Fall 2015 Perspectives

COLLEGE OF HEALTH CARE SCIENCES • 21 The baby’s eyes closed once again, so the phy- sician started chest compressions, causing her eyes to reopen—but only temporarily. The nurse practitioner, noting that the baby had a gastrostomy tube, asked the mother if she had a portable airway suction device with her. Fortu- nately, the mother did, and Santamaria and the nurse practitioner proceeded to insert the device down the baby’s nose and suction airway secretions. The mother indicated that she had needed to use the device because the baby had trouble clearing secretions. Upon suctioning the secretions, the baby gave a strong cry and grew very alert. Although her condition was much improved, it was evident from retractions of her respiratory muscles that she was still struggling to breathe. It was at this time that emergency medical services arrived, administered oxygen to the baby via a mask, and then took her to the emergency department at Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital. Santamaria realized that airway secretions had cut off oxygen supply to the baby’s lungs, causing cardiorespiratory arrest. Consequently, if Santam- aria had not started chest compressions when she did, the baby would most certainly have died. Santamaria described her lifesaving actions with a calm demeanor, which is the same behavior she displayed when the baby’s terrified father initially approached her. “I was in the right place at the right time,” Santamaria modestly stated. “Thanks to the cardiac life-support training I received from NSU’s PA program, I was well prepared to help the baby.” Her heroic rescue of the baby, however, required more than prior training. Santamaria was extraor- dinary in being able to maintain her composure under such stressful conditions, to think so fast, and to apply her training so skillfully. n The Physician Assistant (PA) program would like to acknowledge the remarkable achievements of the PA class of 2015 Challenge Bowl team. The NSU squad won the annual medical Challenge Bowl competi- tion, which is run by the Florida Academy of Phy- sician Assistants (FAPA), again this year, marking this as the first consecutive win in FAPA history. Class of 2015 PA students on the winning team this year were Cally Espegard, Julie Herman, and Michelle Santamaria. Last year, the class of 2015 team was the first to win as first-year PA students in the eight years the competition had been hosted by the FAPA. This year, the Challenge Bowl was held on February 14 at the Buena Vista Palace resort in Orlando. It was fortuitous that the final question was about Dressler’s syndrome—a topic the trio of team members reviewed during its final practice just hours before the com- petition. The victory reflects the commitment and hard work of the team members since they began training as first-year students in the fall of 2013. The team was superbly coached by Alicia Bolden, M.P.A.S., PA-C, assistant professor, and Farah Alli, class of 2015 student. n From left: Posing with the hard-earned Challenge Bowl competition trophy are Farah Alli (student coach); Cally Espergard (team member); Nelson Guzman, D.H.Sc., PA-C, (FAPA president); Julie Herman (team member); Michelle Santamaria (team member); and Alicia Bolden, M.P.A.S., PA-C (coach). Class of 2015 PA Team Breaks Another Challenge Bowl Record BY PAMELA JAFFEY, M.D., FCAP, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR