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to Prevent Opioid AbuseProcess described in Special Article(Boston)—Morbidity and mortality from prescription and synthetic opioid use and abuse continues to be a U.S. public health issue. In an effort to help curtail this crisis, researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) describe an approach to ensure Physician Assistant (PA) students graduating from any PA program in Massachusetts will have the knowledge and skills to prescribe opiates safely.“As health care educators charged with preparing the next generation of Physician Assistants, faculty in PA programs can impact this growing public health crisis of opioid misuse,” explained corresponding author Susan E. White, MD, Program Director, Physician Assistant Program at BUSM. “PA faculty have the potential to improve the education of our students and hopefully have a positive impact on patient outcomes in Massachusetts and other states where our graduates will practice.”As a result, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, along with the Massachusetts Association of Physician Assistants, created a working group for addressing the opioid crisis in the state by convening representatives from all nine PA programs to discuss curricular competencies as the Governor’s Physician Assistant Education Working Group on Prescription Drug Misuse. The nine programs came together and adopted these competencies for a first-in-the-nation, cross-institutional partnership toward the prevention and management of prescription drug misuse.In a Special Article in the Journal of Physician Assistant Education, the authors outline the consensus building techniques they used to build agreement. They also highlight the process used to bring all nine programs together and provide specific examples of how PA Programs teach students.
The authors feel the process, competencies and curricular innovations described in their article have the potential to serve as a road-map for the development of additional statewide, interdisciplinary collaborations around an educational approach to the opioid epidemic.
“It is encouraging to know that we can find common ground and, in doing so, we have the potential to improve the education of our students and hopefully have a positive impact on patient outcomes,” said White, who believes the process implemented in Massachusetts could be used to address other public health crises.
“Physician assistant students need to be prepared to prevent and treat opioid use disorder and opioid overdose,” said DPH Commissioner Monica Bharel, MD, MPH. “We were pleased to work with the PA schools in Massachusetts to incorporate addiction treatment into their school curricula.”
We Will Jump In: 2019 PA Graduates Make Leap to Clinical World
“Today we celebrate the accomplishments of 28 highly successful individuals who comprise the Class of 2019,” said Program Director Susan White, MD, as she opened the fourth commencement exercises for the Physician Assistant Program held Aug. 15 in the 670 Albany Street auditorium.
PA Class of 2021 Celebrates White Coat Ceremony
The Class of 2021 Physician Assistant students celebrated the start of their journey into clinical care through the Boston University School of Medicine Physician Assistant (PA) Program at its annual White Coat Ceremony held July 19.
Welcome PA Class of 2026!
On August 1, 2023, the PA Program welcomed the class of 2024. The class of 20 students is comprised of academically strong and well-rounded individuals from all across the country.
The White Coat Ceremony was held on August 1, 2023. Dr. Robert Lowe, Associate Professor of Medicine, was the keynote speaker. The ceremony marks the start of the students’ academic endeavor to become physician assistants.
BU PA and MD Students Learn Together in Team-Based Approach
Both incoming PA and MD students started together this year August 2023 with 18 months of combined classes taught under a new team-based learning approach – a new curriculum launched last year for medical students – that integrates foundational sciences and pathology. This team-based learning closely mirrors the cooperative approach they will encounter in their careers.
Read more here.
Dr White Participates in Team Investigating EDI Practices in PAEA Program Survey
Article originally posted on www.paeaonline.org.
PAEA is pleased to announce that Shani Fleming, MSHS, MPH, PA-C, associate professor in the University of Maryland Baltimore PA program, executive member of the Physician Assistant Leadership and Learning Academy (PALLA), and graduate school chief equity, diversity, and inclusion officer, and her team have been chosen to contribute questions to the 2023 PAEA Program Survey.
“The PA profession has a unique opportunity to take the lead among health professions in building a workforce that truly reflects the diverse populations we serve. The invaluable data obtained through the STAR award will help us gauge how PA programs are actively addressing equity, diversity, and inclusion, serving as a benchmark for progress,” Fleming said.
The Program Survey collects demographic data, but the added STAR questions develop an understanding of how PA programs define diversity and inclusion, what diversity and inclusion goals PA programs have established, how PA programs assess diversity and inclusion-related goals and recruitment and retention strategies, and what diversity and inclusion resources PA programs make available.
The purpose of this study, “Diversity and Inclusion, A1.11 Standard Impact Assessment,” is to identify how PA programs are complying with the A1.11 standard. The goal is to clarify and operationalize policies or practices that recruit and retain matriculants and graduates from diverse backgrounds.
PA programs must remain committed to PAEA’s mission of Health for All. The A1.11 standard aligns with combatting deeply rooted health disparities and social inequities. In response, PA programs need to recruit and retain student cohorts that reflect the community that they serve and create an educational climate rooted in cultural humility. To do so, PA programs need a framework of policies and practices that meet the objectives of standard A1.11.
The research team originally formed a grassroots initiative, “PA Educators for Anti-Racism,” whose members bring their expertise in qualitative and quantitative methodology, advocacy, PA program management, DEI leadership, and accreditation. Several members have worked on grants, initiatives, leadership opportunities, and research fellowships from both AAPA and PAEA.
Fleming and her team encourage other PA faculty to pursue research. They understand the struggle of juggling multiple projects. But Fleming’s team said the faculty at any program don’t have to do it alone. Instead, the team suggested PA educators find a team and “divide and conquer.”
Fleming’s team shared the work by carving out time to brainstorm and share ideas, and everyone contributed to the study design and writing the proposal. Being incredibly committed and passionate about the topic area also helped them prioritize tasks and overcome barriers.
PA Student Wins GMS 2023 Outstanding Student Award for Community Service
Rhode-Armelle Jean Jacques '23 is the recipient of the GMS Outstanding Student Award for Community Service!
“Community is a huge part of everything that I’ve done,” said Rhode-Armelle Jean Jacques, the winner of the 2023 Graduate Medical Sciences Outstanding Student Achievement Award in the Master’s Community Service category.
Born and raised in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Jean Jacques and her mother sought refuge in Miami, Florida, due to ongoing political instability in the country. Jean Jacques completed high school and her undergraduate degree in Miami, graduating from the University of Miami with a bachelor’s degree in biology and a minor in chemistry in 2016.
She also obtained a Master of Public Health from George Washington University in 2020 prior to starting the Boston University Physician Assistant Program in 2021.
Dr DiPetrillo Named Boston Magazine Top Docs for 2024
Boston Magazine has published its list of Top Docs 2024 and our very own Medical Director, Dr. Melissa DiPetrillo has made the list (again!)
Please join us in congratulating her on this achievement!
The entire list can be found here.
BUPA 2019 Alum Receives Marquardt Community Health Access Fellowship Award
Boston University Alum Neha Sandeep, PA-C (Class of 2019) is a 2022 recipient of the prestigious William H. Marquardt Community Health Access Fellowship Award. The Fellowship aims to benefit PAs serving in mentoring and/or precepting roles who are dedicated to promoting accessible primary and preventive healthcare amongst underserved populations. Recipients are selected by a review panel of PAs, all former/current leaders of the AAPA and the PA Foundation. The reviewers were impressed by Neha's notable track record of and clear passion for leading community health initiatives, helping the underserved, and mentoring students.
GMS Faculty Spotlight: Dan Tzizik, PA-C
Dan Tzizik is the associate director of didactic education for the Physician Assistant Program.
He has been a member of the New Hampshire National Guard for over two decades and joined the BU PA Program as a faculty member in 2020. Tzizik is also a faculty mentor for the GMS Community Catalyst Center gMAV affinity group.
We spoke to Tzizik about his time in the National Guard, his role at BU, and his recent Innovative Readiness Training Mission to Oklahoma with the NH National Guard.
Read the GMS Faculty Spotlight here!
Prof Aliza Stern featured in BU Today
Our very own Director of Didactic Education, Aliza Stern, was interviewed for an article in BU Today titled What are the Fastest Growing Jobs? And How Can BU Prepare You? Physician Assistant came in as the 30th fastest growing profession, and is projected to have a 31% increase. Read the entire article here!
GMS Student Spotlight: Monet Bland, PA Class of ’22
Monet Bland is a student in the Physician Assistant Program enrolled in the Cambridge Integrated Clerkship (CIC), as well as an exercise physiologist, diabetes educator and world-class powerlifter. She will graduate in August 2022.
Monet Bland (MS’22) has known she wanted to work in medicine since she was a child – and she knew she wanted her career to begin in Boston.
Born at Boston Medical Center, Bland moved to Maryland with her family and lived there through high school. When it came time to pack up and leave for college, Bland chose to attend Northeastern University, where she earned both a Bachelor of Science in Behavioral Neuroscience and a Master of Science in Exercise Physiology.
Today, Bland is a degree candidate in the Boston University Physician Assistant (PA) program, slated to graduate in August 2022. She is one of two BU PA students enrolled in the Cambridge Integrated Clerkship (CIC), a longitudinal clerkship model that redesigns the typical core clinical year.
Read the rest of Spotlight on Monet here!
BU PA Students Organize Book Drive for Kids
In collaboration with Reach Out and Read, BU PA Students in the class of 2022 and 2023 organized a book drive that raised $132 dollars and provided 107 items donated (101 books for ages 0-5 and 6 packs of crayons) to Dimock Community Health Center. These books are distributed to children during clinic visits for them to take home and encourage reading. The Clinical Director of Pediatrics, Dr. Samantha Baras, was so excited to receive these books and seemed to be interested in future service opportunities. Our students hope to make the book drive a bi-annual event!
From Dr. Baras: “Thank you so much for this wonderful donation. Sometimes the simplest projects are most impactful! You are responsible for the 2nd shelf (18-24 months) and most of the 3rd shelf (3-5 years). Kids are already excited by our new selection! Our medical assistants are excited about being able to give crayons and coloring books to kids who are waiting.”
