Ballweg’s Physician Associate, 8th Edition

SECTION I Overview
1. History of the Profession
2. Current Issues and Future Directions
3. Physician Associate Relationship to Physicians
4. Physician Associate Education: Past, Present, and Future Challenges
5. Assuring Quality for Physician Associates: Accreditation, Certification, Licensing, and Privileging
6. International Development of the Physician Associate Profession
7. Health Care Financing and Reimbursement
8. The Political Process

SECTION II Medical Knowledge
9. The Postgenomic Era: Genetic and Genomic Applications in Clinical Practice
10. Chronic Care Perspectives
11. Considerations for a Logical Approach to Medication Prescribing

SECTION III Interpersonal and Communication Skills
12. Effective Communication for Patient-Centered Care
13. Patient Education
14. Bridging Cultural Gaps in Clinical Communication

SECTION IV Patient Care/Clinical Rotations
15. Success in the Clinical Year
16. Safety in Clinical Settings
17. Student Mistreatment
18. Family Medicine
19. Internal Medicine
20. Women’s Health
21. Pediatrics
22. Behavioral Science and Medicine: Essentials in Practice
23. Surgical Rotation
24. Emergency Medicine
25. Introduction to Elective Rotations
26. Cardiology
27. Dermatology
28. Orthopedics
29. Oncology
30. Other Medical Subspecialties
31. Other Surgical Subspecialties
32. International Clinical Rotations

SECTION V Professionalism
33. Professionalism
34. Academic Integrity
35. Clinical Ethics
36. Medical Malpractice and Risk Management
37. Postgraduate Clinical Training Programs for Physician Assistants
38. Stress, Burnout, and Self-Care for PAs

SECTION VI Practice-Based Learning and Improvement
39. Interprofessional Practice and Education
40. Evidence-Based Medicine
41. Research and the Physician Assistant
42. Health Disparities
43. Patient Safety and Quality of Care

SECTION VII Systems-Based Practice
44. Health and Health Care Delivery Systems
45. Post Acute Care, Rehabilitation, and Long-Term Care Systems
46. Population Health
47. Health Care for People Experiencing Homelessness
48. Correctional Medicine
49. Military Medicine
50. Urban Health Care
51. Rural Health Care
52. Accessible Care for Patients With Disabilities

SECTION VIII Your PA Career
53. Transition to Professional Practice
54. Finding Your Niche
55. Leadership and Advancement for Physician Assistants
56. Be a Physician Assistant Educator
57. Professional Service

Appendix Competencies for the Physician Assistant Profession
Index
Online Resources
A Primer on Item Writing
A Primer on Learning Objectives

Tamara S. Ritsema, PhD, MPH, PA-C/R, Associate Professor, Department of Physician Assistant Studies, George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Washington, DC, USA, Senior Lecturer, Physician Associate Programme, St. George's, University of London, London, UK, Darwin L. Brown, MPH, PA-C, DFAAPA, Academic Director, School of Medicine, Physician Assistant Program, Creighton University, Omaha, NE, USA, Bettie Coplan, PhD, PA-C, Associate Professor, Department of Physician Assistant Studies, Northern Arizona University, Phoenix, AZ, USA, Michael J. MacLean, MS, PA-C, Assistant Professor, Department of Medical Education, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine Chicago, IL, USA and Joseph Zaweski, MPAS, PA-C, Assistant Dean and Program Director, Physician Assistant Program, Valparaiso University, Valparaiso, IN, USA