HERSHEY, Pa. — Several students in Penn State College of Medicine’s Physician Assistant (PA) Program were recognized recently.
- The PA Program won the 17th Annual Pennsylvania Society of Physician Assistants (PSPA) Annual Challenge Bowl held in Pittsburgh on Oct. 21. Eleven accredited programs participated in the event, which took place during the 41st annual PSPA conference. The competition requires the team to answer medically-related questions. Penn State’s team consisted of second-year students William Weber, Joseph Rad, Michael Bredin and Erin Bernhard. Jason Dos Santos, assistant professor of surgery, served as faculty adviser.
- Two Penn State PA students received the Nathaniel Alston Student Achievement Scholarship at the October PSPA conference. Of the 31 applications from across the state, first-year Penn State students Jasmine Stauffer and Kendra Munkacsy were selected for two of the three scholarships awarded. Both Stauffer and Munkacsy were recognized for how they handled ethical dilemmas involving patients. For Stauffer, this involved helping to ensure that the end-of-life decisions of a 59-year-old cancer patient were respected; Munkacsy was applauded for granting a last wish for a terminal patient.
- Three first-year PA students at Penn State have received the 2016 National Health Service Corps (NHSC) Scholarship. They are Joshua Wilkins, Jasmine Stauffer and Hayley Knostman. The NHSC Scholarship Program awards scholarships to students pursuing primary health care. The scholarship pays tuition, fees and other educational costs, and provides a living stipend in return for a commitment to work at least two years at an NHSC-approved site in a medically underserved community.