NLU PA Program — Didactic Year Handbook
Formative and summative OSCEs and standardized patient encounters allow students to practice and be assessed on history-taking, physical examination, clinical reasoning, and communication skills in a controlled environment before progressing to supervised clinical practice.
Applied Learning Experience (ALE) Courses
Longitudinal courses that integrate clinical skills, communication, and professionalism training across the didactic year, reinforcing content delivered in the medicine, pharmacology, and patient evaluation courses. In the current curriculum, this longitudinal integration is delivered through the eight-part Skills, Observation, Assessment, Results (SOAR) course series (SOAR I–VIII), which spans both the didactic and clinical years and incorporates the student’s Capstone Project (see Appendix K, Course Descriptions).
Student Resources
● Academic Advising: Each student is assigned a faculty advisor to support academic planning and progress throughout the didactic year. ● Learning Support: Tutoring, study-skills coaching, and test-taking strategy support are available through the Program’s Academic/Learning Support Coordinator. ● Disability Services: Students seeking accommodations should contact the University’s Disability Services office as early as possible to allow time to process documentation. ● Counseling and Wellness Referrals: The Program maintains referral pathways to confidential, licensed mental health resources independent of Program faculty, consistent with A3.09 and A3.10. ● Library Services: Full access to University library resources, including medical databases, is available to all PA students. ● Career Services: Support with CV preparation, interview skills, and post-graduate job search begins during the didactic year. ● Financial Aid and Student Accounts: Students experiencing financial hardship, including those affected by the Program’s discouragement of outside employment (see P.A. Student Employment Policy, Appendix A), are encouraged to consult Financial Aid, Student Accounts, and the Registrar.
Progression to the Clinical Year
Advancement from the didactic year to the clinical year (Supervised Clinical Practice Experiences) requires:
● Successful completion of all didactic coursework with the minimum required grades.
● Successful completion of the Summative/Pre-Clinical OSCE.
● Maintenance of a personal health insurance policy.
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