PAM 507 Medical Genetics| Course
Prerequisite:Â Admission to the PA program
This course will review medical genetics and the application to clinical medicine. The intent is to provide students the necessary background to understand ongoing developments in genetics and the application to clinical problems. Concepts learned in this class will be reinforced in the Clinical Medicine I, II, III series courses. Students will learn to obtain a detailed family history and assess possible modes of inheritance. Principles of genetic screening, testing, and diagnosis will be discussed. Specific genetic disorders, the underlying etiology, clinical presentation, evaluation, diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment options will be reviewed.
The elucidation of the human genome, and the genomes of multiple other organisms, will change the way medicine is practiced. In order for physician assistants to understand these developments and utilize them for the benefits of their patients, they will have to be conversant with molecular genetic technologies and the technologies for acquiring, organizing, and interpreting genetic information.