Perspectives Winter/Spring 2018

Dr. Pallavi Patel College of Health Care Sciences 33 Very few of his classmates had degrees, and many had no college experience at all. “The curriculum looked very much like what the medical students were exposed to,” Lewis said. Fifty-plus years later, the basic curriculum of a physician assis- tant program has deviated very little from the original. After finishing his training in 1971, Lewis joined the faculty at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School to codevelop the school’s new PA program. He left Texas in 1974 and returned to South Carolina, where he joined the Medical University of South Carolina. He taught in the MEDEX Physician Assistant Program, which was a model of PA education that was nine months in length as compared to the two years at Duke. Richard A. (Dick) Smith, M.D., M.P.H., a global health leader and another founding father of the PA profession, established the MEDEX model at the University of Washington in 1969 to educate and deploy physician assistants to remote regions of the Northwest. Very few MEDEX models remain in operation today. In 1976, Lewis moved to Columbia, South Carolina, and joined the University of South Carolina to work in the family medicine area. He also completed a Master of Public Health degree in 1982. During the ensuing years, Lewis spent the majority of his medical career in public health and environmental health. He worked for the state of South Carolina and held faculty positions in several PA programs in North and South Carolina. During his tenure in PA education, Lewis influenced the lives of thousands of PAs. In 2000, Lewis began his NSU career as an assistant professor. In 2009, he earned his Doctor of Health Science degree at the Dr. Pallavi Patel College of Health Care Sciences. When asked what lesson he learned in PA school that remains with him, Lewis responded with one of Stead’s teaching points. “Let the patients tell you the history. They know it better!” Lewis noted that he had his favorite job at East Carolina University in travel medicine. He provided private consulta- tions for people who were preparing to travel overseas and needed to meet the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention compliance guidelines. Lewis holds numerous academic and professional awards. He has been published extensively in professional textbooks and journals and conducted many professional presentations. On a personal note, he met his wife, Merri, when they were students at Newberry College. They have been married for 48 years and have two children, three grandchildren, and one great-grandchild. ● For more information, visit healthsciences.nova.edu/healthsciences/bhs/index.html . “Let the patients tell you the history. They know it better!” —Charles C. Lewis