Development of Clinical Pathophysiology Lectures for Physician Assistant (PA) Students

Abstract

Physiology is an essential foundation of medicine, yet it is often taught with a strong emphasis on biophysics and minimal clinical references. Pathophysiology breeches this gap, but it is often neglected placing the burden primarily on the students to make the connections between basic function and clinical application. PA programs present a unique challenge, where similar breadth and depth of material is covered in half the time of medical programs providing much less opportunity for integration of knowledge. We developed lectures with the primary objective of integration of pathophysiology and clinical medicine. We chose five emergency medicine relevant topics: heart failure, respiratory failure, acute kidney injury, hypertensive urgencies/emergencies and circulatory shock; and, in close collaboration between clinician (MPS) and basic scientist (FKJ), developed comprehensive pathophysiology and medicine lecture pairs for each. All materials have been previously covered in the respective physiology and clinical medicine courses from an organ system point‐of‐view. Lecture pairs were delivered “back‐to‐back” in the pathophysiology course and were tested on the same exam using higher order pathophysiology and clinical scenario based questions. From student performance on the exam, as well as anonymous student feedback we found this approach to be highly successful. Students were not only able to solve clinical problems, but also demonstrated a strong understanding of pathophysiology, and perceived improved command of the clinical material. We feel this is an important initial step towards reforming the approach to medical physiology education.