PERSPECTIVES 25th Anniversary - Fall-Winter 2018

Dr. Pallavi Patel College of Health Care Sciences 23 group that would become instrumental in carrying forward the vision of NSU’s second AA program. To date, both programs have shared a tremendous amount of success in several areas. More than 500 alumni have graduated from the two programs and are providing periop- erative care to patients throughout the country as certified anesthesiologist assistants (CAAs). These graduates have positively affected the lives of thousands of patients through safe and effective perioperative patient management. Additionally, many of the graduates of NSU’s AA programs have left a positive mark on the profession through their pro- fessional involvement at various levels. These graduates have gone on to very successful and flourishing careers as CAAs. In fact, many of them continue to influence the profession beyond competent perioperative patient management. NSU Tampa anesthesiologist assistant students train in the performance of regional anesthesia Aligned with its mission, the graduates of NSU’s AA programs have influenced the profession through leadership roles that ultimately benefit the health care community. More specifically, NSU’s AA graduates have served as leaders for the profession’s national organization, ranging from their commitment as committee members and chairs, to being elected president. State component societies have benefited tremendously from the leadership of some of NSU’s graduates. Many of these graduates continue serving on or leading committees in pursuit of further expansion of the profession, speaking with politicians to advocate for expansion of AA practice, and maintaining educational involvement to influence AA practice as program directors, program faculty members, and clinical preceptors. The significant majority of AA (continued on next page)