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Preceptor Spotlight Series – Christy Poska, PA-C

 

Augsburg University is continuing our preceptor spotlight series where we highlight the wonderful mentors our students have gotten the opportunity to work with as they prepare for their future careers as caregivers and healthcare professionals.

 

This month we are highlighting Christy Poska, PA-C who works with M Health Fairview.

photo of a white woman standing on a balcony. she is smiling and wearing a black dress with a nametag around her neck. She is holding pink cotton candy with "AAPA 2023" on it.Tell us a little about your practice/specialty. What made you choose the path you did?

I am in family medicine. I thought I wanted to do cardiology but was not able to find a cardiology job that felt like a good fit. I was looking for any job and this is where I landed (and stayed).

 

What has your journey into medicine been like?

I have a chronic health condition, so I was always drawn to medicine. I really didn’t want to take the MCAT so my mom suggested PA. I found it was a good fit for what I wanted in life and work.

 

Any tips for students transitioning from medical training to their careers?

Ask questions. I think in most situations seasoned providers are more than happy to help guide you. But also have confidence in what you know. You will make mistakes, but you are not alone.

 

How long have you been a preceptor? Why did you decide to precept?

Probably close to 8 years. I don’t really remember how I got started. I am thinking I agreed to let students shadow and it just went from there.

 

If you were not a medical provider, what career could you see yourself doing?

Criminal forensics or genetic.

 

What activities do you enjoy in your spare time?

Watching my girls play hockey, traveling, and being out in nature.

 

Thank you to Christy and our other preceptors who have responded and for all of the guidance our PA students have gotten from all of you!

 

If you are interested in the spotlight email us at clinicalphase@augsburg.edu.

A Year in Review – 2024

The Augsburg PA Program is excited to welcome students back from a long-deserved break! We had quite a year in 2024 the program and we want to take a look back at the various successes.

 

The PA Profession as a whole was able to celebrate a success in January with the new federal rule which allowed PAs at OTPs to order methadone! Methadone is medication used to treat opiod use disorder and has been approved by the FDA for the life-saving treatment.

Photo of Vanessa wearing navy suitjacket over a white v neck shirt. She is outside and smiling at the cameraIn January, our very own Vanessa Bester was featured in the PA Path Podcast to discuses the idea of empowering communities and elevating healthcare; addressing the social determinants of health. She was later awarded the President’s Civic Engagement Leadership Award from Iowa and Minnesota Campus Compact in April and we are so proud to have her hard work for the larger community recognized.

Our second-years participated in the MAPA Challenge Bowl and tested their knowledge against other schools. While they didn’t take home the trophy, they gained valuable knowledge and had a blast! They were able to re-test that knowledge with some friendly competition during our 2nd Annual Skills Olympics! Students went from station to station to battle other teams in a race against time and the curriculum.

The month of May flew by as we welcomed our new cohort, the class of 2026, and sent our 2nd years out into the clinical phase after celebrating their White Coat Ceremony!

The entire summer was full of students volunteering with places like the Special Olympics,and the FANS Ultra Race. Aside from volunteering, some students along with some of our very own staff 4 students each wearing a muted grey/green colored shirt are smiling at the camera. from left to right they are leaning on one arm on the table, sitting at the table, standing behind the others, and sitting at the table.members, completed part of their Master’s project with a trip to Costa Rica, where attendees applied what they learned to their own leadership roles and projects. One of our new grads and one of our faculty members were also featured in a recently released book Digital Health: Telemedicine and Beyond edited by Dipu Patel.

Amidst all of the busy work the students have been doing, we had a few changes behind the scenes. We welcomed new faculty members this year, including: Mary Ruggeri MEd, MMSc, PA-C, Kelsey Reif, PA-C, and Mara Czaja PA-C. Alongside them, we welcomed Danielle Skoglund, PA-C as our interim Program Director. We said a sort-of-goodbye to our previous Program Director Vanessa Bester. EdD, PA-C, but welcomed her back as the Director of the School of Health, a part the University’s new structure. We are proud of our new team and excited to see the hard work they’ve been putting in to support our students to reach their full potential.

The Class of 2024 celebrated their commencement at the end of summer and headed out to the world of healthcare as A group of recently graduated PA students gathered orderly on the stairs of the front chapel. They are all in dress-casual attire and smiling at the camerathey all went their different directions. Some focusing on the PANCE, some traveling across the states for new jobs, and some stuck around to become fellows, helping the very faculty as peers instead of students. During the rest of the fall and the end of the year our didactic phase students worked hard on fundraising for local community organizations,  doing some outreach with things like Project Access, and as always – studying hard. We are proud to see them make it through their finals and get a long-deserved break at the end of the semester.

The PA program looks forward to another year of building relationships between our students, our community, and the patients we hope to serve going forward. Thank you to everyone who has supported our program, our faculty and staff, and most importantly, those who have supported our students on their journey to become capable PAs.

Preceptor Spotlight Series – Vinh Dang, MPAS, PA-C, DFAAPA

Augsburg’s PA Program is rounding out the calendar year with one of our previous recipients of Preceptor of the Year! We acknowledge all of the hard work and effort that goes into ensuring our students get the right education and preparation as they go into healthcare. We are selecting one preceptor at a time to highlight a little bit about them and showcase the talent and dedication of those who have helped shape our student’s future careers as a part of a monthly series of preceptor highlights.

 

Our preceptor for December is Vinh Dang, MPAS, PA-C, DFAAPA. Vinh currently works in Orthopedics and has been in the field for 22 years. He specializes in care for sports related disorders, rotator cuffs, & more.

 

photo of a midlde-aged Asian man wearing a suite and smiling at the camera for a portrait photo.What has your journey into medicine been like?

Surprisingly, my journey has been proportionately linear. Once I set my sights on surgery, I was accepted into surgical residency program at Yale U/Norwalk Hospital.

During my residency was when I interviewed and became the first PA for our group. Now 22 years later, I’m still here! And now we have 50 PAs in the group.

 

Any tips for students transitioning from medical training to their careers?

Dr. William Osler said, “Listen to your patient, he is telling you the diagnosis.” As a corollary, Rene Laennec (inventor of stethoscope) said, “Without diagnosis, there is no rational treatment.” Thus, you cannot get to that treatment plan without listening to your patient. Be in the moment, look at the patient, talk to the patient and ignore typing in the EMR. You will uncover truths and discover pertinent negatives and arrive at your diagnosis!

 

How long have you been a preceptor? Why did you decide to precept?

20 years. I would not be where I am today without the mentors, preceptors, instructors, and professors who sacrificed their time for me. Then with success and self-improvement comes obligation to provide back to the profession and pay it forward.

 

If you were not a medical provider, what career could you see yourself doing?

Attorney to help people.

 

We appreciate getting the chance to highlight our preceptors and are so grateful for the community of providers that our students can learn from/join.

Preceptor Spotlight Series – Megan Otis, DO, MPH, HDMC

Augsburg’s PA Program wants to acknowledge all of the hard work and effort that goes into ensuring our students get the right education and preparation as they go into healthcare. We are selecting one preceptor at a time to highlight a little bit about them and showcase the talent and dedication of those who have helped shape our student’s future careers.

 

Our first preceptor is Megan Otis, DO, MPH, HDMC.headshot of Megan with her hair down, smiling at the camera and wearing a scoop-necked brown knit shirt

Tell us a little about your practice/specialty. What made you choose the path you did?

I am a family practice physician that focuses on wellness, food and movement as your medicine. I continue to practice Osteopathic Manipulative therapy on a day-to-day basis for musculoskeletal care, as structure equals function. I am also the medical director for a hospice agency in the area. I grew up with chiropractic care as the main source of healthcare as a child and feel in love with the deep connection with structure and function and nutrition as building grounds for wellness.

 

What has your journey into medicine been like?

I started out in biochemistry and genetics and knew I was not lab material. So I turned my focus to people. I grew up with a chiropractor as my primary medical provider and so knew a lot about structure and nutrition. I knew I wanted to do something like that and was introduced to Osteopathy by fellow students that tried to convince me not to do chiro degree and medical school, and thankfully they did.

 

Any tips for students transitioning from medical training to their careers?

Keep your dreams in your heart and trust the process of life. It will take you to your dreams. Never stop being curious.

 

How long have you been a preceptor? Why did you decide to precept?

11 years. Doctor means teacher and I love to expand the knowledge base and challenge the thinker with additional views so that they have a great view of the world than just what is on the test. I hope to constantly challenge students to think outside the box.

 

If you were not a medical provider, what career could you see yourself doing?

Stay at home mom with a side career in crossfit or personal training

 

What activities do you enjoy in your spare time?

Crossfit, weight training, mountain biking, skiing water and snow, travel, child rearing, pets, reading about nutrition and functional medicine.

 

Dr. Megan Otis precepts Augsburg PA students in Family Medicine rotations at Stellis Health Monticello Clinic.

 

2024 – 2025 Fellowship

In 2021, as a part of Augsburg’s ongoing commitment to fostering equitable and diverse spaces for our students to become open-minded professionals, the PA Program started up our fellowship. The goal each year is to have diversity-minded PA graduates train with current faculty to develop skills as future preceptors and teachers. We encourage the fellows to start their own journey as educators and use their recently acquired skills to mentor the current cohorts and provide new insights to faculty.

We are proud to introduce our 2024-2025 fellows for the Augsburg University PA Program! Jenny Nyflot and Madie Vranyes are two recent graduates of our program, having completed their clinical rotations earlier this Fall. Jenny recently finished her last elective in Pediatrics and is excited to work with our students.

Madie is drawn to working with students from her experiences throughout her academic career and has ways to help break down challenging material into understandable parts. We’re hoping she can bring some new insight into advising, tutoring, and more. She intends to become a preceptor down the road and continue contributing to PA education and notes:

“this fellowship provides an opportunity to learn more about effective, equitable teaching practices in our field.”

 

After this fellowship, she plans on working at Regions as part of the emergency medicine fellowship she was also granted.

We are excited to have them join us for the Fall and look forward to having them help shape the future of education for our PAs.

AAPA 2024 Highlights

hana and rachelle standing in front of a backdrop holding a sign saying "dream team"
Another year and another exciting conference for our students here at Augsburg! This year the AAPA conference was held in the grand state of Texas this past month. Student Society members Rachelle Pass and Hana Nguyen attended, gathering valuable insights and knowledge to share with their classmates.

 

plate of brisket, toast, and relish

The week-long conference provided  many learning and networking opportunities for professionals and PA students alike. From PA Night Out, where attendees got a taste of Texas BBQ, to conferences and main-stage presentations about Space Medicine, Rachelle and Hana gathered takeaways for their cohort. The information on space medicine highlighted many  issues that wouldn’t be considered when practicing within the confines of gravity – including the corneal abrasion risk of Pop Tarts! They also discussed how considering different supplies and storage practices for different locations and environments can play a role in any medical situation.

text screenshot discussing bad weather conditions

Space wasn’t the only harsh condition attendees had to consider, our students learned the realities of increasingly dangerous weather conditions that can lead to power outages, personnel shortages, injuries, and more, and how to tackle those as a provider in areas at risk of weather events (including the host city of AAPA which had a severe weather event the night before the conference).

 

Final takeaways included how to network in unlikely places, how to advocate for the profession, and how to search for a job as a student. Learning how to sort options into “Must Haves” “Deal Breakers” “Nice to Haves” and “Exciting & Skill Building” categories for new applicants can take a lot of pressure off the choices for your first PA career. Additionally, learning how to navigate legislation to advocate for yourself and your peers as fellow healthcare providers is an invaluable skill for new and experienced PAs. An advocacy success was the recent approval of both the PA Licensure Compact, and the PA Practice Act, which aim to expand license portability across states and enhance the reach of PAs as providers for mental health, respectively.

 

We’re happy to have our student representatives able to show up for themselves and their classmates with these insights!

Black History Month 2024

After a week of busy events for our PA students, including PA Day on the Hill, where they could advocate for their future profession, we wanted to reflect on how the PA profession got here! As we near the end of Black History Month, we want to remember the Black providers who have helped pave the way for themselves and the PA profession as a whole, and how we owe it to them by continuing breaking down barriers for providers and patients.

 

Henry Lee Treadwell (Buddy), was a Black man who became one of the first blueprints for the PA profession after his long-time work alongside Dr. Johnson in the 1940s through to the 70s; together they showed a cooperative relationship between physician and provider was possible. black and white photo of buddy treadwell holding a stethoscope to a child's chestNot long after the establishment of the PA program, Joyce Nichols became the first woman and the first Black woman to become a PA in 1970, and even served on the board of AAPA alongside some of her classmates. Continuing this trend of expanding the PA education’s reach, Lovest Alexander, Jr. became a PA and started to branch out for recruitment within Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), who often mistakenly thought that the PA profession was more of a back-up option for people who didn’t make it into medical school than an actual standalone position with a different kind of patient-focus. Karen Bass, first PA sitting in the House of Representatives, and current mayor of LA, helped kickstart Project Access, a program designed to promote the PA profession to students of marginalized communities, doing a lot of similar outreach as Alexander Jr. but for younger students in middle/high school.

 

So what can you do to help strengthen the PA profession and its reach to more diverse providers, educators, and patients? Do a little more research on the people mentioned, watch the video of Karen Bass discussing the impact of Project Access, check out some books written by Black providers, and continue your own education as a PA with some CE courses provided through AAPA to help bolster DEI in healthcare leadership, or learn more about the struggles that Black women have specifically faced as both patients and providers, and how we can work to reduce those disparities.

 

 

Additional Resources:
– Lovest Alexander Jr. Interview: https://vimeo.com/295408700

– Henry Lee Treadwell Biography: https://pahx.org/bios/treadwell-henry-lee-buddy/

– Joyce Nichols Biography: https://pahx.org/bios/nichols-joyce/

2023-2024 PA Fellowship

The Augsburg PA Department is proud to continue our fellowship program for the third year as we help develop a more inclusive working and teaching environment for recent PA graduates from the larger metro graduate programs. We are proud to welcome back one of our most recent graduates for the fall, and a new face from St. Kate’s to join us in the spring. Our fellowship will allow our new faculty to continue developing professional skills while they work towards earning certification and stepping into the professional world. The fellows work alongside faculty to collaborate and learn about the principles of teaching, especially using more inclusive teaching materials that help represent a more diverse patient population. They also work with our students by lecturing, assisting in the skills lab, and facilitating discussion of case studies. Ultimately our fellows will serve as mentors to our students and a bridge between students and faculty. We hope to see them grow, become mentors, preceptors, and future faculty.

 

Our fall fellow, Alejandra Soto, graduated this past fall in 2023 from the Augsburg University PA program after obtaining a BA from Case Western Reserve University. She has had experience in the past with mentoring and tutoring, as well as with research. She is driven to provide care for marginalized and underserved communities. When reflecting on the diversity of the students, and the patients around her, she noted:Alejandra Soto smiling and wearing a white button up shirt

“I further see the importance of having these necessary conversations as there is still a mis-representation of marginalized groups in healthcare and biases towards patients. Everyone goes through different experiences in life, therefore it is important to be able to celebrate and share our differences to foster an open and welcoming environment to diversity that will ultimately help us become culturally competent, well-rounded individuals and provide better care to our patients.”

Headshot of Sumaya Noor smiling at the camera. She is wearing a white lab coat and dark headscarf.

 

Coming to Augsburg in the Spring of 2024 is Sumaya Noor. Sumaya Noor is a first generation Somali-American, born and raised in Saint Paul, MN. She is currently a PA student at St. Catherine University, graduating in December 2023. She completed her undergraduate degree at the University of Minnesota in 2020, where she studied Human Physiology and Leadership. In addition to medicine, Sumaya is passionate about education, community service, public health, and DE&I. In her free time, she enjoys hiking, listen to podcasts, reading, and spending time with family and friends. She is very excited to start at Augsburg University as a fellow in January!

 

We are happy to welcome them both this year as we get into the swing of our cohort’s academic phase!

Health Equity Scholarships 2023

Following up from our last post about scholarships, our PA program is proud to announce the recipients of the Health Equity Scholarship (granted through MDH). This scholarship is aimed at increasing healthcare professionals in less accessible areas, and is awarded to students planning on entering healthcare for rural and underserved areas.

When students train in rural and underserved settings, they are more likely to return upon graduating. Increasing training opportunities in rural and underserved settings for health professionals can ultimately increase access to health care in rural and underserved communities in Minnesota.

 

gallery of the mdh scholarship winners

When discussing the scholarship and their current and future clinical experiences, they each had the following to highlight about themselves:

Nicholle, after visiting a clinic that works with LGBTQ+ individuals, learned more about individual’s experiences and the barriers that the community faces, notes that “I strive to give each patient the individual attention they deserve and listen to their stories with respect. It is vital to learn about people with different backgrounds in order to be a better provider.”

In rural areas like CHI St. Gabriel’s Health Family Medical Center, Kelsey was able to see the strength of having connections with individual patient and “I believe seeing the patient as a whole person can give value to the quality of care I want to strive for in my career.  Each patient has an intricate unique story that has needs that might be beyond the routine checklist”.

Ron Toledo Cardoso in his clinical rotations, has seen firsthand the effects of the barriers of healthcare, “While I am interested in working with the underserved population, I have a specific interest in the Hispanic population. There is recognized healthcare gap in access to healthcare, leading to poor health outcomes for the Hispanic population.” he states he will continue to be an advocate for patients who may not know what resources are available to them.

One student with a wider range of experience, Amanda, mentions her previous 2 rotations including Sanford Worthington Medical Center and Urgent Care in Worthington, MN. She notes challenges int his kind of setting:

“I realized the amount of responsibility there is in being a rural provider. Often waiting days for consults, she would need to make independent decisions to develop plans for patients to receive timely care. Also understanding that facilities and resources for more advanced care are hours away, we would need to make thoughtful considerations into when it was appropriate to transfer.”

Lauren Altman, who was with Hennepin Healthcare, found how to navigate her own biases, and took away important tools for getting future patients the resources they need:

“I learned to throw judgment out the window, treat the whole person and focus on making decisions which will benefit each patient long term. It was here I learned the importance of cultural humility, listening, building trust, and having empathy in caring for these patients. I greatly appreciate the efforts this hospital is making toward healthcare equality.”

 

Our final recipient has already had some broad experience as a pediatrician in Syria, and drew on her prior knowledge and explained her rural rotations were beneficial as “I got more experience when rural communities depended on me to be available all hours of the day and night. As a result, I often ended up significantly better, and spent more time with my patients.” she continues to state she wants to continue helping children and families get care with fewer barriers.

We congratulate all our recipients!

 

Scholarship Awards for 2023

Augsburg University’s PA Program is proud to announce our latest round of scholarship awards to our first- and second-year cohorts.

tile collage of scholarship students

 

 

The first scholarship is the Dr Kristofer and Mrs. Bertha E. Hagen Scholarship. Awarded annually to a student who is enrolled in the physician assistant, nursing, pre-medical or other appropriate health care-related program, the scholarship benefits students planning to volunteer or to practice in a Third World country and/or in underserved populations in the United States. Established in 1996 with gifts from the trust estate of the late Mrs. Bertha E. Hagen ’28 and her late husband, Dr. Kristofer Hagen ’29, as an expression of their dedication to missions.” We have chosen Amanda Bartosh, class of 2023 to receive this scholarship. In her time with the program, Amanda has worked hard in the past at refugee camps in Chiangmai, and has continued to put an emphasis on serving underdeveloped and underserved areas. She notes that in her time during clinical rotations in rural areas of Minnesota,

“The providers I worked with used their full scope of practice because of the limited resources. The work was challenging but extremely rewarding. I began picturing myself in their roles and getting excited about my future patient provider relationships and the growth I’d make as a practitioner. I want to serve in an area that truly needs my skills and where I can make the most impact.”


 

The second scholarship has allowed us to provide financial aid to multiple students of ours. The Alne-Swensen Scholarship is awarded annually to a student of any academic class who is preparing for a career in health care. Established in 1992 by Ernest and Helen Alne, Hemet, Calif., to encourage promising students and honor the memory of nurse Trine Swensen. We were able to select 4 of our students, Kao Neng Vang, Brittany Noble, Binh Vu, and Kim Day. Among the 4 of them, they have all expressed a desire to provide the best care possible to represent the program.

When thinking of the profession, each student had this to say: Kao would “love to be a provider, an educator, and a friend to those in need.” Brittany recalls experiences with past patients and “Whether it be reading Curious George, or honoring the memory of a loved one, as a PA I will empower patients with the comprehensive healthcare needed to do what matters most.” Binh discusses the social barriers of patients and commits “my passion for medicine is not only to treat diseases and help people take care of their health, but also to provide affordable care for people with socioeconomic disadvantages.” Kim highlights her ability to meet the program’s mission and expectations including “taking on the rigor of this fast paced, competitive, and challenging course load, and am proud of myself for being able to not only to meet the expectations of the program and its faculty, but to exceed those expectations and thrive within the high-pressure environment.”


 

The final scholarship awarded this time around was the Dahlberg and Peterson Family Scholarship. Awarded to Vanessa Amanor, the Dahlberg and Peterson Family Scholarship will provide encouragement and financial assistance to one or more upper class students preparing for a Christian vocation or for a student in their final years of the Physician Assistant program who plans to work with a multicultural population. Vanessa has has a huge impact on the program to encourage learning diversity from the start, identifying biases, and she goes on to note that during her clinical rotations, “My goal was to provide tools for self-advocacy to communities that often face enormous barriers to medical care for serious conditions, much less routine preventative care.”

 

Congratulations to all of our students who applied and who have received the scholarships! Check out later in the week as we reveal the winners of our Health Equity Scholarships (MDH).