PERSPECTIVES 25th Anniversary - Fall-Winter 2018

52 Nova Southeastern University THE EXPANSION OF the NSU Physician Assistant (PA) Department led to the establishment of the first PA program in Orlando, Florida, in 2006. In May 2007, the program accepted its inaugural students for the class of 2009. Since that time, the program has continued to focus on innovation and excellence in PA education, and now has more than 530 graduates practicing medicine. Shortly after the program’s inception, it became clear there was a high demand for PA education in the local area, so the program applied to the accreditation agency to increase the number of students allowed to matriculate. The Accred- itation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant approved the maximum entering class size increase By Lorilee H. Butler, D.H.Sc., PA-C, NSU Program Director Physician Assistant Orlando A Decade and Beyond at the Orlando Physician Assistant Program to 64 students per year—an increase of 10 seats—leading to several classroom renovations in 2009. The curriculum has evolved since the program’s inception, with a notable improvement in the time and credit hours spent in the medicine and research courses. This evolution occurred through the curriculum committee and the med- ical expertise of the faculty members, led by the medical director, Melba Ovalle, M.D., and the academic director, Laura Gunder-McClary, D.H.Sc., PA-C. Along with these changes, several other innovations in the curriculum delivery have occurred. The most significant were the addition of the Anatomage Table and an increase in the utilization of high-fidelity simulation. High-fidelity simulation using the CAE Apollo and Juno mannequins has been added to the physical diagnosis and the clinical med- ical courses, which cover all major organ systems and allow students to practice their clinical decision-making skills. The Anatomage Table, which allows for 3-D virtual reality dissection of a human cadaver, was added as an adjunct to the Anatomy course in 2014 in place of a gross anatomy lab- oratory. Additionally, over the past four years, the program has collaborated with the First Response Training Group for interprofessional emergency medicine simulations. Community involvement and service have also expanded, from participating in local events to an international med- ical outreach opportunity for the students. Currently, the students have several local service opportunities, including providing physical exams for economically disadvantaged student-athletes through the Florida Citrus Sports Foundation and providing medical support for Disney marathon events, among others. Marlo Scott, M.P.A.S., assistant professor, who had a previ- ous relationship with the Living to Serve medical outreach group, initiated a trip to Guatemala in 2015. Scott led 22 students through the small villages of Guatemala. The stu- dents provided medical care and installed stoves in homes to replace open fires used for daily cooking. In the ensuing years, one of our graduates, Ashley Sweat, PA-C, has led the medical outreach trip. This year, there are a record number of 40 students planning to participate