provider within the last 12 months
- Results of the examination are maintained confidentially by Student Health and will not be accessible or reviewed by the program, principal, or instructional faculty.^A3.19
Immunization and Infectious Disease Form: completed and signed by a health care provider with copies of titer results included.
- Immunization and screening results are maintained in the Student Health Office. ^A3.19
  - Student Health Immunization Requirements
- Screening Requirements:
  - Tuberculosis Screening: Results of a two (2) – step PPD or one (1) IGRA blood test are required regardless of prior BCG status.
    - Screening is required within 90 days of arrival on campus
  - HIV Screening: Students are not required to be tested for HIV, but if known positive must identify.
- Immunization Requirements:
  - Influenza (Flu): One (1) dose of influenza vaccine annually is not required but highly recommended.
  - COVID-19: Proof of COVID-19 vaccination is not required but highly recommended.
  - Measles, Mumps, & Rubella (MMR):Two (2) doses of MMR vaccine OR positive serology for Measles, Mumps, and Rubella.
    - If any serologic test is interpreted as “indeterminate” or “equivocal” student should be considered not immune and should receive two (2) doses of MMR vaccine at a minimum interval of 28 days.
  - Hepatitis B: A quantitative titer (numerical value of immunity) with reference range, is required.
    - If no documented evidence of a complete hepB vaccine series, or if you don’t have a blood test that shows you are immune to hepatitis:
    - Get a three (3) dose series of Recombivax HB or Engerix-B (dose # 1 now, # 2 in one month, # 3 approximately five months after # 2) or a two (2) dose series of Heplisav-B with the doses separated by at least 4 weeks followed by an anti-HBs serologic test 1-2 months after the final dose.
    - If titer is negative, complete a second series of two (2) doses of Heplisav-B, followed by an anti-HBs serologic test 1-2 months after the final dose.
    - If titer is still negative, additional testing including Hepatitis B Surface Antigen and Core Antibody should be performed in accordance with CDC recommendations at Hepatitis B Recommendations
  - Varicella (Chickenpox): Two (2) doses of vaccine OR positive serology.
    - If serologic test is interpreted as “indeterminate” or “equivocal” student is not immune and should receive two (2) doses of the Varicella vaccine at a minimum interval of 28 days.
  - Tetanus, Diphtheria, & Pertussis (Tdap):
    - Students must have received one (1) dose of Tdap or Td in the last 5 years.
    - Students who have never received DTaP vaccines, or who vaccination history is unknown, should receive a 3-dose series of the Tdap/Td:
      - Tdap for dose # 1, followed 4 weeks later by Td for dose # 2, followed at least 6 months later by Td for dose # 3. Tdap can substitute for one of the 3 Td doses in the series, preferably the 1^st. Previously administered Tdap/Td count for any or all of this series.
  - Polio: Three (3) or four (4) doses of oral or inactivated polio vaccine. If no documentation, must receive a 3-dose series of IPV: Polio Recommendations
  - Meningococcal: One (1) dose of MCV4 Meningococcal conjugate serogroups A, C, W, Y immunization on OR after their 16^th birthday is required for all students who will reside in campus housing.

Questions about immunization requirements may be directed to Student Health Services. All costs incurred for program / clinical site required immunizations are the responsibility of the student.

All PA students must carry malpractice insurance while enrolled in the PA Program. Malpractice insurance must be renewed annually and is the financial responsibility of the student. A copy of the malpractice insurance certificate will be maintained by the program and will be provided to all clinical sites prior to student arrival at the clinical site. Students should also have a copy of their malpractice insurance readily available at each clinical rotation.

Malpractice coverage must be consistent with requirements for student malpractice in Pennsylvania or requested by the clinical rotation site
Students are not covered by malpractice insurance during any personal volunteer activities that are not coordinated by the PA program
Students must inform the program about any negative outcomes or events that occur during a clinical encounter while on rotations.

Students are not permitted to see patients in an office, clinic, or hospital setting without the clinical preceptor seeing the patient during their visit/hospitalization.

Student Services

The Penn State College of Medicine PA Program provides academic advising from certified and clinically practicing PAs.

Additionally, the Penn State Health Human Resources and Office of Advanced Practice assists in providing preparatory sessions as well as a job fair for PA students in their clinical year of training.

The may also assist graduate students and postdoctoral scholars and fellows in preparing for and pursuing meaningful and rewarding careers through a comprehensive array of programs and services.

The Penn State College of Medicine’s (CSP) provides comprehensive cognitive skills development and learning support to our medical, graduate, and PA students. CSP serves allstudents in the College of Medicine by providing programs to help promote effective and efficient life-long learning. CSP also provides remediation services for students who are struggling academically.

Programs are provided throughout the year based on student needs and interests, including:

Study skills sessions, such as time management, studying and test-taking strategies
Remediation and support for learning
Strategies for content boosting
Using technology to enhance learning
The learning process and effective strategies for learning
Collaboration and approaches for successful group learning

Through these and other engaging and transformative program offerings, students can learn how language, thinking, and metacognition directly impact their knowledge and understanding.

The CSP supports and empowers all students in developing essential skills, provides opportunities for applying these skills to relevant content, and guides students in implementing strategies for success at the College of Medicine.

Program faculty, staff, and leadership may recommend that students seek additional resources or support from the Cognitive Skills Office.

Computing Access

The Harrell Health Sciences Library partners with Information Services to provide walk up IT support Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at the library service desk.

For technical support contact the IS Service Desk at 833-577-HELP (4357) or via email help@pennstatehealth.psu.edu.

Penn State College of Medicine is committed to the success of students with disabilities in all aspects of the University’s educational programs. Students with disability-related needs are encouraged to reach out to the College of Medicine’s student advocacy specialist through the Office of Health Advancement and Community Engagement for consideration of reasonable academic accommodations.

Program faculty, staff, and leadership may recommend that students seek additional resources or support from disability services.

Email: disabilityservices@pennstatehealth.psu.edu
Phone: 717-531-3033

For further information regarding Student Disability Resources at Penn State College of Medicine, please visit the .

Students, faculty, and staff at Penn State College of Medicine and the Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center enjoy free, unlimited access to the Harrell Health Sciences: Research and Learning Commons resources.

The library is open every day with 24-hour badge access to the library commons and printing/copy services.

Librarians are available Monday through Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. (excluding holidays), or by appointment, to provide one-on-one assistance with research.

Student Housing Services

University Manor is a housing complex situated on the campus of Penn State College of Medicine at Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center. University Manor West (UMW) student housing complex is designated for undergraduate students, while University Manor East (UME) student housing complex is designated for postgraduate students and their families.

To be eligible to lease a University Manor apartment the applicant must be:

A full time Medical, Graduate, PA, or Nursing Student
A Medical Resident, Post-Doctoral Fellow, or Visiting Scholar

Housing Office is open Monday through Friday 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. except holidays

Email: housing@pennstatehealth.psu.edu
Phone: 717-531-8210

Office for Professional Mental Health

There are designated non-faculty student health providers at the Hershey campus in the , and at University Park in the University Health Services Office who can provide health and/or psychiatric/psychological services to students. These designated student health providers are not involved in the academic assessment of or decisions about the promotion of PA students.

Program faculty, staff, and leadership may recommend that students seek care at the Office of Professional Mental Health.

Location: College of Medicine in Suite C1746.
Email: PMH@pennstatehealth.psu.edu
Phone: 717-531-8658

Options for Crisis Situations available 24/7/365 include:

Penn State Crisis Line: 877-229-6400
Crisis Text Line: Text “LIONS” to 741-741
Dauphin County Crisis Intervention: 717-232-7511
YWCA/Rape Crisis and Domestic Violence Services: 717-238-7273
Trevor Lifeline for LGBTQ Youth: 1-866-7386
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 800-273-8255
Veterans’ Crisis Line: 800-273-8255
Physician Support Line: 888-409-0141 and physiciansupportline.com

Should any faculty identify a mental health concern about a student, the student will be referred to the office for professional mental health immediately. If no one from the office is available, the student will be encouraged to call the Dauphin County Crisis Hotline or visit the Emergency Department.

While at Penn State College of Medicine or Penn State Health Sites

The Penn State College of Medicine Department of Security upholds its mission to provide for the protection of the lives, well-being and property of patients, students, visitors, and employees at the College of Medicine and Hershey Medical Center campus by providing 24-hour security services.

To reach the 24-hour security dispatcher, students can call 717-531-8711 from an external line or ext. 8711 from an internal line.

While at off-site Clinical Rotation Sites

Safety and security remains essential for students throughout clinical year, regardless of clinical rotation site location. Routine site visits are conducted by the program to evaluate the safety of students and faculty at all clinical sites.

If an incident were to occur while on clinical rotations in which you feel a sense of immediate danger, clearly communicate your distress, remove yourself from the area, and call 911. If at any point you feel unsafe while at your clinical rotation site, the Clinical Year Team should be notified immediately.

All concerns or allegations that question the safety of a student in a clinical rotation site will be investigated promptly by the PA Program or a College of Medicine Designee.

The Penn State College of Medicine Office of Student Aid is committed to assisting PA Students in making informed choices about paying for their graduate education. Although the primary financial responsibility for PA education belongs to the student, there are financial sources that can be explored if financial assistance is necessary. The student aid office provides assistance and counseling to help students regarding financial resources available to them and how to obtain such resources.

The primary application for obtaining financial assistance at the Penn State College of Medicine is the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Our federal student code is 003329.

Program faculty, staff, and leadership may recommend that students seek additional resources or support from the Office of Student Aid.

Email: StudentAid@pennstatehealth.psu.edu
Phone: 717-531-7052

Appendicies

Absence Request Form

Absence Request Form

Academic Integrity Policy

Academic Integrity

Behavior Concern Form

PA Student Concern Form

Confidentiality Agreements

Disability Documentation Guidelines

Disability Documentation Guidelines

Disability Resources at Penn State College of Medicine

Drug Free Workplace Policy

Drug Free Workplace Policy

Immunization Form

Immunization Form

Policies on Respectful Treatment of Learners

Reference Release Information

Sharps and Blood/Body Fluid Exposure Form

Intake of Sharps Injury or Blood/Body Fluid Splash

Student Grievances/Mistreatment

Mistreatment Reporting Form

Student Health Page

University Policy on HIPAA

University Policy on HIPAA

Student Handbook

Explore More

College of Medicine Educational Leadership Team

Program Accreditation Statement

Mission, Vision, Goals and Core Values

Mission Statementplus icon

Vision Statementplus icon

Goalsplus icon

Core Valuesplus icon

Program Admissions

Requirements for Admissionplus icon

Advanced Placement Policy A3.12c

Preference Factors A3.12a

General Application Requirements A3.12b

Healthcare and Patient Care Experience Hoursplus icon

Healthcare and Patient Care Experience Hours A3.12d

Early Assurance Programsplus icon

Criminal Background Checksplus icon

PA Program Criminal Background Check (CBC) Procedures

Drug-Free Workplaceplus icon

Drug and Alcohol Screening Policyplus icon

Technical Standards and Program Competencies

Technical Standards For PA Program Admission, Academic Progress and Graduationplus icon

Technical Standards A3.12e

Competencies for Graduates plus icon

Curriculum, Assessment, and Evaluation

Academic Calendarsplus icon

Curriculumplus icon

Grading and Remediationplus icon

Grading Policy A3.14c

Remediation Policy A3.14c

Graduation Requirementsplus icon

Satisfactory Academic Progress plus icon

Satisfactory Academic Progress A3.14

Satisfactory Academic Progress

Didactic Year

Advisingplus icon

Attendance Policyplus icon

Closures and Delaysplus icon

Dress Code Guidelinesplus icon

Dress Code A3.04

Equipment and Suppliesplus icon

Remediation Proceduresplus icon

Academic Remediation A3.14c

Student Evaluation of Courses, Faculty, Staff and Programplus icon

Transition Blockplus icon

Clinical Year

Advisingplus icon

Attendance Policyplus icon

Attendance at Clinical Rotations

Callback Dayplus icon

Callback Day

Attendance at Callback Day

Callback Day Assignments

Capstone Projectplus icon

Clinical Site Assignment Policyplus icon

Elective and Selective Opportunities

Request for the Development of New Clinical Sites

Closures and Delaysplus icon

Clinical Site Closures and Delays

Federal Holidays

Dress Codeplus icon

Dress Code A3.04

Interview Daysplus icon

Reference Request Policyplus icon

Reference Release Policy

Remediation Proceduresplus icon

Academic Remediation A3.14c

Remediation Procedures

Student Completion of Clinical Rotation Passportsplus icon

Student Documentation Guidelinesplus icon

Student Evaluations of Clinical Sites, Courses, Faculty, Staff, Preceptors and Programplus icon

Student Identification in the Clinical Settingplus icon

Student Logging of Patient Encountersplus icon

Maintenance of Patient Database

Student Performance Evaluation by Preceptorplus icon

Student Site Visitsplus icon

Student Travel to Required Rotation Sitesplus icon

Summative Experienceplus icon

Utilization of PACKRATplus icon

Advanced Placement Policy ^A3.12c

Preference Factors ^A3.12a

General Application Requirements ^A3.12b

Healthcare and Patient Care Experience Hours ^A3.12d

Technical Standards ^A3.12e

Grading Policy^A3.14c

Remediation Policy ^A3.14c

Satisfactory Academic Progress ^A3.14

Dress Code ^A3.04

Academic Remediation ^A3.14c

Dress Code ^A3.04

Academic Remediation ^A3.14c

Deceleration ^A3.14d

Dismissal ^A3.14f

Withdrawal Policy ^A3.14e

Non-Academic Student Grievance Process ^A3.14g

Academic Student Grievance Process ^A3.14g

Appeal of APC/Program Recommendation ^A3.14h

Timely Referral for Student Services ^A3.07

Provision of Medical Care to Students ^A3.06

Chemical Hazard Exposure ^{A3.05 a,b,c}

Communicable Disease Exposure ^A3.05a,b,c

Infectious Disease Prevention Program ^A3.09a