Mission and Goals

The mission of the Yale School of Medicine Physician Associate Program is to educate outstanding clinicians and to foster leaders who will serve their communities and advance quality healthcare.

The Yale PA Program imparts the skills requisite for life-long learning by encouraging students to be self-directed during their education. The program provides a foundation of medical knowledge required for PA practice while exposing students to medical innovation that will be important for the future.

Our goals include educating individuals to integrate the clinical data that they obtain from their medical history, physical examination, and laboratory analysis in order to form a differential diagnosis for the patient condition. We emphasize proficiency in a wide range of medical procedures. Our students are expected to utilize technological resources appropriately and with discrimination.

Finally, it is our goal to facilitate the maturation of several important interpersonal characteristics during the PA student training. Our students are taught to practice in an ethical, empathetic and professional manner. Our training is intended to emphasize the team based approach to the provision of medical care in the United States.