UND Physician Assistant Program presents new class with white coats

Fifty-seven health professionals begin the clinical portion of their studies this week to earn the Master of Physician Assistant Studies degree at the School of Medicine and Health Sciences.

The individuals in this class come from a wide variety of professional health-care disciplines, which through class interaction will strengthen each student’s ability to return to his or her rural clinical site as a well-rounded primary care provider.

The PA Program admits health professionals who have years of experience working as nurses, clinical laboratory scientists, paramedics, respiratory therapists, dietitians, military health-care providers and related professions. The group averages 12 years of previous professional health-care experience upon matriculation into the program.

Enrolled students come from throughout the United States, from Washington to Florida, but this particular class is very regional, with nearly half of the students from the tristate area of North Dakota, South Dakota and Minnesota. Students range in age from 24 to 60 years, with an average age of 34; the class includes 24 men and 33 women.

The White Coat Ceremony is at 2 p.m., on Jan. 28, in the Reed T. Keller Auditorium at the UND School of Medicine and Health Sciences. Gwen Halaas, senior associate dean for Academic and Faculty Affairs at the UND SMHS, will present the keynote address, focusing on professionalism and the role of a PA in primary care. Welcome remarks will be given by Robert Beattie, chair of the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the SMHS, and Wayne Swisher, associate dean of the UND Graduate School.

“The presentation of the white coat is symbolic of the new profession the students are entering,” said Jeanie McHugo, program director. The coats will be worn by students through the clinical phase of their training and denote their involvement with the Physician Assistant Program at UND.

Students spend their first four weeks in Grand Forks before returning to their home communities, where most of their training will take place under the supervision of physician-preceptors. Over the next two years, they will return to UND for several weeks at different junctures for education and training.

For more information, please contact the PA program at 777-2344, or visit www.med.und.edu/physicianassistant/.

— Denis MacLeod, assistant director, Office of Alumni and Community Relations, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, 777-2733, denis.macleod@med.und.edu.