Inside Wake PA Spring 2017

INSIDE WAKE PA

Creating music p16 PAs

perform in the Triad Area Medical Orchestra 4 Emerging Leaders Program 9 Graduate Symposium

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FROM THE CHAIR

“Why do you want to be a PA?” “I’ve always wanted to help people, to make a difference, to be a healer.”

These are the typical questions and answers we hear during interview season with prospective Wake Forest PA students. Most people who are drawn to a career in health care are wicked smart, healthy and view themselves as caregivers. They have chosen to be PAs rather than MDs or DOs based on their perception that this career is more aligned with life balance and allows for more meaningful interaction with their patients. They arrive on campus focused on the health care provider they want to be one day.

Then school begins.

Students struggle with anatomy and physiology, with trying to learn all the thousands of pharmaceuticals just through memorization, with sitting through hours of lectures and of course with working through countless “learning issues.” This can take its toll on even the strongest, healthiest, smartest, and most prepared individual. Somewhere in this marathon called PA school, it can be easy for students to forget why they are here. They can become jaded, cynical, or just plain exhausted. They can lose track of their focus to help, to cure, to make well. They can lose track of even caring for themselves.

When did I last eat? Sleep? Exercise?

In this issue of Inside Wake PA, you will learn about the many additions to the Wake PA experience that help our students navigate this exciting yet challenging time in their lives. You will learn about our Emerging Leaders Program that equips students with the business knowledge that is so necessary in the practice of medicine in this changing health care environment. You will meet a dynamic young man, Donovan Livingston, who enlightened our students at their Graduate Project Symposium about how part of medicine and being a good care provider is about giving back and social justice. You will read about programs designed to help our students understand that wellness involves many aspects of a person’s life, not just freedom from illness, and how diseases such as substance use and chronic illness can affect not only the patient, but also family and others around them.

Enjoy this spring edition of the magazine for a peek inside the parts of Wake PA that truly help us create the best PAs in the country.

L. Gail Curtis, MPAS, PA-C Associate Professor and Chair

▶ Mark your calendars now to come back to PA school for a CME alumni event here at 525@Vine, Nov. 1–3, 2017. Content will be centered around an IBL case. To learn more, call 336-716-2010.

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CONTENTS

I N S I D E W A K E PA Spring 2017 • Volume 1 • Number 2

Department of PA Studies, Wake Forest School of Medicine Associate Professor and Chair L. Gail Curtis, MPAS, PA-C Associate Professor and Program Director Suzanne Reich, MPAS, PA-C

ED I T O RS

FEATURES 4 Emerging Leaders Program addresses need in health care

Teri Capshaw, MBA Tanya Gregory, PhD

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C O NT R IBU TORS

OF NOTE

Reamer Bushardt, PharmD, PA-C Erich Grant, MMS, PA-C Andrew Gray (’18) Carol Hildebrandt Sobia Hussaini, MHA Laura Laxton Alyssa Murray (’18) P HO T OGRAPHY

Teri Capshaw, Lauren Carroll, Cameron Dennis D ESI G N

Creative Communications Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center

INSIDE WAKE PA is a digital quarterly publication for students, faculty, staff, alumni, preceptors, and friends of the Department of PA Studies, Wake Forest School of Medicine.

Please send correspondence to: PA Studies, Medical Center Boulevard, Winston-Salem, NC 27157 or email PAAlumNews@ wakehealth.edu.

ELP architect looks back and ahead

9 Livingston inspires with Graduate Project Symposium speech 12

Alumni Profile: Robert Wooten (‘81)

DEPARTMENTS 8

iewpoint: Interprofessional education offers V exciting opportunities

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Spotlight

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Preceptor Profile

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Philanthropy Matters

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New Faces

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Student News

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Alumni News

19

Photo Album

Wake Forest School of Medicine is an equal opportunity/equal access/affirmative action employer fully committed to achieving a diverse workforce and complies with all federal and North Carolina state laws, regulations, and executive orders regarding nondiscrimination and affirmative action.

Wake Forest School of Medicine does not discriminate on the basis of race, age, color, religion, national origin or ancestry, sex, gender, disability, veteran status, genetic information, sexual orientation, or gender identity or expression.

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F E AT U R E S T O R Y

Emerging Leaders Program addresses need in health care Mary Kathryn Alexander, Francesca Carter, Morgan Gregg, Caitlyn McKenzie, Annie Preske, and Dara Seelig may blend in with their peers in the Class of 2017. But they stand out as pioneers in the Emerging Leaders Program.

The six PA program students will be the first to graduate from the program in May and they’ll be on the forefront of a new era in health care: PAs trained for the clinic and boardroom.

“What an incredible opportunity!” said Preske (’17) of Winston-Salem. “I didn’t see it coming, but I’m certainly glad it did.”

Three years ago, the students were waiting to hear about admission to the PA Program when they received a unique opportunity: attend PA school and enroll in the Wake Forest School of Business as part of a new Emerging Leaders Program (ELP).

ELP is an innovative 34-month sequential degree program that allows students to complete a 10-month Master of Arts in Management degree and then enter PA school for a Master of Medical Science degree.

The program, launched in 2014, is the only one of its kind in the nation.

ELP’s goal is to create a future generation of leaders for the PA profession who are equipped with high quality patient care skills in addition to management expertise to transform the delivery of health care.

In addition to the six students graduating this year, there are 13 ELP students in the first year of PA school and 15 enrolled at the business school. This summer, 13 students will start the program, graduating in 2020.

Reamer Bushardt, PharmD, PA-C, former chair of the Department of PA Studies, conceived of ELP after studying the health care market and Wake Forest PAs’ aptitude for leadership. “We saw our graduates getting involved at the regional, state and national levels breaking down barriers to help patients have better access to high quality, affordable care,” said Bushardt, who’s now senior associate dean for health sciences at George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences in Washington, D.C. “Our mission was to formalize leadership development and create new paths for advanced training in management and clinical administration for PAs,” he added.

“Partnering with the Wake Forest University School of Business was natural . . . we) shared commitments to character-based leadership, embraced small-group learning and problem solving, and sought to innovate within our fields.”

“In order to take care of patients and families today, providers must navigate the art, the science, and the business of medicine.”

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L to R: Dara Seelig, Mary Kathryn Alexander, Morgan Gregg, Caitlyn McKenzie, Francesca Carter, Annie Preske

John Montana, senior associate director of MA enrollment management at the business school, said the collaborative program is unique. “It equips students with a unique lens and value-added skills to positively impact not only today’s health care environment but tomorrow’s,” Montana said.

Sobia Hussaini, MHA, assistant professor and director of academic practice partnerships in the Department of PA Studies, helps oversee ELP and touches base with students regularly. “I think they’ve done really well,” Hussaini said. “The program makes students more well-rounded, and that’s where the market is going.”

The MA portion of the program includes a five-week summer module followed by four eight-week modules focused on conceptual expertise, practical competence, and strength of character. The students complete a team-based consulting project with local and multinational organizations focused on data analysis and market research.

Hussaini said student feedback has helped with program improvements.

There’s now an ELP steering committee of students and administrators that meet regularly and an ELP-dedicated orientation. The PA program is also considering adding a health care administration rotation in the clinical year.

ELP students say their biggest takeaways from business school are effective communication, teamwork, professionalism, conflict resolution, and leadership skills.

Kevin Shefferly (’18), who comes from a family of clinicians, said he learned a new language. “I got to b-school and it’s like, ‘What is happening?’ I think people in the business world are just different. You have to understand them to be able to get things done.”

“I don’t think I would’ve run for president of our class if I hadn’t done the MA program first,” added Shefferly of Richmond, Va. “I used to be the guy sweating bullets and throwing up before speaking. I think the program prepared me to be more of a leader.” continued SPRING 2017

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Emerging Leaders Program Seelig (’17) of Ossining, N.Y., agrees.

“I have the confidence now to do things on my own,” she said. “On my last rotation I had to present to 30 people every day. I would’ve been shaking in my boots without business school experience, but it’s no big thing now.”

Teamwork skills have been especially useful.

“We learned how to work as a team­ — to identify strengths and weaknesses, communicate, and be an effective leader,” said McKenzie (’17) of Winston-Salem.

“You don’t always play the same role in any given group,” added Alexander (’17) of Virginia Beach, Va. “Business school made me treat PA school more as a professional experience.”

Going through the MA program together also paid off with a readymade group of friends when they started PA school.

Alex Cella (’18) of New Bern, N.C., agreed: “It was good to have social support here already.”

“We got to know each other so well in the MA program—you knew personal habits, who you could study with,” added Melanie Williams (’18) of Apex, N.C.

While the students have already “It was nice coming into the PA program realized benefits from ELP, they know it knowing people because that first will truly pay off after graduation. month is so hard,” said Trevor Doolittle “There probably won’t be another job (’18) of Milford, Conn. candidate out there like me,” said Carter (’17) of Cary, N.C. “It groomed us to be professional. I feel very prepared going out into the job market with these skills.”

Gregg (’17) of Greenville, S.C., has already secured a position in emergency medicine. During her interview, she discussed how her management skills could assist the practice.

L to R: Melanie Williams, Leah Daniel, Trevor Doolittle, Alex Cella and Kevin Shefferly

“A lot of us had different ideas coming into the program, ‘Is this relevant to

ELP architect looks back and ahead Reamer Bushardt, PharmD, PA-C, sees a greater need for the Emerging Leaders Program today than when he envisioned it years ago as chair of the Department of PA Studies.

Bushardt, who’s now senior associate dean for health sciences at George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, in Washington, D.C., reflects on the program’s start and its evolution in his own words: “Our graduates were consistently acknowledged for their compassion and patient-centeredness. Where we saw an opportunity to do better was preparing our graduates for the business of medicine, and we hoped an innovative pathway for this training would prepare and inspire some to be architects in reshaping health care delivery away from volume and toward value.

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“For PAs, the process of learning and professional development never stops. In fact, graduation is in many ways just a beginning for a lifetime of advanced training in the clinical practice setting.

PAs most often embrace leadership as a byproduct of sustained service to their patients and communities. This servant leadership is a gradual process and arises because PAs find greater need to lead change to overcome barriers or advocate for resources they see as important for improving the health and lives of their patients. This form of leadership is one of the most altruistic and authentic forms that exists. There is no greater reward for the

F E AT U R E S T O R Y

what we want to do in a clinical practice?’ ”said Leah Daniel (’18) of Blanch, N.C. “It’s a growing experience.

Business skills are applicable to any field you go into.”

All of the students interviewed said they’ll focus on careers as PAs for the first few years after graduation. Several expressed interest in dual clinician and administrative positions down the road.

“The two sides speak such different languages­ — I want to be able to see eye-to-eye,” said Alexander.

Cella has altruistic plans postgraduation. In addition to working as a PA, she intends to volunteer at a free health clinic and use her business skills to help with the clinic’s operations.

PA and business school administrators see a bright future for ELP. “I think we’re going to keep trying to grow the program with enrollment and we want to make sure that they can move into the leadership roles they’ve dreamed,” Hussaini said.

ELP by the numbers 2014 EMERGING LEADERS PROGRAM STAR TED 6 CLASS OF 2017 GRADUATES 13 STUDENTS COMPLETING PRECLINICAL YEAR 15 ENROLLED IN MA POR TION 13 ENTERING B-SCHOOL IN JULY, GRADUATING IN 2020 39 WOMEN IN THE PROGRAM 8 MEN ENROLLED IN ELP “The program’s goal is not just educational,” she added. “We want to make sure they’re successful in career endeavors, whether that’s being a chief PA or opening their own practice­ — however they envision their future.”

Montana of the business school said, “We have tremendous opportunity to continue to impact the business of health care by developing leaders who are prepared to tackle challenges in the evolving environment.”

faculty than to see this leadership emerge within Wake Forest graduates.

“Through partnership with the School of Business, we crafted a pathway to accelerate this leadership and embed students in the pathway with teams that were reshaping health care delivery within our health system so they could gain practical skills and confidence as emerging clinician leaders. Faculty from each school have learned a lot from each other, and our colleagues from the School of Business have been phenomenal collaborators with diverse ideas, talents in experiential learning, and endless creativity.

“I have never met a PA who chose their career path because they were excited about the business of medicine. The draws are the art, the science, and the opportunity every day to make a positive difference in

The students are excited about what’s ahead.

“This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to delve into a world we had no experience with,” Williams said.

“It gives me more tools in my toolbox.”

“I would absolutely recommend the program,’ Doolittle said. “There’s so much more to health care than just treating patients. Health care is a business.”

the life of a patient or family. However, the more PAs learn about the business of medicine and can appreciate its complexity, the more they can discover ways to influence it and reshape it to work better for patients.

The ultimate goals are to make high quality health care more accessible, safer, and more affordable. And we should try to empower patients and equip them with the skills to assume greater ownership of their own health.

“There is irony and poetry in the Wake Forest experience. We train our PA students to help heal patients; but through innovations like the Emerging Leaders Program, they are learning to heal a broken health care system, too.”

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VIEWPOINT

Interprofessional education offers exciting opportunities PAs are natural team players. In practice, we often find ourselves partnering with other providers as we strive to offer high-quality, comprehensive, patient-centered care.

The inherent challenges and complexities of navigating our current medical care environments frequently require the expertise of coordinated care teams, including MDs, PAs, NPs, nurses, therapy staff, and team members from a myriad of other disciplines. The Wake Forest PA Program is in the process of developing several new interprofessional education (IPE) opportunities for our students with the goals of enriching the learning environment while better preparing our graduates for dynamic and diverse patient care environments.

We’re fortunate to have populations of students from varied disciplines training within Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center— some are housed primarily within our walls (PA, MD, CRNA), while others arrive via partnerships with other institutions. For example, pharmacy students from Campbell University and Wingate University rotate through our system on a regular basis. We host visiting MD and PA students from several other programs around the country. Students in nearby physical therapy and nurse practitioner programs spend time on our campuses as they apply classroom skills in functional patient care scenarios.

The preceding list represents a fragment of the volume of didactic and hands-on clinical training that occurs at Wake Forest. For example, this list doesn’t include our numerous MD residencies and fellowships.

For most of our history at Wake Forest, our in-house medical learners (PA, MD, CRNA) have primarily trained within the environments provided by their programs, which may or may not have included specific goals for skill development with team-based practice. Many of us acquire ‘on-the-job’ training regarding the pitfalls and successes associated with medical team interactions. Seeing the

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landscape of providers in a given environment is often difficult if one is not actively looking for it or if the person is unable to recognize the value, challenges, expertise or pressures associated with providers from different disciplines.

We’re now actively centralizing our IPE efforts under the direction of teams composed of faculty from each of our primary training programs and with the support of external grants and the School of Medicine’s Dean’s office. The most exciting developments include new overarching goals centered on introductions to providers of different types, environmental or contextually-based learning opportunities in our preclinical year, followed by ongoing collaborations with trainees during coordinated skills sessions during the clinical year. As examples, our first-year PA students and first-year MD students attended a respiratory therapist-led workshop on respiratory care basics, including airway systems and a primer on inhaled medications. As our preclinical year PA students were learning about lumbar puncture and perioperative care, they interacted with first-year CRNA students to develop hands-on skills and share knowledge about a common simulated patient who needed neurosurgical intervention. In the clinical year, students from the various programs interact, but we’re now pushing to coordinate clinical year events to include shared training on safety, hand-offs between medical teams and trauma care. Each situation is tuned to the disciplines most likely to be involved and the care improvement needs identified with our medical care environments.

We’re very excited to be at the forefront of this push within the Wake Forest School of Medicine to train medical learners in the effective delivery of safe, high-quality, patient-centered care.

— by Erich Grant, MMS, PA-C, Assistant Professor and Vice Chair, Education and Curricular Innovation

OF NOTE

Livingston inspires with powerful and poetic Graduate Project Symposium speech Arguably, the best graduation speech of 2016 was “Lift Off”

by Donovan Livingston, who delivered it when he received his master’s degree at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education. The spoken-word speech went viral within hours of its delivery and has more than 700,000 views to date on YouTube. Livingston’s keynote address at PA Studies’ Graduate Project Symposium in February was equally riveting.

Livingston, who is now program manager for Pre-College Programs at Wake Forest University, used personal anecdotes, poetry, and philosophers’ works to challenge students to consider their research and roles as PAs as part of a greater social justice mission. He suggested that Paulo Freire’s conditions for dialogue—love, humility, faith in humankind, hope, and critical thinking—can be used not only to propel the students forward in their careers, but also to give back to mentees in the field of medicine.

“Turn your tassel without turning your back on the place that made you,” Livingston said. “Your name is not the only one on that diploma.”

Livingston said his speech was inspired by his experiences in education and by the students and teachers who have touched his life Livingston is currently a PhD candidate in education at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. In his position at Wake Forest, he works with first-generation college students and those with academic need. He said he’s particularly interested in issues surrounding college access. “I get excited about working with populations that are not in college but want to be,” he said. Livingston is a firm believer in the importance of education and the opportunities that it provides. He feels his passion helps him impact students’ lives to achieve what they may have thought was impossible.

A native of Fayetteville, N.C., Livingston credits his father, a retired principal, and his mother, a speech pathologist, for their part in his success. His wife, Lauren, “is hands down my biggest inspiration,” he said. “She pushes and challenges me in my poetry and in who I am.” Visiting the School of Medicine wasn’t new territory for Livingston— his wife is a second-year medical student. Livingston said he and his wife enjoy music, particularly hip hop and rap, and watching

Netflix, especially current favorite, “Black Mirror.” They now have their hands full with a new puppy, Phife Dawg, named after the rapper with “A Tribe Called Quest.”

PA Studies’ Graduate Project Symposium is held annually as the culmination of students’ 14-month long research projects.

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SPOTLIGHT

FACULTYFACTS Daniel Bertrams (’14), MMS, PA-C, instructor, published a reflective essay, “No Textbook Necessary,” in the March issue of JAAPA. Alisha DeTroye (’04), MMS, PA-C, adjunct assistant professor, has been named director of physician assistant services for Wake Forest Baptist Health. In her new role, she will engage with PAs throughout the health system and ensure that PA practice opportunities are enhanced. She continues part-time practice in neuro-oncology and as the current director of transitional and supportive care for Wake Forest Baptist.

DeTroye made a presentation on “Readmissions: Moving from Data to Patient Engagement” in February at the N.C. Alliance for Effective Care Transitions in Durham.

Sarah Garvick, MS, MPAS, PA-C, assistant professor, has been appointed to a threeyear term on the PAEA Exam Development Board for the Family and Internal Medicine EOR Exams beginning in March 2017.

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STUDENTNEWS Sobia Hussaini, MHA, assistant professor and director of academic practice partnerships, and Kristin Lindaman, MMS, PA-C, recently completed the Early Career Development Program for Women through the Office of Women in Medicine and Science at Wake Forest Baptist. The professional development fellowship is targeted toward early-career women faculty.

Janie McDaniel, MS, MLS(ASCP)SC, assistant professor, recently completed the Career Development for Women Leaders Program through the Office of Women in Medicine and Science at Wake Forest Baptist. The program is a nine-month professional development fellowship.

K. Patrick Ober, MD, professor of internal medicine – endocrinology and medical director of the PA program, was the keynote speaker at a meeting of the Gold Humanism Honor Society in February at the University of Florida College of Medicine. Ober’s talk was titled, “What Mark Twain Would Tell Us About Medicine, If He Were with Us Today.” Ober, a UFCOM alumnus, is an internationally recognized expert on Mark Twain.

Jeffrey Woodard (’18) received a scholarship from the Governor’s Institute to attend the Addiction Medicine 2017 Conference held in March in Asheville, N.C. The conference provided clinically practical and up-to-date substance abuse-related training. The Governor’s Institute is a nonprofit that offers professional education, workforce development and other programs in the substance abuse field to educational programs, professional organizations, treatment facilities, clinics and hospitals.

PRECEPTOR PROFILE

GABRIEL CADE You never know who is going to walk through the doors of the ED, but Dr. Gabriel Cade, FAWM, is prepared for it all.

Cade, a preceptor in western North Carolina, has a medical bag chock full of everything from an ultrasound probe that connects to his smart phone to a collection of hand puppets to entertain sick children.

medicine before my rotation with Dr. Cade,” said PA student Mary St. John (’17). “I did not think I would be able to handle the stress of critical care, the long hours, and the volume of patients with such a variety of complaints. After my rotation, I am strongly considering a career in emergency medicine and that is almost solely because of my experience working with Dr. Cade and his wonderful ED team.

“In school we were taught the science of medicine, but Dr. Cade is a master of the art, and every day he inspired “He is a wonderful doctor who cares about his patients me to grow as a provider and person,” PA student and is able to build rapport with them even in the tense, Tucker deVillier (’17) recalled of his rotation. stressful ED setting,” St. John added. PA student Ali Garel (’17) agrees. “Dr. Cade has been my most After actively avoiding medicine, even with a physician engaging and effective preceptor to date,” Garel said. father and nurse mother, Cade took a circuitous route to “He is curious and concerned about not only his patients, a career he now feels is a perfect fit. He transferred but his students as well. He is humble, compassionate, college three times, dropped out twice, travelled, hiked and has a heart of gold. It is inspiring to watch him the Appalachian Trail, and was a contestant on the engage with patients with the same attentiveness and television show Survivor: Marquesas. kindness that he engaged with me as a student.”

In addition to being an emergency room physician, Students’ admiration is proof that Cade is living his Cade is an instructor with Wild Med Adventures, a philosophy: “Being a kind person of compassionate and company that provides wilderness medicine CME generous spirit matters most.” experiences. “I am inspired daily by the people I work with in the ED and also by some of the patients I treat,” Cade said. Away from work, he enjoys adventure racing, rock climbing, mountaineering, SCUBA diving, backpacking and hanging out on the farm where he lives The Wake Forest PA program is always looking for preceptors with his wife and kids. to work with second-year students during their clinical Cade’s love of medicine and teaching is inspiring to PA rotations. If you’re a physician, PA or NP and are interested students. He is a sought-after emergency medicine in helping train our PAs, please contact Lori Cook, program preceptor. “I was very apprehensive of emergency coordinator for the clinical year: lcook@wakehealth.edu or 336-716-2023. We’re grateful for your support!

Preceptors wanted!

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ALUMNI PROFILE

Robert Wooten’s achievements are wide-ranging “No whining!” When asked to sum up his personal philosophy, Wake Forest PA Program alumnus Robert Wooten (’81) didn’t hesitate before saying those words. It’s his philosophy for patients, for students, and for himself.

When you look at all Wooten has done over his career as a PA, you see the philosophy in action. In the 36 years since he graduated, he has practiced family medicine and emergency medicine; managed public health clinics; and taught Wake PA students about emergency medicine, cancer survivorship, health care disparities, leadership and more. He’s held many state and national leadership positions, including with NCAPA and AAPA, where his leadership journey culminated as president in 2011–2012.

Wooten’s achievements are wideranging and his perspective is long, so when we sat down to talk, we asked him to use that experience and perspective to reflect on some broad questions.

What role has leadership played in your life?

When I was a new PA, a colleague invited me to a NCAPA meeting. In those days there were still lots of

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obstacles for PAs, and the NCAPA folks point. When I’m precepting students, talked a lot about how to meet these they may ask me why I do something a challenges. I got excited. I wound up certain way. It makes me stop and think: on a committee, and my life in why do I do it that way?! More than leadership took off from there. After a once, I’ve changed how I do things bit, I was invited to work nationally, and because of their questions. I learn from I began to see that PAs nationally also them, just as they learn from me. had challenges. So I caught the What did you learn about working leadership bug. I got involved with with students from your time in AAPA and eventually ran for president— PA school? four times before I was finally elected!

My story is an interesting one. I almost Then I became AAPA’s liaison to the got kicked out of the program!

Commission to End Health Care Students weren’t supposed to work, Disparities, which was established in but I worked as a paramedic because I response to the Institute of Medicine’s needed the money. On one shift, my 2002 report, “Unequal Treatment: ambulance was in a crash and I ended Confronting Racial and Ethnic up hospitalized. Of course, the Disparities in Health Care.” Most program found out I was working. I recently, I joined the PA History Society thought, this is it! They’ll kick me out as a member of its board of trustees. for sure! But they didn’t. They let me My work in leadership has been stay. We had small-group learning in enormously meaningful because it’s those days too, and my small group allowed me to contribute to making brought my work to the hospital so I positive changes for the PA profession could stay on track. I learned and, through that, for the patients we something important about second serve. chances from that experience. How What do you like about working they treated me propelled me forward. with students?

I stayed close to the program, and I I enjoy their enthusiasm and watching wanted to give back. What I learned is them progress. But also I find that what I still see in our program: we really students challenge my thought care about the students. We try to processes in ways that help me stay on surround them in times of trouble and

P H I L A N T H R O P H Y M AT T E R S

Student

provide help and counsel; whatever they need. The Wake PA program was strong in that then, and we’re strong in that now.

grateful

for John and Kathy Black Scholarship

What do you like most about being a PA? I like the interactions with patients, and I like continuing to learn. Wherever I’ve practiced, there’s always something new to learn. The patients, and continuing to grow—these have been the best part of the job.

Amanda Moschetta (’17) has never met Kathy Frost Black (’01) but the two share a special connection.

Moschetta is a recipient of the John and Kathy Black Physician Assistant Scholarship.

Get to Know Robert Wooten If I wasn’t a PA, I’d…

Work in a non-profit doing some type of community service First job

Helping my dad wash cars, I was probably 12. No pay, but I got treats Dream trip Hawaii

Three words that describe you Dedicated, thoughtful, caring What’s on your playlist Smooth jazz, R&B Interests outside work “Mindless” reading (spy thrillers, detective novels), listening to music, watching football, baseball, basketball.

Favorite teams: Mets, Braves, Hornets, Golden State Warriors.

Dog or cat person Neither. But I’d be closer to a dog person.

“PA school can be stressful, given the work load and financial burden, and their help during this hectic time means so much,” Moschetta said of the Blacks. “Support from individuals like the Blacks, rather than the government or an institution, represents a special sort of generosity that I am genuinely thankful for.”

Kathy Frost Black and her husband, John A. Black (MD ’81), established the scholarship in 2012 to provide much-needed financial assistance to students in the Department of PA Studies. Four students have been named the John and Kathy Black PA Scholar since the scholarship’s inception.

Kathy Black’s experience in the Wake PA program prompted her to give back. “As any graduate of the Department of PA Studies knows, the time in the program is both rewarding and demanding,” she said.

“I wanted to pay it forward for future students and encourage fellow alumni to do the same.”

Moschetta, of Florida, decided to pursue a career as a PA after earning an undergraduate degree in philosophy at Georgia State University in Atlanta.

“I decided that becoming a PA would be the best way for me to combine my logical reasoning skills, practicality, general interest in science and psychology, and desire to help others,” Moschetta said.

“I am excited to be pursuing a career that not only allows me to integrate all of my interests and desires but also requires me to continually develop my skills and knowledge.”

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NEWFACES New faculty join department Out of all the Reflecting on her most memorable jobs in the world, job as an emergency room Gayle Bodner’s technician, Bodner said, “I worked dream job is to with people in their most vulnerable be a science situations. While I wasn’t a PA in educator, so she those interactions, the patients left a feels right at mark on me and they are the reason home in the why I’ve decided to do what I do.”

Wake Forest PA Even as a youth, in her very first job, Program. Bodner, an assistant professor, said she loves the fact that Bodner worked as a hospital candy striper and quickly realized that she, students constantly challenge her “could add to a patient’s day with and “keep her on her toes.” nothing more to offer than a smile, a “In health care education, there’s so glass of water, or a flower delivery.” much evolution in the content, so Providing thoughtful, compassionate there’s never any reason to be idle or care for patients is something that bored,” she said. Her energy comes Bodner has always aimed to do from “working with students and throughout her career as a PA, and seeing their enthusiasm and interest now she looks forward to teaching in learning how to become excellent these values to Wake Forest PA clinicians.” Bodner, a PA in the students.

Preoperative Assessment Clinic at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, joined the PA program as an adjunct When asked to faculty member two and a half years describe himself, ago, and recently was named a Josh Waynick, full-time faculty member.

MMS, PA-C, A native of Aurora, Colo., Bodner studied speech pathology at the University of Colorado in Boulder and then completed her master’s degree in PA Studies at Midwestern University. She began her career as a PA in cardiac electrophysiology.

After 10 years, she decided to go in an entirely different direction, developing new skills and a new knowledge base by joining the department of anesthesiology.

One theme that is evident from Bodner’s previous work experiences is her dedication to patients and her personal realization that even the smallest act of kindness can have a positive influence on a patient’s care.

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replied that he’s someone who “enjoys having a purpose… something where I can stay on task, but also keep it light.” Waynick (’14) is currently defining that purpose by inspiring students.

Waynick, who recently was named a full-time instructor in the PA program, joined the department as an adjunct faculty member two years ago. “I never really left,” he said. “I tutored PA students for 9 or 10 months after I graduated from the program and then joined the faculty in 2015.”

He is excited about his new full-time role. “I gain the chance to continue to learn from faculty members, some of whom I had when I was a student,” Waynick said. “Learning how to better teach students is really interesting.” A native of Greensboro, N.C., Waynick has a bachelor’s degree in psychology and exercise sport science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Waynick will be teaching in the inquiry-based learning (IBL) course, the electrocardiogram course series, and in the patient care lab. In addition to his faculty role, he transferred his clinical work in February from general cardiology to the department of physical medicine and rehabilitation at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center. “Teaching and inspiring students is an extension of regular everyday clinical practice,” he said. “I like inspiring others and I enjoy teaching because I feel like it’s another way to help patients.”

Whether he’s facilitating an IBL small group, teaching volunteers with the Appalachia Service Project or setting an example for his son Lucas, Waynick is a self-described continuous learner who immensely enjoys engaging with students.

With all of these career changes, Waynick excitedly anticipates a shift in the pace of his work life, which he hopes will allow him to reflect and further develop his own teaching philosophy with students. As he looks forward to these new opportunities, Waynick exclaims that his career pathway is “to be determined!”

New staff Carol Cooper is the newest addition to the PA Studies staff.

Cooper joined the department in February as an administrative secretary.

Although this is her first foray into the world of health care, she has worked in higher education for many years. Her personal philosophy is that “people don’t care about how much you know until they know how much you care.” This motivation is reflected in her longtime career in residence life at Longwood University in Virginia, at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, and most recently at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts.

As she embarks on her new role with the department, Cooper knows that she will have many questions about medical education, but she’s excited

about the opportunity to expand her expertise.

Away from work, she is a figure skating enthusiast. She is currently taking skating lessons in order to learn how to dazzle on the ice. She also crossed an item off her bucket list when she traveled with a group of figure skating aficionados to the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver. Traveling with this crew has given her the opportunity to attend national skating championships, meet professional figure skaters, and even dabble in recreational photography at the events.

A native of Waynesboro, Va., Cooper has been in Winston-Salem for more than 20 years. She received her bachelor’s degree in home economics with an emphasis in fashion merchandising from Longwood University and her master’s in education from the College of William and Mary.

Congrats to us!

U.S. News & World Report’s Best Graduate Schools rankings list the PA program at Wake Forest School of Medicine at No. 9 nationally.

SPRING 2017

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STUDENTNEWS

SOUND MEDICINE:

Students and clinicians find outlet in orchestra

L to R: Alyssa Murray, Josh Geiple, Gerardo Maradiaga, Xiao Fu Liu, Sam Weiss

Medical professionals trade chart notes for music notes and surgical instruments for musical instruments as members of the Triad Area Medical Orchestra (TAMO). The orchestra, which held its second concert in February, includes three first-year PA students, an alumnus, and an adjunct faculty member.

“I really enjoy that TAMO allows those from different areas of medicine, clinical and otherwise, to interact in a way that just doesn’t happen within the walls of a hospital,” said Josh Geiple (’10). “TAMO is a way to relax and create music with others who understand the daily rigors of working in medicine.”

Besides Geiple, an emergency medicine PA and trombone player, the orchestra includes Sam Weiss (’18), Xiao Fu Liu (’18), Alyssa Murray (’18), and adjunct instructor Gerardo Maradiaga, MA. The orchestra was founded in 2015 by a then third-year MD student at the Wake Forest School of Medicine. Its membership is open to health care providers, students, researchers, as well as community members with musical backgrounds.

Weiss appreciates being able to take a break from his PA coursework and play his violin with likeminded professionals. “TAMO not only allows me to have an outlet to play music but also engages me in a musical project much bigger than myself,” he said.

Xiao, who plays the flute, added, “I have been wanting to play again and TAMO gave me the opportunity to do that without making me feel pressured to sound like a professional musician.”

The February concert in Crawford Hall at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA) was the culmination of several months of work under the leadership of conductors Chris Lees, director of the UNCSA Symphony Orchestra and Daniel Bukin, assistant conductor of the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra.

“TAMO had been rehearsing for quite some time but never with the entire orchestra together,” Weiss said. “It was very exciting to hear the pinnacle of what the orchestra had been able to reach at that point and also to do so with the full orchestra.”

Concert selections included pieces by Grieg, Tchaikovsky, and Ungar, as well as components of Bizet’s Suites No. 1 & 2 from the opera Carmen, with one of TAMO’s own members singing the mezzo-soprano role in the “Habanera” movement.

Triad area providers, their families, and friends are welcome to join TAMO on Sunday nights for rehearsals from 6–8 pm at UNCSA. Contact gmaradia@wakehealth.edu for more details. The next concert is planned for May.

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Addiction support groups show students another side of care As part of the “Being a PA” course, first-year students were asked to attend an open meeting for Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous to explore the benefits of community involvement in health care. The meetings, held daily in nearly every community across the country, are open to anyone with a desire to stop using alcohol or drugs and who wants support from like-minded people during their recovery.

Wake Forest PA students attended the meetings to learn about a resource they may recommend to their future patients. Treatment for substance abuse disorders typically includes these community groups, and class members felt it was helpful to experience the groups in-person. The experience had a significant impact on students.

“The comradery in those meetings is palpable,” said Andrew Gray (’18). “The room is full of people who understand you, who have been through what you have been through and who are willing to be vulnerable in front of you. There are people who want to celebrate your victories and who can speak to you from the sober side of addiction to tell you that sobriety is possible. That kind of support is a powerful medicine, and it is something I think we will be able to prescribe to future patients with confidence.”

Students participate in LGBTQ health training The unique issues that LGBTQ patients face was the focus of a special program PA students attended in February and March.

The student-run course, “Safe Zone: LGBTQ Issues in Medicine,” was sponsored by the Wake Forest School of Medicine’s Genders and Sexualities Alliance (GSA) group and the Maya Angelou Center for Health Equity. The three-night program covered topics such as intimate partner violence, treating the mental and physical health needs of LGBTQ youth, the history of health care of intersex and transgender patients, and medical-legal issues faced by the LGBTQ community.

Fourteen PA students in the Class of 2018 and 19 members of the Class of 2017 attended the course along with MD,

CRNA and graduate students from the School of Medicine.

“Safe Zone was a powerful reminder that we all have our own stories, our own background, and it’s important to be conscientious about how we address people and interact with everyone,” said Trisha Gibbons (’18).

Emma Breu (’18) added, “I gained not only multiple new perspectives and insight into issues LGBTQ patients face, but also how I, as a provider, can be part of the solution.”

The Safe Zone sessions included guest lectures, documentaries, and a speaker panel. The program is an extension of a two-hour workshop delivered to all School of Medicine students by GSA executive board members. Charley Cummings (’17),

a member of GSA’s executive board, helped organize the program. This is the third year it has been offered.

Safe Zone’s goals include addressing health disparities faced by LGBTQ patients and the clinician-LGBTQ patient relationship and enhancing students’ understanding of the ethical and social issues that LGBTQ patients or colleagues may face.

The Safe Zone Project is a national program that offers free online resources and curriculum content for LGBTQ awareness and ally training. The curriculum was adapted for medical students in 2015 by two Wake Forest SOM students.

Students who attended the program received a certificate and white coat pin.

SPRING 2017

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ALUMNINEWS 1970s

2000s

Tom Coppley (‘78) retired from the VA Outpatient Clinic in Winston-Salem in 2011.

After a year of retirement, he started working at PACE/Carolina Senior Care in Lexington, N.C. He’s working three days a week in primary care and says he loves it.

Lia Ferreira McNamee (’08) reports that shortly after graduation she moved to Northern Ireland, where there were no PAs. She’s happy to announce that this year she became the first and only “PA” in Northern Ireland. She says PAs are called “physician associates” in Northern Ireland and that unfortunately she cannot prescribe until statutory regulation is resolved. Lia is living in Belfast and working in the emergency department at the Royal Victoria Hospital.

She’s advocating for PAs and is working with Ulster University, which started the first PA program in the country in January with a group of 16 students. She says being a pioneer has not been easy, but she is excited for the opportunity to grow the PA profession around the world.

1980s Marisa Stahl Scarlett Faircloth (’82) in February opened a second branch of her practice, Restoration MedSpa, in Greensboro, N.C. She started the practice, which offers a variety of non-invasive cosmetic procedures, in Winston-Salem in 2015.

1990s Leslie Kubic (’93) writes that she graduated from Yale University School of MedicineNorwalk Hospital PA Surgical Residency Program in 2006 and is working in plastic and reconstructive surgery in Beverly, Mass.

Josef Wolf Burwell (’94) is living in Phoenix where he directs Peacework Medical Projects, a nonprofit he started in 2000, to provide free primary care for individuals who cannot access health care insurance. The organization.is in seven countries now including the U.S. He also reports that he changed his name from Pam to Josef in early 2015. “I’ve transitioned my gender in recent years, and am delighted to be living fully and authentically even more than before, which is saying something,” he writes. Josef regularly speaks to medical professionals, PA schools, and social work groups about eliminating fear, bias and confusion around transgender patients and clients in the workplace.

Karen J. Hills (‘99) was promoted in January to professor in the Department of Community and Family Medicine at Duke University School of Medicine. She serves as program director of Duke’s PA program.

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Jessica Zarou (’12) married Scott Delloroso (MD ’12) on Oct. 15, 2016 in Jacksonville, Fla. The bridal party included Matron of Honor Amanda Hellberg Janda (’12). Guests included Andrew McDowell (’12) and Laura Hedlund (’12) The couple met during their studies at Wake Forest School of Medicine.

Jessica recently accepted a position at Baptist Primary Care in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., and Scott is completing his vascular neurology fellowship at the University of Florida.

Emily Anderson (’13) and Brett Anderson (’15) of Winston-Salem welcomed their daughter, Nellie Rae Anderson, on April 25, 2016. Emily works at Novant Valaoras & Lewis ObGyn and Brett works at Wake Forest Baptist Health Orthopaedics – Lexington.

Lucia Lopez (’13) has joined the faculty as an assistant professor at Nova Southeastern University PA Program in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.

PHOTO ALBUM

SECU Family House Being a PA involves more than treating patients.

First-year students learn that one aspect of their chosen profession is understanding what families face when a patient is seriously ill. To gain this experience, students visit organizations that provide support services for patients and their families — the SECU Family House in Winston-Salem and Parentto-Parent and CHAMP in Boone, which all provide support services for patients and caregivers.

Students reflect on these visits in personal essays.

Here is a sampling of what they have said . . .

L to R: Tori Hitz, Jen Taylor, Sara Commander, Morgan Koch, Chrystell Cluck, Emily Orr, Isaac Rowner

someone can be this positive after all that they have been through and all the setbacks they have encountered in their life.’ It really made me realize how small all of my problems were.”

“I will be deliberate about reassuring and valuing the “Until this point, my naivety led me to believe that a caregiver, and asking if they have any questions or caregiver’s role ended once they left the patient’s need any resources to perform their role effectively.” bedside.” “ . . . caregivers need the same things as patients and friends and human beings—compassion and support.”

“After completing my time at the SECU Family House at the end of the night, I can honestly say I left a changed person for the better.” “. . . sometimes these burdened caregivers yearn for a listening and attentive ear.”

“I kept thinking to myself ‘there is no way that

“I thought about how they are really an extension of our work as health care professionals.”

“I will keep this experience close to heart and remember that caring for my patients also includes caring for their family members.” “. . . this will serve to make me a more compassionate and helpful provider.”

“My experience at SECU house has forever changed my outlook on caregivers.”

First-year students made dinner on February 28 for patients and caregivers at SECU Family House in Winston-Salem as part of their community service work. About 25 members of the Class of 2018 bought supplies for the dinner while 10 students prepared and served the meal of meat and vegetable lasagnas, salad, garlic bread and assorted desserts. “The patients and caregivers were so grateful to have us step in and provide a meal,” said Chrystell Cluck (’18), one of the organizers.

“Many of the guests approached us and shared their stories as they thanked us for dinner.”

SECU Family House provides support services for patients and their families.

SPRING 2017

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WAKE Up Winston-Salem!

Plan on coming back to PA school for a CME alumni event here at 525@Vine, Nov. 1–3, 2017. Content will be centered around an IBL case. To learn more, call 336-716-2010.

Happy Spring from the Wake Forest School of Medicine Department of PA Studies!

We are always available to help. Please use the quick reference guide below when you need assistance.

We are grateful for your support and contributions.

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AR E A

C O N TAC T PER SO N

EMAIL

P HO NE

Department chair

L. Gail Curtis

gcurtis@wakehealth.edu

336-716-2027

Department administrator

Dorothy Carter

dncarter@wakehealth.edu

336-716-2026

PA Program

Suzanne Reich, program director

suzreich@wakehealth.edu

336-716-2035

Preceptor education

Lori Cook, program coordinator, clinical year

lcook@wakehealth.edu

336-716-2023

Admissions information

Elise Gmuca, student admissions administrator

egmuca@wakehealth.edu

336-716-4358

Emerging Leaders Program

Sobia Hussaini, director, academic partnerships

ssharif@wakehealth.edu

336-716-2167

Boone campus

Sherrie Spear, distant campus coordinator

shspear@wakehealth.edu

828-262-7366

Completion of enrollment Camille Jones, registrar verification forms, transcripts, credentialing and licensure documents

camjones@wakehealth.edu 336-716-7068

Alumni news or address change

PAalumnews@wakehealth.edu

All other requests or questions and to join our mailing list

tcapshaw@wakehealth.edu 336-713-0820

INSIDE WAKE PA

Teri Capshaw, departmental project manager