“Remember Your Journey and How You Got Here”

Boston University School of Medicine conferred 25 Master of Science degrees upon its third class of Physician Assistant graduates on Thursday, Aug. 16. “Today we celebrate your growth and accomplishments,” said Founding Program Director Mary L. Warner, MMSc, PA-C.

The Class of 2018 joins 123,000 practicing physician assistants across the US. Their involvement in the Carl Toney Society, volunteering at Boston Healthcare for the Homeless, founding a Medical Spanish Elective and participating in the AAPA Leadership and Advocacy Summit are just some examples that illustrate how committed and prepared the class is for the medical profession.

President of the Carl Toney Society and graduate Michael Sage welcomed this year’s commencement speaker, Captain Robin N. Hunter Buskey, DHSc, CPHQ, CDE, PA-C. A senior physician assistant with the US Public Health Service and Southeast regional director of the Bureau of Prisons, she has more than 35 years of clinical experience in primary care settings as a PA. She has held multiple national PA leadership positions and is the recipient of multiple clinical and leadership awards.

“Today you become public health servants,” she told the graduates. She encouraged them to follow your passion and to “remember your journey and how you got here.”

Captain Robin N. Hunter Buskey, DHSc, CPHQ, CDE, PA-C

“There are no shortcuts,” Capt. Buskey said, and urged students not to compromise their clinical standards or ethics when they know something is not right. She left the students with the following charges:

  • Promote healthy living
  • Exercise leadership
  • Take care of yourselves
  • Appreciate the past 50 years of the profession, because the PA story is still being written

The graduation ceremony marked the end of the students’ two-and-a-half-year journey through an intensive course of study, including an integrated pathophysiology and pharmacology course alongside second-year medical students. In addition to classroom work, they also complete 14 months of clinical rotations as well as a thesis project.

The Class of 2018 nominated the following people and groups for awards:

  • Peter Cummings, MSc, MD, received the Didactic Instruction Award for his dedication and excellence in teaching the PA class during the didactic phase of the program.
  • The Boston Medical Center Cardiac Surgery Service was awarded the Outstanding Clinical Site of the Year for their exemplary teaching of the PA class.
  • Oren Berkowitz, PhD, MSPH, PA-C, a senior lecturer at Ariel University in Israel, received the Carl Toney Society Award for his significant contributions in support of the Physician Assistant profession. Dr. Berkowitz was the program’s Director of Research before he was recruited to Israel to develop the first university-based PA program.

The following students received awards, as well:

  • Dylan Clemens received both the Outstanding Academic Achievement Award and the Outstanding Clinical Achievement Award for his superior academic and clinical performance.
  • Justin Puckett was awarded the Humanitarian Award for his tireless dedication to improving healthcare of vulnerable population.

Angela Reffel, MHP, PA-C, director of Clinical Education for the PA Program, led the students in reading the PA professional oath to close the ceremony.

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