Program Director
Dionna Rookey, M.S., MSPAS, PA-C
813 College Ave, Room 1
717-361-4766
Physician Assistant Studies website
Dionna Rookey joined Elizabethtown College in 2019. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in biology from Valdosta State University, a Master of Science degree in medical microbiology from the University of Georgia, and a Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies from Philadelphia University. Dionna has worked in family medicine since graduating in 2007. She has practiced in Alaska, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Pennsylvania. Dionna additionally started work in education in 2013 and found a second love.
Dionna is dedicated to teaching students to embrace all of what makes people love, think, and live. Dionna believes in education for service and is excited to both continue and discover new ways to integrate students and the community together. Her teaching interests include clinical reasoning, patient communication, and all aspects of primary care.
Faculty: Fink, Goldina, Indeck, Molina, Ngu, Russ, Solyak, Thomasson
Admissions Criteria
- Coursework prerequisites:
- A minimum of 6 credits in General Biology with labs
- A minimum of 6 credits in Anatomy and Physiology with labs
- A minimum of 3 credits in Microbiology with a lab
- A minimum of 3 credits in General Chemistry with a lab
- A minimum of 3 credits in Organic Chemistry with a lab
- A minimum of 3 credits in Statistics
- A minimum of 3 credits in General/Introductory Psychology
Dual enrollment and AP credits for the graduate program prerequisite courses are not accepted.
A bachelor’s degree from an accredited U.S. College or University is required. Pre-Requisite GPA must be at least 3.0 with an overall GPA of 3.0 and no course grade below a C. Students applying to the Physician Assistant program as Graduate Students are required to submit GRE. Ideally, a student should have a composite score of 300. The MCAT can be submitted in place of the GRE, with an ideal score of 500. GREs are not required for any applicant that has a completed Master’s or Doctorate Degree. Students must also complete a minimum of 200 healthcare exposure hours (including PA-C shadowing) by the end of spring semester of 3rd year to be submitted and approved by the PA program. Due to the competitive nature of the Physician Assistant Program, not all candidates will be offered an interview or admission into the Elizabethtown College program.
For application information, please visit: https://admissions.etown.edu/apply.
For more detailed information on the Physician Assistant Program, please visit the program website.
Student Learning Outcomes for Physician Assistant
The competencies expected of Physician Assistant graduates from Elizabethtown College align with ten competency domains developed from review of literature published by the Physician Assistant Education Association (PAEA) in the 2019 Core Competencies for New Physician Assistant Graduates and the 2012 Competencies for the Physician Assistant Profession document published by the four national PA organizations.
Students will be able to:
- Medical Knowledge and Skills - Students will demonstrate a deep understanding and application of core medical knowledge and skills that are essential for patient care upon entry into clinical practice.
- Competent graduates will possess the medical knowledge and skills deemed essential by the program for optimal patient care.
- Competent graduates will gather accurate and essential patient information, determine differential diagnoses, order and interpret diagnostic studies, perform necessary procedures, diagnose, treat, and manage illness.
- Competent graduates will recognize healthy versus ill patients throughout various stages of acute and chronic diseases, as well as those at risk for emerging illnesses.
- Patient Centered Care - Students will apply core medical knowledge learned to patient-centered care and utilize evidence-based medicine to refine clinical reasoning and judgement while demonstrating the ability to recognize healthy versus ill patients in various stages of illness.
- Competent graduates will establish rapport and communicate effectively with patients, families, and the public to appropriately address the patients’ health needs.
- Competent graduates will demonstrate the ability to listen to and demonstrate sensitivity to patients’ beliefs and attitudes towards health and health care while having an awareness of one’s own implicit biases.
- Competent graduates will use an evidence-based approach while using clinical judgment and reasoning during shared medical decision making.
- Society and Population Health - Students will understand how patient health may be affected by psychosocial influences as well as community, environmental, and genetic disparities. Graduates will be able to identify their own implicit biases and understand how these ideas can impact patient care.
- Competent graduates will recognize and understand potential impacts of biology, immunology, epidemiology and genetics on patient health.
- Competent graduates will recognize and understand patient barriers surrounding motivation, accessibility, and structural disparities in health care.
- Competent graduates will recognize and understand psychosocial influences that may affect patient and population health while integrating knowledge of social determinants into medical decision making.
- Health Literacy - Students will utilize emotional intelligence to adjust the style and content of their verbal communication with patients to establish rapport and engage in shared decision-making.
- Competent graduates will understand the health literacy of the patients they serve, interpret information so patients and their families can understand the information conveyed to them, and use unbiased and professional interpreters when barriers to communication arise.
- Competent graduates will understand how different perspectives and expectations about health and healthcare can impact the therapeutic relationship and health motivation and outcomes.
- Professional Practice - Students will demonstrate an understanding of Physician Assistant roles and responsibilities while maintaining a level of team awareness, keeping the patient at the center of all health care decisions.
- Competent graduates work collaboratively in teams and developing interprofessional relationships to ensure that the goals of patients remain the focus of the health care team.
- Competent graduates will understand the roles of various team members and their various contributions to greater health outcomes.
- Legal, Fiscal, and System Based Healthcare - Students will demonstrate an understanding of ethically and legally appropriate ways to deliver safe, quality and efficacious healthcare to patients in a variety of clinical settings.
- Competent graduates will provide quality care in a safe and efficient manner.
- Competent graduates will know the bylaws and regulations of various practice settings.
- Competent graduates will understand various types of healthcare systems, funding, and insurance; including the role of Medicare and Medicaid.
- Self-Reflection and Assessment - Students will work closely with program faculty and their advisors in an ongoing and continual process to develop strategies necessary for reflection, self-evaluation and self-control while developing confidence in addressing the health needs of their patients.
- Competent graduates will demonstrate the ability to self-evaluate one’s personal and professional limitations, implicit biases and develop a strategic plan for addressing gaps.
