DPAS '23 students
Many practicing PAs who are thinking of applying to our Doctor of PA Studies (DPAS) Program ask about the internship courses in the curriculum. They wonder about the requirements, their options for completing it, and if they can fit this into their already busy work and home lives. At first glance, it probably seems a bit strange that a licensed, practicing clinician would be asked to do an internship. When you consider the purpose and outcome of the internship as part of the DPAS curriculum, you realize the immense value it provides to the DPAS candidate and those they serve in their place of practice.
DPAS candidates have the option of completing their internship requirements in one of three ways: job-embedded, aspirant, or community outreach. Most candidates choose job-embedded, meaning they can fulfill their internship requirement where they are currently working. In an aspirant internship, DPAS candidates identify a role in which they would like to work in the future and complete an internship based in that setting. For a community outreach internship, DPAS candidates participate in community-based health or wellness initiatives as part of an existing organization or in a newly created way.
The purpose of the internship is to provide a setting for the candidate’s Quality Improvement Project, and this is where the meaning of their coursework is amplified. From the first term of study, DPAS candidates are improving their places of practice through their internship work. Supported by what they are learning in the DPAS curriculum, candidates study their setting, the situation they are trying to improve, the needs of vital parties in their setting, and then they start to brainstorm solutions rooted in evidence.
As they progress through the program, candidates deploy their improvement project, study the outcome, and recommend future action based on their results. Even before they graduate, Pitt’s DPAS candidates are leading real and impactful change.
Currently, our DPAS candidates are:
- Improving processes that help patients access care more easily
- Mitigating health disparities for at-risk populations
- Enhancing techniques for teaching PA students to provide inclusive patient care, develop their professional identities, and learn how to think critically
- Improving access to mental health care
- Developing more patient-centered discharge instructions
- Helping practicing PAs provide excellent patient care as they transition between medical specialties
- Supporting clinicians in adopting best practices for telehealth care
The value of a post-professional internship is virtually limitless. Internships integrate seamlessly into the curriculum and into DPAS candidates’ work and provide an experience that can’t be created in the classroom alone.
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Written by:
Mary C. Allias, EdD, MPAS, PA-C, DFAAPA
Director, Doctor of PA Studies (DPAS) Program, SHRS
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Published February 24, 2023