Assistant Professors Kathryn Reed (far left) and Jamie Hammond (far right), along with residential students Corinne Staub, Megan Schiesser, Nicole Stumpf, Kayla Scoggin, Zane Elgogari, and Ashley Valcin, celebrate the successful launch of the Future Health Care Provider Outreach Program (FHCPOP) 2023-2024 series!
The Future Healthcare Providers Outreach Program (FHCPOP) is an initiative that was envisioned by students from the Department of Physician Assistant Studies (PAS) to increase outreach to younger learners, specifically groups of young learners who are from underrepresented in medicine (URiM) backgrounds. One of the primary missions of FHCPOP is to develop and deliver sustainable experiential, career-oriented learning events and mentoring for middle and high school students, specifically introducing them to potential career options available within the University of Pittsburgh School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences.
The FHCPOP has grown into an interdisciplinary community engagement opportunity with participants from SHRS programs in Occupational Therapy, Emergency Medicine, Communication Science and Disorders, Physical Therapy, Counseling and many more.
In 2023, FHCPOP held monthly career-focused, hands-on events at Pittsburgh’s Neighborhood Academy with twelve high school participants. This experience culminated in an interactive case study that was completed in Department of PA Studies Murdoch building where the students learned to 'Stop the Bleed' and to suture.
At the FHCPOP launch, PAS Residential students showed 9th and 10th grade Neighborhood Academy students the fundamentals of using a nasogastric tube.
Pennsylvania Society of Physician Assistants
The students continued to demonstrate their skills by participating in the Pennsylvania Society of Physician Assistants (PSPA) Challenge Bowl at their annual meeting in Hershey, PA. The challenge bowl is a round-robin competition on many topics where students buzz in for the correct answer. Under the guidance of faculty advisor and Assistant Professor Rosa Fannie, clinical year students Hely Patel, Meghan Mitchell, Jenna Kotkevich and Laurel Saunders earned a second-place finish!
Assistant Professor Rosa Fannie (center) and the PSPA challenge bowl team of Hely Patel, Meghan Mitchell, Jenna Kotkevich and Laurel Saunders.
There were also many wonderful posters submitted and accepted by PSPA for presentation. The PAS poster creation and presentation is a part of the students’ Health Policy course. In the class, students presented on their topics which were voted on by their peers. Winners were paired with faculty members to submit their abstract and poster presentation at PSPA.
PAS Residential program students with their posters at the PSPA annual meeting.
PAS from LA to Texas
With the launch of our PAS Hybrid program, the volunteering of our students is no longer limited to just the Greater Pittsburgh area! Southern California’s West Hollywood (WeHo) Pride Parade was supported in the medical tent by several students including current PA-S Brittany Geronimo, Jessica LaVoise, Jasmine Wong and Maren Steiner.
Current PA-S Sara Mohamed assisted with health screenings at her local Texas Mosque’s Health Fair over the summer. The students are continuing their clinical experiences across the country in clinical sites spanning coast to coast!