Emory PA Program News

Updated Monday September 29, 2008.

Class of 2010 Already Very Busy

On August 21, 2008, the Class of 2010 arrived to begin orientation and soon afterward, to begin classes. Read more about our new first year class, and view photos as they learn the ear-nose-throat examination.

Fourteenth Annual South GA Farmworker Health Project Planned

Faculty, students, and many volunteers are again preparing for what will be our 14th medical outreach project during the peak harvest season next June in south Georgia. We anticipate that we will again provide free medical care for 1300-1600 farmworkers and family members. Dates for the Project this year are June 5-19, 2009.

Meanwhile, a team of students, faculty, and other volunteers will return to Bainbridge, GA for a "mini" version of our farmworker health project in early October. This will be the third year of the fall project.

The June 2008 SGFHP was very successful, with approximately 1600 patient encounters recorded over 12 days.

Several graduates of the program spoke about their experience on the Project. Although these are older interviews, they convey the spirit of the experience very well and you may enjoy viewing them.  Please choose the video type for your computer:

Flash (for DSL/Cable)   

Window Media ( low resolution version for Dial-up)   

Windows Media (for DSL/Cable)

Should you need further information about the South Georgia Farmworker Health Project, or wish to donate to the Project, please read more on our Community Involvement page, or contact us by email.

2008 Fun Run a Great Success!

On April 12, 2008 the Emory Physician Assistant Class of 2009 hosted the 7th annual Care to Share Fun Run at Lullwater Park. Over 200 runners and walkers participated in this event, raising money for the South Georgia Farmworker Health Project, the Good Samaritan Health Center, and the Henry W Grady Health System Foundation. With the help of numerous community sponsors, family and friend donations, and registration fees, the Emory PA Class of 2009 raised over $18,000. The event included a 5K run, a kid's mile run, a raffle with thousands of dollars of give-aways, entertainment for the children, food, and live music.

Early morning student team makes PB & J sandwiches for finishers.                   Some of the faculty recover from the race.

Electronic Certification / Recertification Review Course Still Available

Although our popular "live" September review is now completed, and the next live review not scheduled until September 2009, you can still review using our electronic review course.

Based on the  fall 2007 Review course, it is available as a DVD or CD-ROM set for self-study at home and approved for Category 1 CME (see  webpage for details). An electronic version of the fall 2008 review will be released in mid to late spring, 2009.

Emory PA student supports US Track Team in Summer Olympics in Beijing

Second year Emory Physician Assistant student Harris Patel was selected from thousands of athletic trainers to join the team of physicians, athletic trainers, physical therapists, massage therapists, and sports psychologists supporting the US Olympic track and field athletes at the Summer Olympic games in Beijing, China.

Harris worked as an athletic trainer with the University of Georgia football team for several years prior to attending the Emory Physician Assistant program. He was selected to go with the US track and field team to the Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in the summer of 2007 as one of five athletic trainers.

“It is and honor to be selected” Harris said when he received the invitation letter. “I will represent the US and Emory with pride”

Harris is currently doing one year of clinical rotations and will take time off to travel with the Olympic team. After graduation from Emory, Harris hopes to work with a physician providing primary care to a community in need.

Harris is the Emory PA student representative from his class to the Georgia Association of Physician Assistants (GAPA).

Smart phones and PDAs helps Doctors and PAs reduce errors

The Institute of Medicine (IOM) estimates that there are at least 1.5 million preventable adverse drug reactions in the US each year ¹.  According to the IOM, doctors, physician assistants and nurse practitioners can not keep up with the rapidly changing world of prescription drugs, herbal treatments and over the counter medications, and need accessible electronic information. A personal digital assistant (PDA) or  a smart phone (cell phone-PDA combination) is just what clinicians need to help reduce these errors and keep up with the rapidly changing knowledge base of medicine.

Emory School of Medicine – Physician Assistant Program faculty Allan Platt PA-C, MMSc, has written a clinician guide book titled Evidence Based Medicine for PDAs – A Guide for Practice to help clinicians learn the hardware and software product available to help clinicians choose the best medication. There are excellent medical programs that inform clinicians of the latest evidence based treatment, highlight drug – drug interactions and help clinicians review complications, costs and potential side effects.

“Help is just a click away on a smart phone with the right programs” according to Platt. The best device is the one you will keep next to you to do drug interaction look-ups and review the latest treatment options. Most clinicians keep their cell phone in their pocket and can use it to do quick look-ups between seeing patients.  Clinicians can carry the equivalent of a library shelf of current searchable reference materials in the palm of their hand.

Emory PA students are required to have a laptop and PDA with medical programs that assist diagnosis, treatment, and medical error reduction.  “We do many practice cases to learn how the equipment and software work together” according to Platt. “We even allow cell phone call breaks to do a quick PDA look-up for the best treatment of diagnostic plan.”

The book is published by Jones and Bartlett and will be available in March http://www.jbpub.com/catalog/9780763754761/

1. http://www.iom.edu/Object.File/Master/35/943/medication%20errors%20new.pdf

Support for the Good Samaritan Health Center

The Emory PA Program has coordinated a collaborative clinic with the Good Samaritan Health Center in downtown Atlanta since the summer of 2004. A special presentation was held at the Emory University Physician Assistant Program on January 22, 2008. Dr. Bill Warren, Founder and Medical Director of The Good Samaritan Health Center, was presented with a $5,750.00 check to help support the non-profit faith-based clinic located in downtown Atlanta. Many vital services are offered at the center including medical services, dental services, counseling, health education, and social services. The money was donated by the Georgia Association of Physician Assistant (GAPA) organization to the Emory Physician Assistant Class of 2008, who in turn, made the philanthropic donation to the clinic. Ben Taylor, PA-C, president of GAPA was present along with the faculty, staff, and students of the class of 2008 and 2009. For more details please visit The Good Samaritan Health Center at www.goodsamatlanta.org and The Georgia Association of Physician Assistants at www.gapa.net,

Representatives of the Emory faculty and students, along with Ben Taylor, PA-C, PhD., and Dr Bill Warren.

Emory PA Grad at the South Pole

Heidi Lim, Class of 1996, has lived and worked in an exciting array of places from south Georgia to northern Arizona to Alaska. She has made repeated working trips to Antarctica (the South Pole), and was recently featured in The Emory Wire and Advance for Physician Assistants. You'll enjoy reading about Heidi's work and travels.

Kindergarten Human Body Field Trip

Not only are first year Emory Physician Assistant (PA) students busily memorizing cranial nerve pathways, studying cellular physiology of the kidney and practicing their physical exam assessment skills; but they also find time to volunteer for various community activities and events. One such event is held one afternoon every October, where about 15 PA students volunteer to educate and inspire a class of visiting Kindergarteners from the Glenn School for Young Children. Read more about this activity and view photos.

Class of 2009 Arrives!

Fifty-two excited individuals began their journey together on August 23, 2007, as they reported to campus to start a one week orientation. As always, we are very proud of our new class of future PAs! Please read more about the Class of 2009.

Emory Grad Writes from Iraq

Emory PA graduates work in many places. One of our graduates has been keeping in touch with classmates and faculty while doing a difficult PA job in Iraq. Jesse Dodson, PA-C, MMSc writes:

I am a Battalion PA in the 82nd ABN DIV serving a 15 month rotation in Operation Iraqi Freedom. I am the medical provider for a forward Advanced Trauma Life Support team out of a patrol base inside an Iraqi city. My team consists of 6 EMT-B certified combat medics and myself who provide trauma services for all Coalition and Iraqi Security Forces in the city. In our first 12 months we have treated over 500 trauma patients with 140 aeromedical evacuations. Who would have guessed that one year out of PA school I would find myself on my own in the middle of combat, but thanks to excellent education and training from Emory PA Program and the US Army I have been able to function at the highest level of medical care.
 
CPT Jesse Dodson
Emory Class of 2005

Update: We are happy to welcome Jesse back stateside, following the completion of his tour in Iraq.

New Video Lecture Now Available

We are pleased to host a split-screen video presentation of an excellent lecture recently (5/4/07) given at Emory by the Editor of JAAPA, Tanya Gregory, PhD. Her topic was "Writing for Publication: Ten Steps to Success". You can view the complete lecture here.

Kudos to Another Graduate!

The Downeast Association of Physician Assistants (DEAPA) announced that Erich Fogg, PA-C, MMSc, has been selected to receive its 2007 Robert J. Lapham Outstanding Service Award. This award is presented each year to a Maine Physician Assistant in recognition of outstanding service to the PA profession and to DEAPA.

Erich is a 1996 graduate of the Emory PA Program, and is the Program Director of the University of New England Physician Assistant Program. Congratulations, Erich!

Alumni, We Need to Hear From You!

Although we often hear from our Alumni with updates on their work and families, we have trouble keeping track of job changes, and contact information. As we work to build services for our Alumni, it is very important that we have this current information. Please help us with this task! You can use our Alumni survey to provide this information. The survey is a PDF document which you can complete on your computer. To do so, please download the survey file, complete the text boxes and appropriate check boxes (clicking on the check boxes will mark or unmark them), print the completed survey out, and either mail it or fax it using the information on the survey. Please note that you cannot save the survey file with your changes. If you also have "alumni news" that you'd like to share with the faculty here, or even on the website, please send it to AlumniNews@emorypa.org .

Speaking of Alumni....

We were proud to recently see one of our former graduates profiled by NBC news. Dr Persharon Dixon was an Emory PA Program graduate and worked in inner city Atlanta for a number of years prior to returning to medical school. As noted in the NBC video, she is now a Pediatrician, and providing mobile medical care to victims of hurricane Katrina. Although we are uncertain how long the video clip will remain active, we hope you will have a chance to see the good work that Persharon is doing. Please also check out the website for the organization with which she works, the Mississippi Gulf Coast Children's Health Project.

Keeping Track of the Emory PA Family

We will be making a serious effort to update our graduate database in the months to come (more information on that to be posted later). We also want to remember the students, now PAs, who became part of our "family" here. We'd like to encourage you to send a recent photo, or a family photo, for a collage we will have displayed in the PA Program office. Please put appropriate identification on the back of each photo. Please mail your photo(s) to Virginia Joslin, PA-C, MPH, Program Director, Emory PA Program, 1462 Clifton Road, Suite 280, Atlanta, GA  30322. Please do not send any materials you need returned.

New  Vacancy-Available Electronic Form Available

Potential employers can now post their desire to hire a PA using our new on-line form. These posts are immediately posted to a webpage available to Emory PA graduates and students (through their respective Grad Web and Student portals). This service is free to the potential employer, and to students/graduates using the postings.

New Combined Degree Option (MMSc / MPH) Available to Entering Students

This dual degree program offers students the opportunity to earn an MPH degree in conjunction with training in the Rollins School of Public Health,  Emory University.

Students may apply their combined PA/PH skills in such areas as population or clinical research, health administration leadership, and community health promotion.

Students must apply to and be accepted by both the PA and MPH programs. Students apply to a specific department in the School of Public Health. Students enroll in the School of Public Health for one calendar year (fall, spring, summer) and complete 32 semester hours of courses. They include the required MPH core courses, required departmental courses and, in most instances, a thesis. Students must also complete a practicum, a structured field experience of relevance to public health.

As 10 semester hours of PA courses count towards the MPH degree (i.e., students must complete 32 rather than 42 semester hours), the MPH degree is awarded when the requirements for the PA program are completed.

The PA program requires twenty-eight months of training, including courses and clinical rotations. During enrollment in the MPH program, the student will be charged the rate of tuition established by the School of Public Health. When enrolled in the PA program, the student will be charged the rate of tuition approved by the School of Medicine for the PA program
 

For a description of requirements for the MPH program, see http://www.sph.emory.edu/mphdegree_programs.php

Where Are You?

It is very important that the PA Program be able to track where its graduates practice, and in what specialty, as training grant funding is often predicated on reporting of this data. Help us assure that we can continue to provide a high quality learning experience for our students. Please complete this brief form and update this information for the Emory PA Program. We appreciate your help!

Emory Graduate Web

If you're an Emory PA graduate, have you made your connection to your Graduate Web (GradWeb) part of this website? This is a password protected section just for graduates of the Emory PA program. Features include a discussion board, news for alumni, and a job book (nearly 20 positions have been posted in April). If you are a graduate of the Emory PA Program, please contact the webmaster for a password to the GradWeb.

(Atlanta skyline from the old quad - Click to enlarge)

Professional Practice Resources Available for Emory Graduates

Mr Allan Platt, Co-Coordinator of our Masters of Medical Science for Career Physician Assistants, and Co-Advanced Didactic Coordinator, has compiled a list of resources useful for practicing PAs. This list includes websites, print materials, and links to over 12 hours of video lectures of professional interest from his PA Professional Issues course. Emory Graduates can obtain access to these materials through the GradWeb ; graduates may request a login for that section of the website.

Carter Partnership Award

The Emory PA Program was honored to be one of three finalists for the 2003 Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Partnership Award for Campus-Community Collaboration. We celebrate our collaboration with the Decatur County Health Department and other community partners in the South Georgia Farmworker Health Project (Decatur County). Georgia State University produced a very nice video presentation about the Project.

Where did it go?

Looking for an older news story? Some stories have been moved to the News Archives. Please visit that page.

Web Changes

We have moved most of the PA Program content to this website from the www.fpm.emory.edu/pa website. Please bookmark this site.

This is where we'll announce the most recent additions to our web site. If you've visited us before and want to know what's changed, take a look at the PA Program News page first.

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