The Hofstra University Department of Physician Assistant Studies is committed to achieving program goals as listed below. Please click on each goal to view program efforts and success attaining goals.
Train highly qualified PAs to enter clinical practice
First Time Pass Rate for Hofstra University PA Program
Program defined benchmark: Five-year first-time PANCE pass rate that meets or exceeds the national average.
Actual outcome: The Hofstra PA Program five-year (2016-2020) first-time PANCE pass rate is 98.4% versus the national average of 95.8%.
Displayed below: The graduate pass rates on the Physician Assistant National Certifying Examination (PANCE), required to become a certified physician assistant, support the program goal to graduate competent physician assistants.
Hofstra University PA Program Graduation Rates
Program defined benchmark: Attrition rate not exceeding 10%.
Actual outcome: Attrition rate has not exceeded 10% in the past five years (2016-2020).
The Hofstra University Physician Assistant Program prides itself on achieving a high first-time PANCE pass rate, while maintaining low rates of attrition.
| Number of Entering Students | Number of Graduated Students | Hofstra Graduation Rate | National Graduation Rate * | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Class of 2016 | 52 | 48 | 92.3% | 94.2% |
| Class of 2017 | 50 | 45 | 90% | 93.7% |
| Class of 2018 | 50 | 47 | 94% | 92.6% |
| Class of 2019 | 50 | 48 | 96% | 93.6% |
| Class of 2020 | 57 | 56 | 98.2% | Awaiting data |
*Data obtained from the Physician Assistant Education Association Annual Reports.
Promotion of self-directed lifelong learning, appreciating the significance of scholarly activities and scientific knowledge.
Northwell Academic Competition
July 5, 2018 marked the 53rd Annual Northwell Academic Competition held at the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell. The Hofstra PA program was fortunate enough to have had two of our recent graduates (class of 2017), Maayan Vazana and Jayme Kunze, present their thesis research during the poster component of this competition. In the Allied Health category, 19 abstracts from around the health system and other PA programs in the area – where students rotated at Northwell sites – were submitted. Only five were accepted to present as a poster. Traditionally, each category has a 1st place prize of $250 and a 2nd place prize of $100. We have been lucky enough to win second place in the poster competition since 2015, and finally this year, we landed a first place win.
We are pleased to announce that Jayme Kunze landed our program’s first 1st place win for the poster competition in the Allied Health category for her group’s research project, “An Examination of Community, Hospital, and Patient Characteristics on Risk of Sepsis-Related Mortality Using SPARCS data.” Her advisors were professors L’Eplattenier and DiPersia.
We are extremely proud of both Jayme and Maayan for representing our program so well and showing the importance of the role they will have at advancing evidence-based practice and ensuring that the voices of PA contribute to clinical practice guidelines, standards, and clinical decision-making across clinical practice.
Students are surveyed after graduation to obtain feedback about their experiences while completing Hofstra's PA program. The program uses data from the survey for various reasons, including assessing to what extent the Hofstra program achieves its goals. The chart below represents the percentage of graduate survey respondents who felt the program was 'Effective' or 'Very Effective' in providing the skills necessary for lifelong learning.
Utilization of Research and Evidence-Based Medicine to Instill Lifelong Learning
Upon completion of their courses in Epidemiology, Evidence-Based Medicine, and Research Design and Analysis, the students complete a master's thesis based upon a clinically-relevant research question. Students have the opportunity to partner with healthcare organizations, hospitals, and research institutions across Long Island and New York City. We pride ourselves on granting students the opportunity to conduct original research; students collect their own data, as well as analyze, and interpret their findings. Each project marks the culmination of intense individual or team research and reflects the mastery of methodology and foundational knowledge. The experience culminates with a master's thesis paper and a poster presentation. Below are examples of research projects exemplifying the importance of lifelong learning.
Hofstra Graduate Wins Second Place at the Northwell Academic Competition!
The annual Academic Competition is a scholarly activity designed primarily to encourage and stimulate the writing of professional papers and the presentation of professional posters. With hundreds of submission for consideration to present their work at the symposium, four Hofstra PA student research projects were chosen to present. Graduate Farah Doxey presented research on the dual use of cigarettes and e-cigarettes. Nidha Azam’s research poster addressed mental health and emergency medical service (EMS) workers. And finally, Tara Feld presented her research and was the recipient of the second place award for poster presentations for her poster titled “Evaluating Blunt Splenic Injury Management on Trauma Patients with Pre-Existing Bleeding Disorders.” Congratulations to all for your continued hard work and contributions to medicine!
Hofstra is Chosen to Present Research at the American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA) National Conference
Recent class of 2016 graduates, Josephine Baretta, Kelly Bocchino, Nicolette McCreary, Elisa Pennella, Jenna Razeq, and Sarah Williams, along with faculty mentors, Christina Ventura-DiPersia and Kelly Porta, had their research project "Exploring Factors Associated with the Practice Behavior of PAs Related to Recommended Vaccinations" accepted and presented at the peer-reviewed poster presentation at the 2017 AAPA conference in Las Vegas.
Hofstra PA Program Alumni Present at American Public Health Association Meeting
Class of 2015 Hofstra PA program graduates, Stefanie Wozmak, MS, PA-C, and Meaghan Conway, MS, PA-C, presented their thesis research, along with PA program Assistant Professor and Research Coordinator Christina Ventura-DiPersia, on college student attitudes and perceptions of hookah smoking at the 2017 American Public Health Association Annual Meeting in Denver on November 2, 2016.
Hofstra Graduate at the American Professional Wound Care Conference, April 2016
Paul Ambrose, a recent Hofstra PA Program graduate (class of 2015) recently presented his capstone research project at the American Professional Wound Care Conference in Philadelphia.
Promote professionalism and leadership skills
Professionalism and Relating to Patients and Colleagues
Program Defined Benchmark: 85% of class achieves a good or excellent rating on their preceptor evaluation in the categories of professionalism and relating to patients and colleagues.
Actual Outcome: For the past 4 years, 98% or more of class achieves a good or excellent rating on their preceptor evaluation in the categories of professionalism and relating to patients and colleagues.
* Data extracted from analysis of Preceptor Evaluations from the graduating classes of 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020
Cultivate the collaborative learning and working styles necessary for participation in an interprofessional, patient-centered health care team.
Self-Assessment – Collaborative Learning
Physician Assistant Competencies: A Self-Evaluation Tool was designed by four professional entities within the PA profession: the American Academy of Physician Assistants, the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant, Inc., the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants, and the Physician Assistant Education Association. This tool is distributed to Hofstra PA students during the program allowing students to self-reflect on competencies. The chart below represents self-assessment data extracted from the survey students filled out upon completion of the program and exemplifies how well the Hofstra PA program is meeting this goal. The area under the bar represents the percentage of students answering 'Strong' or 'Very Strong' in their ability to:
Question 1. Work effectively with physicians and other healthcare professionals as a member or leader of a healthcare team or other professional group
Question 2. Maintain professional relationships with physician supervisors and other healthcare providers
Preceptor Assessment – Collaborative Learning
At the end of each clinical clerkship, student performance and competencies are evaluated by clinical preceptors and submitted to the program. The chart below represents a compilation of results by class. The bar graph represents the percentage of students who scored 'Good' or 'Excellent' in the category 'Ability to work collaboratively in interprofessional teams.'
PA Program Partners with Multiple Disciplines to Promote Interprofessional Education
To eventually improve patient care and outcomes, healthcare educators are being encouraged to incorporate hands-on, collaborative activities that are designed to promote better understanding of, and interaction with, various members of the interdisciplinary healthcare team. Interprofessional education (IPE) trains healthcare workers to work collaboratively across professions and enhances communication with patients and families while increasing patient safety. It ultimately strengthens the health care system, which in turn improves patient outcomes.
With IPE in mind, the PA program took the lead for the second year in creating a multidisciplinary IPE case. We envisioned creating a patient case that allows students from different disciplines to work together in small groups. This year, in addition to the Speech-Language Pathology students that participated with us in the first year, the didactic PA students worked with students and faculty from the Audiology, Master of Public Health, Athletic Training, Exercise Physiology, School of Medicine, and Mental Health and Counseling programs along with Pharmacy students from St John’s University, on an interactive stroke case. The 200 participating students each took on the role of a different healthcare team member in order to demonstrate how various members of the team work together for the patient. The students learned a great deal and feedback from the event was extremely positive. The PA program plans on making this a regular part of its curriculum with increased participation from other programs within the Hofstra University/Northwell Health system. The upcoming case for 2017 also includes students from Nursing and Master of Health Administration.
IPE Case Event
On April 9, over 400 students and 50 faculty members participated in the IPE Case Event at Hofstra University.
The Interprofessional Education Case is an annual event encompassing eight different programs from within Hofstra University including Athletic Training, Audiology, Exercise Science, Nursing, Occupational Therapy, Physician Assistant, Rehabilitation Counseling, School of Medicine, and Speech-Language Pathology, and also Pharmacy students from St John’s University.
The goal is for students to gain a greater understanding of the roles of other healthcare practitioners with whom they will be interacting when they are practicing clinicians and to recognize those roles in the care and management of a patient.
Students are assigned to a health professional role other than the one in which they are studying and are expected to research that role and then represent that role during the IPE case.
Empower PAs to value inclusivity and diversity, and deliver quality care to all patients, recognizing health care disparities and populations with limited access to care.
Hofstra Making Strides!
Jessica Perciballi and Hailey Orgass, PA-S
Hofstra University Physician Assistant program, Class of 2021
On October 20, 2019, Hofstra University’s PA students, faculty, and friends gathered in the fight against breast cancer. The PA program joined thousands of other Long Islanders at Jones Beach to not only raise awareness, but also to raise money for such a near and dear cause. Unfortunately, Long Island has one of the highest rates of breast cancer in the United States. Together, with the help of family and friends, the program was able to raise over $2,300. This money goes toward research, providing information, and offering rides to those who need to travel to seek treatment. Our program is proud to have been able to join the American Cancer Society in Making Strides Against Breast Cancer.
Hofstra University Physician Assistant Program, Class of 2021
-Hailey Orgass and Jessica Percibelli, PA-S
On October 10, 2019, PA students from Hofstra’s School of Nursing and Physician Assistant Studies participated in Organ Donor Enrollment Day. Students from the didactic and research classes collaborated with LiveOn NY and ran a booth in Hofstra’s student center where they educated students on New York’s Donate Life Registry and facilitated sign-ups within the Hofstra community. New York State has one of the lowest registered organ donor list, ranking 49th in the United States. As future health care providers, it is our responsibility to “do good” for our patients and this can take the form of educating those around us on pressing public health issues. Over the course of the day, we received many student and professor registrations. We will continue to spread the word about organ donation!
Hempstead Food Share
-Katharine Scozzari, Class of 2020
“Food is a right, for all people.” This is how Community Solidarity’s Hempstead Food Share ends its mission statement on its website. Strong agreement with this statement coupled with a desire to give back to the Hempstead community brought members of the PA class of 2020 together on a Sunday afternoon to volunteer their time, hard work, and support of a wonderful organization’s mission. The Food Share takes place every Sunday, providing tens of thousands of pounds of fresh produce to individuals in need of a helping hand. Hempstead citizens are provided with enough fruits and vegetables for the week as well as bread, prepared meals, frozen foods, and desserts. The ability to help individuals ranging from young children, physically and mentally impaired individuals, families, and all those in between was extremely rewarding for those who volunteered. The three and a half hours of lifting and moving boxes, sorting produce, and passing out food to grateful individuals was an incredible way for us to spend our Sunday. It reminded us why we became PAs, with the joy that comes with helping others.
PA Students' Summer Mission Trip to Panama – August 2018
-Erica Otterbeck, PA-S, Global Medical Brigades Hofstra Chapter President
One of the goals of Hofstra University’s Physician Assistant program is to instill a desire among its students to serve populations with limited access to quality care. This past August, myself and four of my fellow PA students, Eddie Bonfiglio, Justin Fallacaro, David Lavallee, and Anthony Lazzaro, had the privilege to experience this.
During our one-week trip to Panama we worked with the international, nonprofit organization, Global Medical Brigades, as well as nine PA students from Salus University in Pennsylvania. We traveled to the rural communities of Embera Puru and El Tirao to set up medical and dental clinics. As students we were able to measure vitals in triage, organize and collect medications in the pharmacy, apply fluoride applications to children, and shadow the physicians with the aid of a Spanish-English interpreter. We also set up “charlas” or short discussions with the children to teach them about important health practices such as handwashing and oral hygiene.
Not only did we gain clinical skills, but we were also able to better understand the lack of health care in rural areas of Panama due to poverty and poor access. To prepare for our trip we collected supplies, such as toothbrushes, toothpaste, and bars of soap, to make hygiene packs. Such a simple donation was greatly appreciated by the people we met in the clinics and helped me to appreciate all the luxuries we take for granted here. I believe I speak for the five of us in saying that this experience was extremely eye-opening and showed us the immense strength and gratitude of the Panamanian people – some of whom traveled by foot for hours to see a provider. This will certainly not be my last medical mission trip and I would highly recommend it to anyone interested in or working in the healthcare field.
Hofstra University PA Class of '19 Summer Community Service/Charity Work
- Evan Mesh, SAAPA Outreach Chair, CO 2019
Although the PA students at Hofstra University had classes to attend during their last semester of didactic year during the beautiful weather of Summer 2018, they still made it their mission to venture out of the classroom to touch the hearts of those in need. The Class of 2019 had a few specific organizations that they especially wanted to devote their time to; the first of which was the Long Island Alzheimer's Association. A few of the students in this class and one of the faculty members have had family members that have suffered and passed on from Alzheimer's disease. Despite their previous efforts to raise money for the organization in the past, they wanted to do more. The class chose to participate in a paint party with the members of the LI Alzheimer's Association. A group of students left campus on a Friday after lecture with their paintbrushes in hand. They spent several hours socializing, laughing, talking, painting and most of all providing warm company to those who suffer from this disease. The members of the association enjoyed their company so much, that they were asking if they would be able to return every week to see them.
Additionally, the students of the Class of 2019 found a unique group whose mission was one that was spoke to the hears of the whole class. This group is "We Care Blankets" and their mission is to provide all pediatric cancer patients with warm blankets as comfort as they undergo grueling treatment in the hopes of a cure. Now these are no ordinary blankets. They are knitted by various volunteers with the main threads being "super saver red heart yarn", which is specifically safe for the cancer patients and is easily washed by the facility's laundry service. The Hofstra PA department collected bails of yarn then shipped this yarn over to We Care Blankets the group to be knitted and sent out to several pediatric cancer hospitals. The number of blankets knitted from the yarn submitted by Hofstra exceeded 200!!
The last summer charity event that the CO 2019 participated in was one that hits close to home. Every year the students of Hofstra's PA Program take part in the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk located at Jones Beach. This walk is a mass event held in October to spread awareness of the disease, donate money to fund research, support services and promote early detection. A few months ago, a member of the Class of 2019 was diagnosed with breast cancer. Students and faculty have rallied their support around this student as she fights this disease and continues on her path to become a PA. On August 10th, the CO 2019 friends, family and PA Program Faculty pinked out the beach in support of breast cancer awareness but more importantly in support of their fellow student! SAAAPA hosted a beach volleyball tournament consisting of 8 teams of 6 players, held in Long Beach, NY. The catch to this tournament was that each player was required to donate $10, which was not a reward for the winning team, but entirely for donation to the American Cancer Society via the program's team for the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk.
Hofstra Education Workshops - Spring 2018
The Hofstra University Department of Physician Assistant Studies once again partnered with our neighboring Hempstead School District to bring educational health workshops to school children in grades kindergarten through high school. First year graduate PA students created interactive presentations and activities on preventative health issues such as hand washing, oral hygiene, smoking, nutrition, exercise, mental health, and bullying. 2018 marks the 4th year the PA program has teamed up with the Hempstead School District and this initiative has grown each year. This year, PA students visited nearly 190 classrooms and reached just over 3800 Hempstead students!
Hofstra PA Students Support Long Island Alzheimer’s Foundation
- Evan Mesh, PA-S, SAAAPA Outreach Chair, Class of 2019
This past Winter, Hofstra Northwell’s SAAAPA Class of 2019 set out to raise money for specific organizations that dealt with care of diseased patients. They met to differentiate which organizations hit closest to home. A few of the student members had come to the realization that they each had grandparents that are currently living with or had recently passed away with Alzheimer’s disease. Fortunately, the standing SAAAPA President of the Class of 2019, Marissa LoMonaco, had a close connection with the L.I. Alzheimer’s Foundation, located no more than 5 miles away from the Hofstra University Campus. They brainstormed different fundraising ideas and ended up running two full Super Bowl Pools through the end of January. Students, faculty, family members, and friends were able to invest their money towards a good cause, and take a chance in the Super Bowl to win a cash prize for themselves! Besides the very lucky winners of each quarter, the fundraiser set aside 50% of all proceeds to be donated to the L.I. Alzheimer’s Foundation. Pictured are the President and the Outreach Chair of Hofstra’s SAAAPA Class of 2019, Marissa LoMonaco, PA-S, and Evan Mesh, PA-S; standing with the Community Outreach and Events Coordinator for the foundation, Christine Rice. This was SAAAPA’s first big check presentation, and rightfully so, as they raised a total of $900! This was an overwhelming surprise to Christine Rice and the foundation. This was the largest sum of money that SAAAPA was able to fundraise and donate this year. As a group, Hofstra’s SAAAPA Class of 2019 would like to thank everyone who took part in this event, and note that all donations were in honor of loved ones, Henry Starck, Jean Beekman, and Mildred Ragusa.
Hofstra PA Students Spreading the Word about Organ Donation
- April 13, 2018
April is Donate Life Month and in support of this cause, Hofstra PA Students donned their blues and greens on Friday, April 13th! Their photo was featured on LiveOnNY’s Instagram and Facebook pages!!
Hofstra PA Class of 2019 Lends a Helping Hand this Thanksgiving
Hofstra PA Students 'Take Steps' for Crohn's and Colitis – June 2017
As part of their ongoing dedication to improving the health and wellness of their community, Hofstra PA Students took part in SAAAPA's outdoor yoga class and the Long Island Crohn's and Colitis walk. They raised over $500 for the foundation! Great work by an inspiring group of students!
Hofstra PA Students Visit Hempstead Schools
April 2017, Karly Silverman, CO 2018
Throughout the second semester of their didactic year, physician assistant students visited 133 classrooms, a total of 2,775 students, in the Hempstead Public School district to educate students on various public health issues that might otherwise not be given much attention. The topics included hygiene, bullying, self-esteem, and nutrition, as well as modifiable risk factors for diabetes and heart disease. Each topic was targeted at a certain age group—proper handwashing techniques were presented to kindergarteners through second-graders, while limiting the risk factors for cardiovascular diseases later in life was aimed at high school students. Importantly, these subjects were presented to students at an age where a fundamental understanding of these issues could have a tremendous positive impact on their health and well-being for the rest of their lives.
Many students in the Hempstead school district lack the means to maintain a healthy lifestyle that may seem commonplace to other people. For example, at Barack Obama Elementary School, about three-quarters of the students are eligible for free lunch. This means that their families may not have the means necessary to purchase healthy food choices for their children, which automatically puts them at a higher risk for developing heart disease and other problems later in life. The goal of these visits was to educate the students on making simple and affordable changes to their lifestyle, such as buying a bottle of water instead of a Coca-Cola, or playing outside instead of playing video games.
The lessons were well-received by the students, who were engaged throughout the presentations and seemed to have gained a great deal of knowledge about the variety of topics. This was the third year of participation in this initiative by the Hofstra PA Program, with an increasing number of classrooms visited with each subsequent year. This opportunity has proven once again to be a valuable experience for both the students and the instructors, and is a tradition that is worth keeping in the years to come!
Hofstra PA Program Holds Spring Clothing Drive
- Karly Silverman, CO 18
Hofstra’s PA students and faculty gave back to their community this Spring by donating clothes, books, and household items to New Ground, an organization that supports homeless veterans and families in Long Island. Along with providing these necessities, New Ground also offers employment counseling, financial literacy, life skills development, reading assistance, and much more to help families break the cycle of poverty and homelessness. This is the PA program's second year hosting this clothing drive for New Ground.
TOYS FOR TOTS 2016
-Karly Silverman, CO 18
Hofstra’s PA students helped spread holiday cheer this season by collecting and donating over 100 toys for less fortunate children in Nassau County. The Toys for Tots drive has been an annual event for Hofstra’s PA Program, and they are proud to continue the tradition of serving their community and making children’s holidays a little brighter. The students collected the toys throughout the month of December and donated them to a local drop-off just in time for the children to receive them as gifts for the holidays. Spreading joy throughout the community was extremely gratifying and they hope to participate in a Toys for Tots drive every year!
Hofstra PA Student Thanksgiving Food Drive 2016
In the spirit of giving, the Hofstra University PA Program once again hosted a food drive to benefit the EAC Network, a non-profit human services agency that feeds the hungry across Long Island and New York City. This year, the initiative collected 420 items. In the past 3 years, over 1,700 items have been donated.
“One of the PA Studies program’s goals is to instill a desire among its students to serve populations with limited access to quality care,” said Karly Silverman’18, outreach chair for the Hofstra chapter of the Student Academy of the American Academy of Physician Assistants (SAAAPA). “By participating in drives like this every year, we help meet that goal while also serving those in need in our community.”
Animal Shelter – By Heather Leiser
Students from Hofstra's Physician Assistant Program came together and established the "Toys for Tails" pet supply drive. They wanted to help out the furry friends of the local community by gathering pet food, toys, and cleaning items for nearby animal shelters!
Love Your Melon – By Megan Dauscher
Hofstra University Physician Assistant Studies Program along with the Hofstra University Occupational Therapy Program to raise money for the Love Your Melon charity. The goal of this organization is to improve the lives of children battling cancer across the country while raising awareness for childhood cancer and supporting other non-profit organizations leading the fight in pediatric cancer. With the combined efforts of the Hofstra students and faculty both programs raised over $910 for their organization. Hofstra loves Love Your Melon!
Hofstra PA Students Hold Clothing Drive to Benefit Homeless and Veteran Population in Hempstead
Michael Scala, CO 2017
Throughout January and February, Hofstra University's PA students organized a clothing drive to benefit New Ground—a non-profit organization that provides social work and educational services to veterans and the homeless population. Since the organization's founding in 1991, they have helped thousands of people break the cycle of poverty with an astounding 80% of their graduates becoming self-sufficient home owners. Our clothing drive efforts focused on providing New Ground with the resources they need to help the homeless and veteran population in the Hempstead area.
Hofstra PA Students in the Hempstead Community
Michael Scala, CO 2017
For the second year in a row, students at Hofstra University's PA program are presenting various preventative medicine topics in the Hempstead School District. Second semester students have tailored their instructional material to different age groups and focused each presentation on preventative medicine measures that all children and adolescents can practice. The topics include hand washing/hygiene, bullying and self-esteem, oral health, exercise, nutrition, safe sex education, and modifiable risk factors for diabetes mellitus and heart disease.
The goal of this project is to educate students of all ages from underserved communities on different public health initiatives that directly impact their well-being. Bullying effects nearly 22% of 6th through 12th graders and studies have shown that the rates of reported bullying decreases substantially as a child ages. One group focused their presentation on helping students learn what bullying is, how to prevent it, and how to handle a bullying situation they may experience—if they have not already. Another group developed an interactive hand washing activity for pre-K aged students; focusing on why hand washing is important, when you should wash your hands, and how to effectively do so.
For the older students, Hofstra's PA candidates developed nutrition and exercise presentations that focused on helping adolescents make alternative choices in their diet that are cost effective and convenient while mixing in dance activities and jump rope to get fit and stay fit!
In 2008, teen pregnancy rates in the 'high risk' communities, which includes Hempstead, was 8.5%. In 2014, that rate dropped to 4.8%. While the rates have dropped, Hempstead still has a teen pregnancy rate 4 times that of the rest of the United States. Increased health care access and education have been paramount to decreasing these numbers. The sex-ed presentation focused on educating high school students on safe-sex techniques and the risk associated with promiscuity.
Beyond getting involved in our surrounding area, the opportunity for us to take what we learn in the classroom and practice presenting in a community setting was invaluable. We look forward to the rest of our presentations as well as assisting in the Hempstead School District's Career Day!
Hofstra PA Students on Medical Brigade to Nicaragua - By Meagan Sanko, CO 2016
While many were enjoying the last few days of summer vacation, on August 15th, 2015 six Hofstra University PA students (Farah Doxey, Christal Perez, Sarah Pullar, Meagan Sanko, Kason Wan and Sarah Williams) joined forces with 2 other schools (CUNY Macaulay Honors College and Wake Forest University) for a medical brigade to Nicaragua. Once there, the students were divided into two groups, servicing clinics in two different communities - Las Mangas and Pueblo Nuevo. While in the clinics, the students participated in the care of patients in 8 various stations - intake, triage, consult, charla, dental, pharmacy, OB GYN, and data entry. In three days, the two clinics attended to over 3,000 patients. The patients demonstrated their gratitude with a ceremony for the volunteers that included traditional music and dancing.
Several of the students also participated in a public health initiative while in Nicaragua. This involved staying in the country an extra three days to put in cement floors, a sanitation system and build latrines for families in need.
All of the students said the experience was extremely memorable and rewarding. It provided them the opportunity to deliver care to those with limited access to quality medical care and helped to solidify the importance of preventive medicine. They hope to pass the torch on to future students and continue their service to those in need.
Hofstra PA Students to Receive a National Health Service Corps Scholarship
Erin Cady, Class of 2015 on receiving the distinguished National Health Service Corps scholarship. Students in select medical, dental and mental health professions compete for this national scholarship program that pays tuition, fees and provides a living stipend to students enrolled in accredited medical programs. Upon graduation, scholarship recipients serve as primary care providers between two and four years in a community-based site in a high-need Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA). Awards are made to applicants most committed to serving underserved people and most likely to build successful careers in HPSAs and meet future needs for care throughout the Nation. Congratulations to Erin on meeting this call to service.