The Yale Physician Associate Program is planning to expand its impact and reach to students around the country. After six months of thorough study, the School of Medicine has approved adding a new pathway for earning a Yale PA degree by blending innovative online coursework with on-site clinical experiences. Approval from the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA) is pending.
Importantly, in creating this opportunity, the Yale PA Program would help meet the growing need for qualified physician associates/assistants in primary care across the country and in medically underserved areas.
The blended format would feature collaborative, live classes during which students build meaningful relationships with peers and faculty in a face-to-face online setting, as well as high-quality, interactive course work developed by Yale faculty. Groups of students would meet online and go through real clinical cases and discuss medical ethics or trends in PA practice. The Program also would feature in-person immersive experiences that allow students to collaborate with classmates and professors on-site at Yale’s campus in New Haven.
2U, an educational technology company that is working with 12 universities including the University of North Carolina, Georgetown University, and Northwestern University, will be providing the technology platform and support.
PA Program Director James Van Rhee said, “The blended program will provide the same didactic and clinical training that on-campus students receive, with key improvements such as immersive, interactive course videos that all of our students—both those in the traditional program and in the new blended program—can review as often as they want.”
For more information, visit the new Program’s website at pa.yale.edu.