Perspectives Inaugural Issue (Winter 2013)

PERSPECTIVES • WINTER/SPRING 2013 22 PA • ORLANDO PING PONG CHALLENGE Summers are always a busy time for the NSU physician assistant programs. With three classes in secession, the professors are teaching every day and the break rooms are crowded; however, there is al- ways time for some interclass competition and stu- dent bonding. This past summer, the NSU Orlando PA classes of 2013 and 2014 participated in the Fourth Annual Ping Pong Tournament. Eight par- ticipants from each class squared off in a grueling battle. The class of 2013 had a title to defend, while the class of 2014 had nothing to lose. Both classes arrived in full spirit, ready to cheer on their class- mates and mingle over pizza. Although every par- ticipant fought valiantly, Meghan McCooey (2013) came away victorious. Pictured (from left) are Jack Brunson, Jason Kieffer, Sofia Urra, Nathan Wade, John Andrich, Adam Conn, Jorge Muniz, and Meghan McCooey (being held). An alumnus that has made a difference in his profession as well as the PA community is class of 2009 graduate David Cara- ballo, M.M.S, PA-C. Serving as an enlisted naval hospital corps- man before attending NSU’s Orlando campus, he gained the experience he needed to succeed in PA school. Upon completing his first year of PA school, Caraballo was awarded the Navy’s Health Profession Scholarship. Following his NSU graduation, Caraballo began practicing medicine at the Marine Corps Recruit Training Command in Par- ris Island, South Carolina, becoming a sick-call screener instruc- tor who helped educate new navy hospital corpsmen on how to effectively screen patients. During his stint in South Carolina, he educated over 500 corpsmen from across the country in physical examination and field operational medicine. In the summer of 2010, Caraballo was deployed to Guan- tanamo Bay in Cuba, where he served as the Joint Task Force Detention Hospital’s medical officer. As the detainees’ primary care manager, he garnered diverse medical experience that one could only receive in that unique environment. During his Guan- tanamo deployment, Caraballo studied and utilized languages learned while there, including Arabic and Pashtu, to reach his pa- tient population. He also worked tirelessly with the joint medical staff to make sure the nurses and corpsmen were included, thus inspiring education and training. Additionally, he provided expert medical opinion for numerous court cases and trials. As a result of his efforts, he was awarded the Joint Meritorious, Navy, and Marine Corps commendation medals as well as the military Sea Service ribbon. Caraballo presently provides primary health care to over 700 active duty Marines and Marine Corps recruits each month. He also provided specialty reviews in legal cases being investigated in some of the biggest hospitals in the Navy’s enterprise, is cur- rently active in the Naval Academy of Physician Assistants and the American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA) and serves as a Florida AAPA member. He is not only active in mili- tary activities, but also in community service that includes pro- viding health care support and volunteer fund-raising activities for local festivals in the city of Beaufort, South Carolina. He also spends his free time coaching his daughter’s tee-ball team. A new project he has undertaken involves working with the Florida Academy of Physician Assistants to provide care packages to de- ployed physician assistants. ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT: David Caraballo Campus Life continued...