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