Assistant Professor Jamie Hammond is the Pennsylvania Society of Physician Assistants (PSPA) Educator of the Year! This is the fifth year in a row that a faculty member from the University of Pittsburgh PAS Department has won the PSPA award. Awardees are selected for making a difference in the lives of others and inspiring students to become “dedicated, well-trained PAs.”
About Jamie Hammond: Hammond is currently the director of Mentoring for the PA Studies program. She also serves as secretary for the Pennsylvania Rural Health Association and participated in the National Health Service Corps (NHSC) in rural North Carolina and Pennsylvania from 2008-2013. Hammond has been faculty at Pitt’s School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences (SHRS) for three years.
What prompted her to get involved in higher education: Hammond has always gravitated towards higher education but was drawn to PAS education “because of the enormous impact one can make through teaching future providers.”
What she likes about teaching in Pitt’s PAS program: Hammond expresses, “Many things! I enjoy working with my colleagues as well as the students. The support for faculty development and research enables me to further myself and become a better educator.” She explains that Pitt stands out for “its community involvement with graduates and community PAs coming back to teach the students. This level of commitment from our local community speaks volumes.”
What she wants students to remember after they graduate: If there is one piece of advice that Hammond wants her PAS students to remember it’s that “with this profession there is a huge responsibility and that every day you can make a difference in the lives of your patients.”
What this award means to her: “I am honored to have received this award and am amazed by my colleagues and students who wrote letters of support on my behalf,” says Hammond. “To me this recognition is a further ignition of my desire to be the best educator possible.”
Previous Pitt PAS faculty award winners include Assistant Professors Jason Hare, Mary C. Alias, Emily Murphy and Associate Professor and Department Chair David Beck.