CHCS - Perspectives - Summer/Fall 2014

PERSPECTIVES • SUMMER–FALL 2014 36 PHYSICIAN ASSISTANT Fort Lauderdale By Pamela Jaffey, M.D., FCAP, Associate Professor Pictured (from left) are Cally espergard, Michelle santamaria, Farah Alli, Ryan Voccia, Danielle Fetting, Julie Hay, Jenna Herman, and Alicia Bolden. BEATING THE ODDS: First-Year PA Student Team Wins Medical Challenge Bowl The annual medical challenge bowl run by the Florida Academy of Physician As- sistants (FAPA) is an exciting, highly com- petitive event. This year, the final question brought a dramatic end to the competi- tion. When the concluding query was asked, the buzzer went off and the audi- ence hushed. The first-year physician assis- tant students from the NSU program gave a response, which prompted the modera- tor to exclaim, “That is correct! The win- ner of the 2014 FAPA Challenge Bowl goes to NSU Fort Lauderdale.” Since the initiation of the Challenge Bowl in 2007, only second-year PA student teams have won the competition because first-year PA students typically have not completed didactic training in many of the medical topics covered, and have had no clinical experience. Remarkably, this year, the class of 2015 first-year PA student team from NSU Fort Lauderdale won the competition. The class of 2014 PA stu- dents who were on the winning team were Cally Espegard, Michelle Santamaria, and Ryan Voccia. This year, the challenge bowl competi- tion was held on March 1 at the Hilton Bonnet Creek resort in Orlando, Florida. Twenty PA student teams competed, in- cluding 11 first-year teams and 9 second- year teams. In addition to the NSU Fort Lauderdale PA Program, other participat- ing schools included Miami Dade College, Barry University, South University, the University of Florida, NSU Fort Myers, NSU Orlando, and NSU Jacksonville. NSU PA teams collectively have done well in the challenge bowl competition. Over the past four years, Fort Lauderdale PA teams have won in 2011, 2013, and 2014, and a Fort Meyers PA team won in 2012. The three teams participating in the final round this year were all NSU PA teams. They included the class of 2015