• The clinical year starts at the end of August, 15 months after students begin the program.
• Students must successfully complete all of the didactic coursework before being assigned to clinical rotations.
• The 12-month clinical phase is composed of eight required rotations and two elective clerkships.
• Rural primary care is encouraged, and students with a particular interest in this area will be well served.
• The program utilizes sites throughout the state of South Carolina.

Required rotations

Family Medicine
This five-week course provides the PA student with experience in the assessment and management of pediatric and adult patients in a Family Medicine rotation. Management includes preventive medicine through education, the encouragement of health lifestyles and the use of available community resources.

General Medicine
This is a five-week clinical clerkship in internal medicine. Students are exposed to in-patient care (ward rounds, admission history and physical, discharge summary).

Pediatrics
This is a five-week clerkship in outpatient pediatrics. Students are exposed to some in-patient care of the pediatric population.

Women's Health
This five-week clerkship provides the PA student with hands-on experience in the evaluation and treatment of patients with Obstetric/Gynecologic conditions. Obstetric experience may include labor and delivery plus routine prenatal and postpartum care.

Primary Care Elective
This five-week supervised clinical experience provides the PA student with the opportunity to select a medical setting in a Primary Care elective discipline (Internal Medicine, Family Practice, Pediatrics, Emergency Medicine, or Women's Health) upon the approval of the Program's clinical coordinator.  During the Primary Care Elective or Preceptorship experience, the student will participate with a Subspecialty Elective.  This two-week experience provides the PA student with the opportunity to select a specialty of interest. This experience is designed to provide the student with elective experience in a preferred area and to expand his or her knowledge of an area of medicine in which primary care providers often refer patient for care.  

Mental Health
This five-week clerkship course provides the PA student with experience in the assessment and treatment of common psychiatric disorders, under the supervision of psychiatrist. Typical encounters include intake interviews, group therapy, crisis management, outpatient visits and some in-patient management when available.

General Surgery
This five-week clerkship course provides the PA student with hands-on experience in the evaluation and treatment of surgical problems in both the outpatient setting and the inpatient operative setting.

Emergency Medicine
This five-week course provides the PA student with experience in the assessment, triage, and management of common emergency room patients under the supervision of an emergency room physician.

Preceptorship
This five-week clerkship is designed to encourage the PA student to seek a clinical experience with a medical specialty practice, or to further work in one of the required primary care areas. This clerkship occurs in July and August after required courses have been completed to help the student realize his/her particular interests.

South Carolina Area Health Education Consortium

• SC AHEC is a non-profit organization serving four regions in South Carolina (Upstate, Mid-Carolinas, PeeDee and LowCountry).
• AHEC provides information technology, continuing education, and diversity services to health professionals within the four regions.
• AHEC works in partnership with academic institutions, local preceptors and providers, and community resources to facilitate the health care delivery system toward improving health care within South Carolina today and into the future.

Partial funding for student and faculty support for expenses incurred in off-campus clinical experiences is provided by the SC AHEC Award for Community-Based Education (ACABE).

This mission of the SC AHEC is to improve the quality and accessibility of health care for the communities of South Carolina through a system of community-academic partnerships whose central purpose is the recruitment, education, and retention of primary health care providers.

For additional information, call Marth Green or Mary Hewett, PA Program Clinical Coordinators, at (843) 792-3775.