Department of Physician Assistant

The iPad has changed the way students learn in professional healthcare education. The Department of Physician Assistant at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley in Edinburg, Texas took advantage of the creation of a new university to further enhance the “active” learning philosophy of the faculty. Students learn medicine by actively participating in iPad based activities and web-based instruction. In addition, faculty have a commitment to support electronic textbooks to encourage the students to read on their iPad devices and save paper, publishing costs, and lessen the load on their backpacks. Together with several important changes to the curriculum, the program has experienced varying degrees of success on student assessment on both local and national examinations. The iPad has been a key component of this success.