Written by MSU Pre-Physician Assistant Society Executive Board Members,
Claire Sextro, Ava Fisk, & Baylee Angerer
The MSU Pre-Physician Assistant Society is a community of undergraduate students of all different years, backgrounds, and experiences. The purpose of this society is to educate students about the PA profession and requirements for graduate school while encouraging and supporting students in their current studies and graduate school preparation. We facilitate a welcoming environment used for collaborative activities to mutually aid our peers in our shared goal of attending PA school and ultimately, to become a practicing PA-C. In addition, Pre-PA Society’s purpose is to provide students with the opportunity to learn about different PA programs and be aware of the requirements when applying. A large part of our mission is to prepare current Pre-PA students for the work they will do as a PA student in the future. Together, our society offers a camaraderie among Pre-PA undergraduate students, attends meetings, volunteers within the Springfield community, and many other miscellaneous activities to further our journey to become proficient healthcare providers.
As a society, we have seen a semester full of growth and learning. Our main focus was to provide valuable resources to create a supportive community for our members that are all aspiring to be a Physician Assistant. Throughout our fall semester, we had a great variety of biweekly meetings. Some of these meetings consisted of current PA-C’s speaking about their careers and journey to becoming a PA, current MSU Physician Assistant didactic and clinical year students speaking about their experience in the program, and a large number of schools throughout the nation speaking on behalf of their Physician Assistant program. The diversity of these meetings allowed us to offer a well-rounded approach to prepare our members to make their journey to becoming a Physician Assistant seem a less daunting. We are excited about the positive impact of the club and continue to pursue this in the upcoming semester.
The Pre-PA Society has made a large effort this past Fall ’23 semester to help serve the Springfield community. Each month consisted of at least 3 volunteer events (2 non-profits and a street clean). Local organizations that we have had the honor to help serve included the Ozark Food Harvest, Convoy of Hope (Hands of Hope), Eden Village, Cox Ronald McDonald House, the MSU PA Program, and the MSU Bear Pantry. While serving the community, we have been able to provide meals for those in need, sort donations, act as patients for the PA school, keep streets clean, donate blood, interact with the underserved, and provide disaster relief supplies. When looking at this upcoming semester, we are hoping to incorporate and build relationships with other organizations such as Dynamic Strides Therapy, the Drew Lewis Foundation, the Salvation Army and more. Overall, it has been a very successful fall semester both in terms of volunteering and the overall mission for the Pre-PA Society and we are excited for what’s to come!
