CHCS - Perspectives Winter/Spring 2016

COLLEGE OF HEALTH CARE SCIENCES • 69 Students were given the chance to participate in community outreach through Nicholson’s practice— Sandcastle Pediatrics—by assisting in two events: discounted back-to-school sports physicals on August 21 and school health screenings on October 2. She has participated in many free community health screenings and was excited to get students involved. “These events give students a chance to apply what they are learning in the classroom to an actual patient,” said Nicholson. “It helps give them perspective on why they are learning the things they are. It helps moti- vate students and get them excited about medicine.” During the first event, students took vitals, height, weight, and tested eyesight. They were even able to practice their history-taking skills and conduct their first real physical under supervision. Sandcastle Pediatrics offered these sports physicals at a dis- counted price to students attending Bellalago Acad- emy in nearby Kissimmee and surrounding schools. In the second event, students tested visual acuity, measured weight and height to calculate body-mass index, and tested the older children for scoliosis at City of Life Christian Academy in Kissimmee. The event was conducted during National PA Week, which also inspired students to take the opportunity to explain what a PA is to the children and help them gain an interest in the profession at a young age. Nicholson graduated from Baylor University in 1996 with her Bachelor of Science in Economics/Premed and attained her M.D. degree at the University of Arkansas in 2001. She completed her residency train- ing at Orange Children Hospital in Orange, Cali- fornia, and has practiced in Florida since 2008. She began educating CHCS students as a guest lecturer in 2009 in Pediatrics and Physical Exam Labs and was hired as a full-time professor in the fall of 2015. “It is so rewarding to educate students who might take care of my family one day,” said Nicholson, who con- tinues to work part time at Sandcastle Pediatrics. “In fact, one of my past students actually directly helped in the treatment and surgery of one of my sons.” Her encouragement inspires students to always work hard and do their best, while her wealth of knowledge, community outreach, and passion for medicine will help the NSU Orlando PA Pro- gram continue to grow for years to come. ■ First-year student Taylor Holtshouser conducts an eye exam during a school health screening. “These events give students a chance to apply what they are learning in the classroom to an actual patient … It helps motivate students and get them excited about medicine.” —Tansyla Nicholson, M.D.