Second year students in the Lock Haven University Physician Assistant (PA) Program made poster presentations on Thursday, March 8 in the Durrwachter Alumni Conference Center.

The Lock Haven University PA Program seeks to promote excellent in clinical practice through Evidence Based Medicine. LHU Physician Assistant students receive instruction in Evidence Based Medicine throughout the two years of their training. Students have the opportunity to demonstrate their mastery of evidence based care by presenting an Evidence Based Medicine poster as part of their final exams.

Gibsonia, PA resident Emily Hargest made an Evidence Based Medicine presentation entitled " Do interactions with the pharmaceutical industry influence the prescribing habits of providers?."

Evidence Based Medicine has three overlapping components: individual clinical expertise, patient values and expectations, and best external evidence.

Professor Walt Eisenhauer, director of the Lock Haven University PA Program, explained the importance of Evidence Based Medicine to healthcare providers and to the patients they treat. "Evidence Based Medicine represents the application of the most current valid research regarding prevention, diagnosis, or management of medical problems commonly seen in practice," said Eisenhauer. "Healthcare providers, including physician assistants, are becoming increasingly accountable for the outcomes of the care they provide. Evidence Based Medicine offers patients the assurance that they are receiving the best possible care available regardless of who is treating them or where they are receiving that care."

Lock Haven University's Physician Assistant Program has earned a top-25 ranking in the 2012 edition of U.S. News and World Report's rankings of graduate programs.

Lock Haven University offers the Master of Health Science Physician Assistant Program at its main campus in Lock Haven, at its Clearfield Campus, at the Dixon University Center in Harrisburg, and at Charles Cole Memorial Hospital in Coudersport. The mission of the LHU Physician Assistant Program is to educate and train highly-skilled physician assistants who are capable of providing quality health care; have expertise in the health care needs of the medically underserved; are prepared to critically evaluate, and become leaders in bringing about improvement in the medical and social systems that affect the health of underserved populations; and will seek and retain employment as primary care Physician Assistants in medically underserved areas of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

The Lock Haven University Physician Assistant Program is fully accredited by the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA). The program was last reviewed in 2005 and received a six year accreditation cycle. Information regarding PA Program Accreditation and ARC-PA can be found at http://www.arc-pa.org/.

Lock Haven University is a member of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education (PASSHE), the largest provider of higher education in the commonwealth. Its 14 universities offer more than 250 degree and certificate programs in more than 120 areas of study. Nearly 405,000 system alumni live and work in Pennsylvania.

On the web: http://readabout.me/achievements/Emily-Hargest-makes-poster-presentation-on-Evidence-Based-Medicine/3760168.