Written by Kim Cook, MS PA-C
Director of Clinical Education

2022 has been going well for the current clinical cohort. Students are out there making us and our profession proud. Some students have already been pleasantly surprised by how much they have liked certain rotations that they didn’t necessarily think were going to be their area of primary interest. It’s very refreshing to see their excitement when they come back to campus for end-of-rotation activities, and they tell us what all they have been getting to experience.

While the past couple of years have been trying due to challenges with clinical sites due to the covid pandemic, with the support of our clinical partners, we have persevered. Not only have we made it through those tough times with the long-standing clinical partnerships we’ve had, but we have actually made a lot of new partnerships as well. We have been very pleased at the number of alumni that have joined in to support the program and began teaching our students through preceptorships. We have had more alumni than ever become involved in other ways also. One example was an oral presentation workshop we had during clinical orientation before the clinical year began this year. Alumni came to campus and acted as proctors while students practiced giving oral presentations. I believe the Program will continue to flourish with such support from such a wide array of clinicians, both locally and at distant locations as well.

In the past year, we have had students at a lot of our core rotation facilities in the Springfield area, and as always, we have had students at distant rotations as well (several of which are new sites).

In the last year we have added fifty-three new preceptors/rotation sites, including twenty alumni preceptors. We are very grateful and proud of our alumni who have become a part of our community clinical partners and have precepted in 2021-2022.

We continue to get wonderful feedback from our preceptors about our students. Here are a few examples of the wonderful comments we get about our students:

“I have been working with students for about 25 years and I would have to say my current student has been one of my favorite students, if not the top! They have a maturity sometimes not seen at their age. They performed well clinically and were able to easily develop a rapport with patients and staff. I had many positive comments from patients regarding their bedside manner. They would do an awesome job in family medicine or whatever specialty they decide to go into. I wish I had an opening at my office!”

“By far, one of the best students I have had in 26 years. Always early, never complained. Excellent bedside manner. They relate very well with staff, patients and families. I would hire this student without hesitation. They will be an excellent asset to any healthcare team they join.”

“By far the best student I have had for a first rotation. Showed enthusiasm to continue to learn. My patients and staff loved them. Hopefully look forward to working with them in the future.”

Class of 2022 Spring Student Spotlights:

Taylor Heimann Spotlight
Trevor Moore Spotlight

Clinical Rotation #MedLifeMonday Facebook Features:

Sarah Phillips
Leah Krafft
Sarah Dobard
Megan Bekas
Payden Shapland
Miranda Ruth
Joshua Trammell
Mallory Brothers

 

PAS has much to share. Since the fall 2021 newsletter, we have had a successful fundraiser, welcomed a new member to the department, welcomed the Class of 2023, and celebrated a faculty promotion. Catch up on PAS Department News below:

• Cassidy McCandless named AAPA PA Student of the Year
• Thank You and Congratulations to retiring provost Dr. Frank Einhellig
• 2022 PAS Student Trivia Bowl
• PAS Faculty Shannon Hauschildt’s Promotion
• Hello & Goodbye Celebration
• Bridging the Rural and Underserved Gap Fundraiser
• Alum appointed first APP on Mercy Joplin Clinic Board of Directors

If you missed the last PAS newsletter, you can view it here: December 2021 Newsletter

On May 5, 2022, the MSU PA program held the annual student Trivia Bowl for both didactic & clinical year students. This event was a wrap up to the spring semester in the program for didactic students and rotation #3 for clinical year students. Students competed in teams for prizes, answering questions on various trivia as well as medical questions. The winning team received prizes donated by campus and local businesses.

Special thanks to prize contributors including: Downtown Health Bar, Bambinos, Vino Cellars, Tea Bar & Bites, Hankins Surgical Supply, Missouri State Athletics, Missouri State Bookstore, Missouri State Alumni Association, and the MSU Plaster Student Union.

The Spring 2022 semester brought a number of recruitment and advisement opportunities for the MSU PAS department. The program advised a variety of prospective applicants that included pre-professional student organizations at Mizzou and UMKC, the MSU Spring Showcase, Go CAPS schools, Mercy Health Sciences Academy, and several recruitment/career fairs.

We were pleased to host two on-campus open house information sessions and one-virtual session this semester. During the sessions, prospective students met PAS faculty and staff, participated in Q&A session with current PA students, chatted with alum Travis Bell, and toured facilities utilized by PAS including the O’Reilly Clinical Health Sciences Center and the McQueary Family Health Sciences Hall. After meeting many wonderful prospective applicants, we are excited for the current application cycle.

CASPA officially opened on April 28th for the 2022-2023 cycle. The deadline to apply for the MSU PA cohort beginning January 2023 is July 15, 2022. All prerequisite coursework must be complete by Summer 2022. Applicants who have questions about the CASPA application process will find helpful information on the CASPA Applicant Help Center.

On social media, we are continuing our series on #MedLifeMondays featuring clinical students on the department Facebook and will begin highlighting didactic students on our newly created Instagram account.

Written by Nathan Miracle, MS PA-C
Director of Didactic Education

Another spring semester has come and gone in the MSU PAS department. January brought a cohort of 30 new students to our program to begin their PA education. This semester was much the same as previous years with one glaring difference, Dr. Ben Timson from the BMS department did not teach in our Human Physiology course, as he retired in December of 2021. Dr. Timson had taught in our program since the first cohort, so his absence was palpable, however Dr. Jianjie Wang stepped in to take over this course and did a wonderful job continuing the great tradition of outstanding physiology instruction for our students. In addition to the usual coursework our didactic class also participated in two different interprofessional education activities with students from across the various departments within McQueary College of Health and Human Services and the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Pharmacy. These events gave our students the opportunity to work collaboratively with other future healthcare professionals in team building exercises mirroring their future work as clinicians on a patient-focused interprofessional team. As this semester comes to a close, our students prepare to move on to the next semester, one filled with daily opportunities to learn and gain a deeper understanding of medicine and patient care. The faculty all look forward to their continued growth, both academically and professionally, as they progress on in their journey to become outstanding Physician Assistants.

Class of 2023 links:
Welcome Class of 2023
Student Spotlight: Kaylee Percival
Clinical Assessment I Eye Exam Practice
Point of Care Ultrasound Demo-Orbit
Point of Care Ultrasound Demo-Cardiac
Musculosketal Exam
C23 Sand Volleyball Team