{"id":74190,"date":"2019-08-15T13:41:14","date_gmt":"2019-08-15T17:41:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/busm\/?p=74190"},"modified":"2019-08-16T10:50:59","modified_gmt":"2019-08-16T14:50:59","slug":"we-will-jump-in-2019-pa-graduates-make-leap-to-clinical-world","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/2019\/08\/15\/we-will-jump-in-2019-pa-graduates-make-leap-to-clinical-world\/","title":{"rendered":"We Will Jump In<\/i>: 2019 PA Graduates Make Leap to Clinical World"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The 2019 graduates outside 670 Albany Street<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cToday we celebrate the accomplishments of 28 highly successful individuals who comprise the Class of 2019,\u201d said Program Director Susan White, MD, as she opened the fourth commencement exercises for the Physician Assistant Program held Aug. 15 in the 670 Albany Street auditorium.<\/p>\n

The newly conferred graduates now join the 131,000 practicing physician assistants across the U.S. The graduation ceremony marks the end a 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, students also complete 14 months of clinical rotations and a thesis project.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hope you will choose to lead, and you see leadership as a frame of mind, not simply as a title or a position,\u201d said David Coleman, MD, Wade Professor and Chairman of the Department of Medicine at BUSM. \u201cRemember the three Ms: Find meaning<\/em> in your work. Constantly pursue a sense of mastery<\/em>. Embrace and enjoy this remarkable profession \u2013 and always feel like a member<\/em> of the BUSM community.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Howard Straker, PhD, PA-C, addresses the crowd.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Joseph Gibson, PA-S III, President of the Carl Toney Society, welcomed this year\u2019s commencement speaker, Howard Straker, PhD, PA-C. Dr. Straker currently serves as president-elect of the Physician Assistant Education Association (PAEA) and will take over as president in 2020. He is an assistant professor of Physician Assistant Studies at George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, and the School of Public Health; and director of the joint degree PA\/MPH program.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re coming out of your shell today. You\u2019re entering at a time where you can shape the future. Your voice can influence a team, your voice can make a difference and your voice belongs at the table. This is leadership, and leadership is influence,\u201d he told the graduates and their families and friends.<\/p>\n

Dr. Straker encouraged them to use their new voices in a call and response to various scenarios in the Physician Assistant field, answering with \u201cWe will jump in.\u201d<\/p>\n

Following Dr. Straker\u2019s keynote address, the Class of 2019 presented awards to the following faculty:<\/p>\n