Perspectives Summer/Fall 2016

16 • NOVA SOUTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY Breaking Down Barriers in the Health Professions Anesthesiologist Assistant FORT LAUDERDALE For the fourth year in a row, Pedi—the Department of Anesthesia’s pediatric simulator—appeared at the 2016 T. Leroy Jefferson Medical Society Healthcare and Science Stars of Tomorrow Career Symposium, which was held on March 12 at Inlet Grove Com- munity High School in Riviera Beach, Florida. The stage was set as the students from various medical magnet programs participated in a hands-on simulation experience, acting out a trauma scenario in which Pedi received a general anesthetic from the anesthesiologist assistants under the direction of an anesthesiologist. During the symposium, faculty members and students from the Department of Anesthesia demon- strated the importance of the anesthesiologist assistant profession and how to take care of patients in the most complex settings under the anesthesia care team model. “This event gets bigger every year, and our research in working with these students shows that they are very likely to pursue a career in the health professions,” said Jermaine Leclerc, M.H.Sc., M.H.S.A., CAA, assistant professor. “Not only are these students very smart, they are eager to learn. They can’t get enough of the simula- tion experience and understand the physiological and technical pieces that make the simulation exercise a success every year.” On February 12, during NSU’s Health Professions Division Research Day, a number of faculty members presented their preliminary research findings, which were conducted at the 2015 T. Leroy Jefferson Healthcare Symposium. Their presentation, “Identification of Support and Barriers to Health Professions Among Underrepresented Minority Youth,” was made possible through a CHCS grant the team used to conduct the research study. Faculty members involved in the project were Sandee Dunbar, D.P.A., OTR/L, FAOTA, professor and chair, Department of Occupational Therapy, and assistant dean of professional development and education; Michael Imon, Ph.D., M.M.Sc., CAA, assistant professor, Department of Anesthesia; Alicia Bolden, M.P.A.S., PA-C, assistant professor, Department of Physician Assistant; and Leclerc. “Now we know something about what’s holding these stu- dents back from achieving their goals, and we want them to be aware of the opportunities that exist to them, as well as do more to level the playing field,” Leclerc said. n Students and faculty members in action during the 2016 T. Leroy Jefferson Healthcare Symposium included, from left, Iman Norwood, Marcus Ortiz, Catherine Tally, Joana Florez, Conrad Kieliszek, and Jermaine Leclerc.