DPAS alumni from the class of 2023 come together in Pittsburgh.
The Doctor of Physician Assistant Studies (DPAS) program is only one year old, but it is already making its mark. This fully online program designed for working professionals helps students develop the skills they need to be at the leading edge of their profession.
“Our DPAS program is unique,” notes Dipu Patel, vice chair for Innovation and professor, Department of Physician Assistant Studies (PAS). “It is one of the only programs in the country that is focused entirely on quality improvement science. It empowers working PAs to assess and analyze their own practices and effect meaningful change in the workplace while they are completing their doctoral degree.”
Pitt’s highly personalized DPAS program allows students to balance their personal life with their professional goals.
Students may choose one of three pathways. The academic elective prepares PAs for the task of educating future PAs. The administrative elective provides a path for PAs who have goals of serving in leadership roles in hospitals, practices or health care organizations. The digital health elective prepares PAs to be part of decision-making committees that determine what and how to deploy the latest digital technology in health care environments.
“The digital health elective is new and very exciting,” says Director of the DPAS program and Associate Professor Mary Allias. “We are one of the first in the country to develop a curriculum based on digital health.”
Allias explains that students not only learn about how to manage and incorporate digital tools that are already in use, such as Electronic Health Records, telemedicine and wearable devices, but also how to prepare for what is coming next—how new forms of artificial intelligence will be used to improve patient care, for example.
“This is a very forward-thinking program,” agrees Patel. “It’s teaching our students to be forward thinking, as well.”
“One of the most valuable things about our focus on quality improvement science is that it can cross-pollinate across any health care organization, any institution or industry,” Patel continues.
“Our program reaches students all across the country,” adds Allias. “That allows us to bring best practices to more individuals, giving our graduates the credentials and the experience to impact patient care in even more ways.”
DPAS student Gianna Coscia works full time as a neurological clinical research PA at the University at Buffalo Neurosurgery with a unique clinical role as a rounding PA on the floor. She values how the DPAS program is setting her up for expanded leadership opportunities.
“I’m becoming part of a larger and more important focus of improving and preventing the deficits of neurological disability while still using my clinical skills to care for patients,” notes Coscia. “My status and scope as a PA are advancing as I take on additional and more diverse studies. The DPAS program enables me to explore medicine along a nontraditional path, which is exciting and just the right fit for me.”
DPAS students in clinical and academic settings.
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This article was originally published in the Fall 2023 issue of Facets magazine.