Physician Assistant Students Honored by the Wisconsin Academy of Physician Assistants (WAPA)

Two UW-Madison physician assistant (PA) students received honors at the WAPA Fall Conference. Carrie Dahl and Ashley Lienhardt, received their awards at the honors luncheon and celebrated with conference participants, awardees, and guests.

Carrie Dahl, second year PA student, was honored with the WAPA Leadership Award. Leadership is broadly defined as leadership in the:

• community,
• profession,
• program, or
• campus.

This award is given to a clinical year student who has demonstrated outstanding leadership. Leadership Award recipients are chosen by the program faculty.

Carrie has shown strong leadership within her role as class president, and the Student Academy's Assembly of Representatives (AOR) delegate to the American Academy of Physician Assistants, and representative to the Student Association of Physician Assistants (SAPA). She has been very active in campus and community projects. Carrie describes one of these activities: "A group of classmates and I spent an afternoon with patients in UW Children's Hospital helping them to decorate their IV poles. It was gratifying to see the excitement on the children's faces and amazing to see how quickly the children went from decorating just their IV poles to decorating their entire room!"

The Ben Lawton Award is a scholarship created in memory of Dr. Ben Lawton who was an early supporter and proponent of the PA profession in Wisconsin. It is given to a didactic year student from each of Wisconsin's three PA programs at the annual Fall Continuing Medical Education Conference. It is based on financial need, taking into consideration academic standing, work ethic and integrity. The WAPA-Foundation Ben Lawton Scholarship recipients are selected by the WAPA-Foundation board of trustees. Ashley Lienhardt, first year PA student, received this award and was also honored at the WAPA ceremony.

Andy Stolper Memorial Award Recipients

The Andy Stolper Memorial Award was created to honor the memory of Andy Stolper. Andy was a PA student who passed away from complications of HIV contracted from blood products, before he was able to graduate with the Class of 1997. The award was designed to recognize these laudable attributes:

• enthusiasm for learning,
• interest in teaching,
• positive attitude,
• persistence in pursuit of goals,
• ability to overcome obstacles, and
• commitment to community service.

Classmates nominate their peers who best exemplify the traits commemorating Andy Stolper. The award was presented to two honorees Dolores Snell and Mai Xiong Gillingham. Presenting the award were Judy Stolper, Andy's mother, and Sarah Affeldt, one of Andy's former classmates.

Mrs. Stolper spoke to the group and stated, "Both of these women are wonderful nominees for Andy's award. Mai and Dolores have each encountered significant personal challenges on the road to becoming PAs. Their journeys have been very different, yet both very difficult, with seemingly insurmountable obstacles along the way. Both Mai and Dolores' personal experiences have instilled in them a deep desire to help others in a special way. Despite the incredible challenges they've faced on their paths, they courageously persevere toward their goals of becoming physician assistants. Yet along the way, they each are making a difference in many ways."

A New Team Member in the PA Program

Joey Johannsen recently joined the PA program staff in the role of Instructional Specialist. Joey formerly served the University of Wisconsin as Fellowship Coordinator for the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine in the School of Medicine and Public Health. In her new role, Joey is diligently at work assisting the PA program in grant development and implementing processes which support the transition from a bachelor's degree program to a master's degree program. In addition, she is actively preparing the program for the upcoming Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA) site visit. Along with her energizing spirit, Joey brings depth of experience in the accreditation process, systems-based practices and organizational design.

PA Student Service-Learning Trip to Guatemala

Approximately twelve PA students are actively planning, organizing and fund-raising for a student-initiated service learning project to provide medical care to the underserved population in San Lucas, Guatemala. The students manage this volunteer work between their Spring and Summer semesters.

At the fall WAPA conference, representatives of the Guatemala contingent held a silent auction. Donated items included:

• Milwaukee Bucks basketball tickets,
• Badger Athletic Department football tickets,
• a Brett Bielema autographed football,
• local restaurant gift certificates,
• Wisconsin Dells Waterpark tickets, and
• handcrafted items designed by the PA students.

The students fund-raising efforts launched an excellent start to financing the trip.

Richard Anstett, MD former PA Program Medical Director and DFM faculty, will accompany the student group to Guatemala on their May trip. Under the leadership of Dr. Anstett and Tammi Gags, first year PA student, two grant proposals have been submitted for consideration to the American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA). The two proposals are entitled, "Diabetes Screening, Prevention and Early Intervention" and "San Lucas, Guatemala: Health Promotion and Education." The latter will focus on developing educational tools to address topics such as:

• childhood dental care,
• childhood and maternal nutrition,
• family planning,
• household safety,
• exposure to indoor smoke and particulates,
• recognition of common childhood illnesses, and
• strategies for dealing with domestic abuse.

PA Day Celebration

October 10 was the nationally designated "Physician Assistant Day." The day provided a wonderful opportunity for the UW Hospital/Foundation and the PA program to recognize the efforts and contributions of individuals who avidly support the PA profession and PA education. The UW Hospital Administration sponsored a PA Day brunch for clinically practicing PAs, physician colleagues, guest lecturers and clinical preceptors associated with the PA program, students and faculty/staff. It was nice to re-connect and visit with Jerry Ryan, MD, former PA Program Medical Director, and Peg Volkman, former Program Instructional Manager.

Faculty Professional Activities

PA Program faculty have actively engaged in professional meetings and activities this fall. Honorie Cote´, BS, PAC, Abiola Keller, Beverlee Speece and Ginny Snyder, PhD attended the Wisconsin Academy of Physician Assistants (WAPA) Fall Conference in Waukesha, Wisconsin. Jerry Noack, BS (Director of Distance Education), John Beasley, MD (PA Program Medical Director) and Ginny Snyder (Interim PA Program Director) recently participated in the Physician Assistant Education Association (PAEA) Educational Forum in Tucson, Arizona. This conference, attended by national and international delegates, highlighted keynote speakers Dick Krugman, MD, Dean, University of Colorado School of Medicine and Chair of the Association of American Medical Colleges, and Dr. Francis Collins, Director of the National Human Genome Reasearch Institute. Dr. Krugman presented a provocative talk on the place of physician assistant education in 21st century medicine. Dr. Collins spoke on the burgeoning science of genomics and the impact on medicine and the PA profession in the near future. Other sessions at the meeting addressed:

• primary care workforce shortage concerns,
• rural/underserved practice placement,
• curricular advancement (including genetics and cultural competency),
• accreditation standards,
• best admissions practice, and
• professionalism.