During the didactic phase of training and part of the clinical year, students will be guided through a series of courses to develop a capstone project. The project begins to take shape in PA 551 Medical Biostatistics, where an emphasis is placed on understanding biostatistical concepts and literature search/analysis. The project continues to develop in PA 653 Research Design & Implementation, where students are paired together and research a clinical topic of their choice.  Students devise a strategy to identify appropriate resources, review the literature, and synthesize the information.  Using the research, most students write an evidence-based literature review paper.  Students also have the option of writing a case report with an associated literature review.  They formally outline and draft their research paper or case report during the course.  Finally, in PA 654 Capstone Project, students work with a faculty member to edit and refine their paper.  A small subset of papers may be chosen by program faculty to be submitted for publication in a scholarly journal.

Visit JMU Scholarly Commons to take a look at PA student capstone projects from previous years.