Medicine
- Bachelor in Physician Assistantship (Clinical)
This programme is suited for the student who has an interest in Medicine and a desire to care for the sick. The Physician Assistant (PA) is a health care professional who practices Medicine with physician supervision. The PA provides a broad range of medical diagnostic, therapeutic, and health promotion and disease prevention services. PAs are qualified by graduation from the PA educational programme and certification by the Ghana Medical and Dental Council to exercise a level of autonomy in the performance of clinical responsibilities within Ghana’s health care delivery system. The PA will work in primary care and specialty care roles in both rural and urban settings. As they are first or second assistants in major surgery, and provide pre- and post-operative care, they will be well versed in surgical skills. They will also have a role to play in preventive Medicine, as well as in educational, research, and administrative activities.
The programme
This is a four year programme. The first two years are dedicated to preparing the student and cover foundational sciences and introduction to the profession. The third and fourth years focus on the professional training. They will be trained to take medical histories, perform physical examinations, order and interpret diagnostic tests, formulate a working diagnosis and implement a treatment/management plan.
In the third year, the student will learn about Preventive Medicine, Evidence Based Medicine, Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Diagnostic Methods, Health Administration as well as the foundation of Clinical Medicine. Teaching will be in the form of didactic lectures, tutorials and small group discussions, bedside demonstrations and field visits to clinics, health care centres and hospitals.
The final year will be predominantly clinical clerkships. Students will do clerkships in the major medical disciplines, via Internal Medicine, Surgery and its allied fields, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Paediatrics, Psychiatry, Emergency Medicine, Family Medicine and Primary Care. These clerkships will be done in primary, secondary and tertiary health facilities, under the supervision of specialists in the health institutions. The acquisition of surgical skills in both Surgery and Obstetrics will be particularly emphasized, in addition to the Primary Care and Family Medicine elements of the course.
There are vocational training periods during the long vacations, during which the student will learn and develop practical skills.
Each student will undertake a research project in an area of Clinical Medicine, either curative or preventive. The dissertation based on this will be assessed as a requirement for graduation.