Valparaiso University (VU) began its Physician Assistant (PA) Program in 2015. The program’s first class graduated in September of 2020. Although the graduates’ first year as PAs was unconventional, VU taught them how to be adaptable and work with their teams to treat patients.
“I think Valpo gave me a really good education and set me up well for life,” said John Doss, physician assistant in Pediatric Orthopedic Surgery at Riley Hospital for Children. “I think it’s a really good career that I’m excited to be into. So my plans are to stay with Riley to keep treating patients and learning more every day about the profession.”
“I definitely learned teamwork at Valpo,” said Amelia Schroeder, physician assistant in Pulmonary Medicine at Chest Diseases Associates in Merrillville. “We were a pretty tight-knit group when we started, we had 19 people. We all worked so closely together. We did projects together and taught each other difficult content. We really learned how to be a part of a team, and that’s what a physician assistant does. They’re a part of a medical team to treat patients.”
Valparaiso’s program spans over five years. The undergrad portion takes three years, and the graduate portion takes two years. For those five years, the students are all learning and working together.
“Not every job or patient that we encounter in life is the same, and I think VU gave us a broad range of experiences that really gave us a lot of eye-opening opportunities,” said John Kern, physician assistant at Mullally Sports & Family Medicine in Crown Point.
The pandemic hit graduates hard. The University’s PA students were in clinical rotations that had to be switched to online instruction. The virus also forced them to go out into an uncertain workforce.
“It was hard for my classmates especially,” Doss said. “A ton of hospitals had to trim down patients, limit staff, and surgeries were cut down. I was fortunate enough to find a job that was hiring and was exactly what I was looking for.”
Thankfully, VU’s PA Program laid the groundwork for successful job hunting, with networking naturally built in.
“For our rotations, we are typically within 50 miles of VU,” said Schroeder. “So, I have been on a rotation in most different healthcare systems in this area. I met a lot of people on those rotations. I had preceptors, and those preceptors reached out to other people. I worked with nursing staff in different hospitals and on different floors, so that’s how I made connections.”
The first graduating class was comprised of 19 students, but the following classes have been larger, with all of the graduates having a unique reason for joining the program.
Schroeder always wanted to be in medicine and was interested in med school. She re-evaluated her place in medicine and realized that med school was not the exact route she wanted.
“But then I saw Valpo was doing a PA program,” Schroeder said. “I learned about the PA profession and learned that being a PA is a little bit between being a nurse and a doctor, which is a great place to be in I think.”
Kern was drawn to being a PA because he loved science and wanted to help people.
“The PA model is where you can still be a healthcare provider, prescribe medicines, and do physical exams, but you’re still able to work with a collaborating physician and have some oversight,” Kern said.
“What’s really nice is that I get to see a wide range of things, so I might go to my first patient and we’re discussing blood pressure and diabetes, and then the next patient hurt their shoulder playing baseball, and then the third is for something like anxiety,” Kern continued. “So, it is a really cool wide range. I’m not just seeing the same thing over and over again.”
Doss’ spark to work in medicine came from a much younger age.
“When I was young, I actually had cancer,” Doss said. “I was a Riley patient, and so I was always around a bunch of different medical providers: nurses, PAs, doctors. That’s when I first found out what the PA profession was. All of my appointments really got me into the medical field.”
“As I got older, I started to play soccer at a highly competitive level. With injuries, I would go to the doctor, and I would see a PA sometimes, and it kind of sparked my interest,” he continued. “So, I did a few shadowing opportunities and learned about all they get to do--and we really get to do a ton of different things. I really like having that variety.”
“I’m down in Indianapolis now. I’m actually back at Riley Hospital for Children which is where I was originally a cancer patient,” Doss concluded.
There are plenty of reasons to be drawn to becoming a PA. A primary reason is that it is a good way to find variety. VU’s program, in particular, is able to strengthen collaboration between students, create sprawling networks, and teach flexibility for when unprecedented times hit. From blood pressure concerns to baseball injuries to mental health appointments, Valparaiso’s Physician Assistant graduates can help with it all.
For more information, visit https://www.valpo.edu/physician-assistant-program/.
