Physician Assistant Studies
In Focus: Savina Morelli
Tell us about your current position at Einstein Hospital!
I currently work in the department of Internal Medicine at Einstein Hospital in the Bronx, NY. It is an excellent opportunity, as I am in direct involvement with and responsible for a large array of patients. In this position, I am responsible for admitting and managing the medical treatment and discharge planning of the patients in the hospital. It is a particularly enjoyable job due to the diversity of the population I treat. I see all levels of pathology from chronic to acute, early onset to end-stage. I am in a largely autonomous environment where, with the support of excellent staff, I am constantly learning and improving my medical knowledge and skillset. I have the opportunity to meet new people from all walks of life, provide them with medical education, and advocate for them.
How did your experience at Hofstra prepare you for your job search?
My experience in the Hofstra PA program prepared me extremely well for the challenging job that I have now. The faculty has excellent medical knowledge and is very good at relaying it to the students. Even prior to our clinical portion of the program, we were constantly educated about clinical skills, as all of our professors were experts in their field. They were always sharing anecdotes with the class, which not only helped us to retain information, but aided in preparing us for scenarios we would experience in the clinical setting.
Tell us about your Clinical and Research experiences during the Professional Phase of the program.
The locations of the available clinical rotations are very diverse, ranging from Manhattan to East Suffolk, NY. This provided us with an excellent opportunity to interact with patients from different populations, and experience a wide array of pathology, thus preparing us for a job anywhere. The quality of the medical preceptors was first-rate and networking opportunities were plentiful. I am still in touch with many of my clinical preceptors today. The research portion of our education helped to prepare us for a very important part of clinical practice, and that is the use of evidence based medicine. We not only learned how to read and evaluate peer reviewed articles for use in practice, but we had the opportunity to immerse ourselves in the process by performing our own research as well.
What led you to be interested in this field?
I had always been very interested in medicine and knew that it was a career I wanted to pursue. Growing up in a household with immigrant parents, education and hard work were highly valued. A career in medicine would permit me to be in an environment of hard work and constant learning in addition to giving back to the community and helping people. I entered college as biology major on a Pre-med track. It was in these classes that I interacted with many other like-minded students. That is where I first learned what a Physician Assistant was, and knew that it was the right profession for me.
What attracted you to Hofstra University’s Physician Assistant program?
I had attended Hofstra Undergraduate program initially and thoroughly enjoyed it. All of my classes were small in size with excellent faculty, and a supportive learning environment. Thus, once I made the decision that Physician Assistant was the career I wanted to pursue, I knew that Hofstra would be the place that I wanted to do it, and I could not have made a better choice.
Describe your experience working and studying with faculty in the Department of Physician Assistant studies.
One of the most wonderful aspects of the program is the small and intimate learning environment which it provides, largely in part, due to the incredible faculty. The full time and adjunct staff is so experienced and knowledgeable about all aspects of the profession. Every concern we had was addressed and every question answered. I feel so fortunate to have had the opportunity to learn from them as teachers, and now as a fellow PA, to call them my colleagues. Due to their hard work and excellence, I feel the program is an exceptional one which prepared me and my fellow classmates very well in the pursuit of a career as a Physician Assistant.
