Tag Archives: Physician Assistant Program

Changes announced in Physician Assistant program, Department of Graduate Health Professions

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Lindsay Abernethy
Lindsay Abernethy

Lindsay Abernethy, MMSc, PA-C, has been selected to serve as the interim program director of the School of Medicine’s Master of Medical Science-Physician Assistant program. The appointment is part of a recent restructuring within the Department of Graduate Health Professions in medicine and the PA program.

Abernethy takes over the role held previously by Katherine Ervie, who served as program director from the inception of the program in 2012 until January 2021. Abernethy will direct the clinical curriculum and provide overall leadership of the PA program.

She first joined the School of Medicine faculty in 2018 as an adjunct assistant professor. She previously served as assistant director of clinical education with the South University Physician Assistant Program in Savannah, Georgia.

Abernethy received her master’s degree in Physician Assistant Studies from Emory University. Before joining UMKC, she was the first physician assistant to practice medicine on the island of Anguilla, where she provided family and emergency medicine care. Upon moving back to the United States, she found her niche in occupational and urgent care medicine. She continues to serve the Kansas City area through clinical practice one day a week.

Other staff and faculty changes include Laura Begley, Ph.D., serving as assistant dean for Gradate Health Professions; Sara Cox, MPAS, PA-C, as director of didactic education; and Stephanie Painter, MPA-PA-C, serving as director of assessment and student learning.

Begley joined the School of Medicine in 2009 as program assistant for the school’s Master of Science in Anesthesia program. She spent seven years as program coordinator for the Office of Allied Health and most recently was appointed associate director of the Department of Graduate Health Professions. She will provide leadership in accreditation and assessment, as well as supervision of student support personnel.

Cox has been part of the school’s PA program faculty since 2018 and will work to ensure that didactic curriculum content meets the program’s defined goals, student learning outcomes and accreditation standards.

Painter joined the School of Medicine in 2020. She will oversee the assessment needs across the program’s didactic and clinical curriculum to assess students for mastery of defined learning outcomes and competencies.

Two additional staff also have joined the department: Darlene Hirst as adjunct assistant professor in the PA program and Amber Blair as a student support specialist.

Edwin Kreamer, M.D., continues to serve as medical director for the physician assistant program and Julie Banderas, Pharm.D., will continue to serve as assistant dean and department chair for Graduate Health Professions in Medicine.

Physician Assistant program celebrates White Coat Ceremony; welcomes association president

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The School of Medicine presented white coats to 20 physician assistant students during the annual White Coat Ceremony on April 14.

As they prepare to begin the next stage of training, 20 physician assistant students at the UMKC School of Medicine participated in the program’s fourth White Coat Ceremony on April 14. It took place at the UMKC Student Union.

Students receive their white coats as they begin their fifth semester of the seven-semester program. The ceremony signifies their transition from the classroom to the clinical phase of training.

Beverly Graves, M.D., clinical assistant professor, who served as the program’s first medical director, and Kathie Ervie, M.P.A.S., P.A.-C., program director, led the presentation of the white coats.

The day before the White Coat ceremony, students from all three years of PA program heard remarks from Gail Curtis, president of the American Academy of Physician Assistants. Curtis visited the School of Medicine while in Kansas City to take part in a Kansas Academy of Physician Assistants meeting.

She told the UMKC students that this is a good time to be joining the physician assistant profession.

“We have so many great opportunities right now for our profession,” Curtis said. “You’re very lucky to be getting into the profession at the time you going into it.”

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the physician assistant profession. It is ranked third on the U.S. News and World Report’s list of  2018 Best Jobs.

“One thing that I think is good about where we are right now is that we’ve accomplished a lot in those first 50 years,” Curtis said. “We’ve gone from one program in North Carolina to having almost 235 PA programs, and more are coming every day.”

She also applauded the UMKC program that welcomed its inaugural class in January of 2014.

“You’re still a baby program,” Curtis said. “But I hear you have a 100-percent pass rate on your board exams. So, you’re also a great program.”

The School of Medicine currently has about 60 students enrolled in the physician assistant program. Its first two graduating classes have produced 34 physician assistants.

 

Physician Assistant program conducts first White Coat Ceremony

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Students in the MMS-Physician Assistant program read the P.A. Professional Oath during the program's first White Coat Ceremony on April 11.
Students in the MMS-Physician Assistant program read the P.A. Professional Oath during the program’s first White Coat Ceremony on April 11.

Fourteen physician assistant students who are preparing to begin their clinical rotations participated in the School of Medicine’s first Master of Medical Science-Physician Assistant White Coat Ceremony on April 11 at the UMKC Student Union Theater.

The ceremony takes place at the beginning of the students’ fifth semester of the seven-semester program to signify their transition from the classroom to the clinical phase of training. After hearing welcoming and encouraging remarks from Kathie Ervie, M.P.A.S., P.A.-C., program director, Beverly Graves, M.D., program medical director, and Irv Stickney, P.A.-C., a member of the advisory board, students recited the Physician Assistant Professional Oath as a pledge to the health and safety of their patients and to maintain a professional code of ethics.

The white coat is a mantle of the medical profession, and the White Coat Ceremony occurs with students having the coat placed on their shoulders by individuals who believe in their ability to contribute to the traditions of the medical profession. The ceremony emphasizes the importance of compassionate care and expertise in the science of medicine.

The Arnold P. Gold Foundation initiated the White Coat Ceremony to welcome students into the medical profession and set expectations for their role as health care providers by having them read their professional oath. Today, 97 percent of the AAMC-accredited medical schools in the United States and Canada, and osteopathic schools of medicine conduct a White Coat Ceremony. The Foundation partnered with the Physician Assistant Education Association to provide funding to establish White Coat Ceremonies for PA programs at the end of 2013.

The School of Medicine first began a White Coat Ceremony for students entering the B.A./M.D. program. In 2003, the School transitioned the ceremony to a program for Year 3 students as they advanced to Hospital Hill and joined their Years 3-6 docent units for the beginning of their clinical rotations.

Ervie said the White Coat Ceremony for PA students was modeled after the school’s ceremony for medical students.

Physician Assistant program adds White Coat Ceremony

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Students beginning their clinical rotations in the School of Medicine’s Master of Medical Science-Physician Assistant program next April will be greeted with a White Coat Ceremony thanks to a grant from the Arnold P. Gold Foundation.

The white coat is a mantle of the medical profession and the White Coat Ceremony takes place with students having the coat placed on their shoulders by individuals who believe in their ability to contribute to the traditions of the medical profession.

The Gold Foundation first initiated the White Coat Ceremony for medical students. Today, 96 percent of the AAMC-accredited medical schools in the United States conduct a White Coat Ceremony. The Foundation partnered with the Physician Assistant Education Association to provide funding to establish White Coat Ceremonies for PA progams last December.

The School of Medicine first initiated its White Coat Ceremony for incoming students entering the B.A./M.D. program. In 2003, the School made the White Coat Ceremony a program for Year 3 students as they transitioned to Hospital Hill and joined their Years 3-6 docent units for the beginning of their clinical rotations. This year’s White Coat Ceremony for B.A./M.D. students will be Aug. 16 at the Swinney Recreation Center on the Volker Campus.

Kathie Ervie, M.P.A.S., P.A.-C., program director, said the White Coat Ceremony for PA students will be modeled after the School’s ceremony for medical students. The ceremony will take place at the beginning of their fifth semester of the seven-semester program to signify the students’ transition from the classroom to the clinical phase of their training. As part of the ceremony, students will recite the PA Professional Oath as a pledge to the health and safety of their patients and to maintain a professional code of ethics.

Inaugural class of UMKC School of Medicine Physician Assistants begins courses

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Members of the School of Medicine's inaugural class of the Master of Medical Science - Physician Assistant program gather for a group photograph following orientation on Jan. 10.
Members of the School of Medicine’s inaugural class of the Master of Medical Science – Physician Assistant program gather for a group photograph following orientation on Jan. 10.

A group of 14 students are part of the inaugural class of the School of Medicine’s new Master of Medical Science-Physician Assistant program that kicked off its first classroom activities on Tuesday, Jan 21, with lectures in anatomy and ethics.

A joint student orientation with this year’s incoming class of Master of Science in Anesthesia students on Jan. 10 covered information from the Office of Student Affairs covering financial aid and other resources. Students later broke out into individual meetings covering program specific information.

School of Medicine Dean Betty Drees, M.D., addressed the two classes during the orientation session.

“As time goes on, I think it’s critical for us to have these programs in the medical school because with the changes in the health care delivery system, more and more health care is going to be done in teams, not by individuals. And making sure that we have education programs here for the whole team to meet the workforce needs in our own state is really critically important. I think you will see in your careers that what you do will become increasingly in demand as we go to a more team-based approach to health care.”

The Physician Assistant program received provisional accreditation status from the Accreditation Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant in September. Provisional status indicates that the plans and resource allocation for the proposed program appear to demonstrate the program’s ability to meet the ARC-PA standards if fully implemented as planned. Provisional accreditation does not ensure subsequent accreditation status and is limited to no more than five years from matriculation of the first class.

Kathie Ervie, M.P.A.S., P.A.-C., serves as program director and Beverly Graves, M.D., ’83, is the program’s medical director. Two additional faculty members joined the program in November. Holli Paulk, M.B.A., M.P.A.S., assistant teaching professor, serves as the program’s clinical coordinator and is involved in curriculum development, lectures and clinical instruction. Brad Dirks, M.Ed., P.A.-C., also an assistant teaching professor, is involved in curriculum development and didactic instruction.

The School received nearly 100 applications to be part of its first MMS-PA class and about 40 were interviewed. At least 80 percent of the class each year is expected to come from the instate application pool. The program is looking to accept up to 20 students for its second class in 2015, Ervie said.

Class lectures for the PA program will begin on Jan. 21, primarily in a third-floor classroom of the medical school and students will begin early clinical rotations and patient interactions shortly thereafter at Truman Medical Center, Saint Luke’s Hospital, the Kansas City Health Department and other area clinics.

The Anesthesiologist Assistant program began in 2008 with an inaugural class of four students. The program has since graduated 24 Anesthesiologist Assistants and will celebrate its fifth graduating class this May. It accepted 13 students into the program this year.

School appoints directors for new Physician Assistant Program

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Kathy Ervie, MPAS, PA-C
Beverly Graves, MD, ’83

The School of Medicine has hired two key faculty to lead the new Master of Medical Science program that will train skilled physician assistants (PA) to meet local and national health care needs. Kathy Ervie, M.P.A.S., P.A.-C. will serve as program director and Beverly Graves, M.D., ’83, will serve as medical director of the School’s PA program.

Ervie completed her Physician Assistant training at Butler University and received her Master’s in Physician Assistant Studies from the University of Nebraska. She has practiced in the areas of orthopaedic and cardiothoracic surgery with staff appointments at Saint Luke’s, North Kansas City, Research and Kansas City Orthopaedic Institute. In addition to serving as mentor and preceptor to PA students, she has also served as past president of the Missouri Academy of Physician Assistants.

Graves, a School of Medicine graduate, completed her residency in pediatrics at Children’s Mercy Hospitals and Clinics. She joined the School of Medicine in 1986, previously working as a pediatrician and clinical assistant professor of community and family medicine. She also served as an affiliate staff pediatrician at Children’s Mercy and is a neonatal resuscitation program regional trainer.

The PA program at the School of Medicine is designed to address significant local and national shortages of physicians and other health care providers. Saint Louis University and Missouri State University offer the only other degree-granting PA education programs in Missouri.

UMKC School of Medicine has applied for provisional accreditation from the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA), and anticipates matriculating its first class in January 2014, pending provisional accreditation in September 2013. Provisional accreditation is an accreditation status for a new PA program that has not yet enrolled students, but at the time of its comprehensive accreditation review, has demonstrated its preparedness to initiate a program in accordance with the accreditation Standards.

Dr. Banderas appointed associate dean for Graduate Studies and Allied Health

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Julie Banderas, Pharn.D.

The School of Medicine Dean’s Office has announced the appointment of Julie Banderas, Pharm.D., as assistant dean for Graduate Studies and Allied Health.

A tenured professor in the department of Biomedical and Health Informatics, Banderas has served as assistant dean for Graduate Studies since 2010. She has been actively involved in developing the School’s initial graduate programs and the corresponding operating procedures and administrative structures.

A member of the UMKC Graduate Council and Graduate Officers Committee, Banderas assumes the administrative duties as assistant dean of Allied Health Programs, which include the Master of Science in Anesthesia Program and the Master of Medical Science Physician Assistant Program that was recently approved the University of Missouri Board of Curators in April.

Banderas has taught clinical pharmacology at the School of Medicine for 18 years and also teaches courses in Responsible Conduct of Research for the School of Graduate Studies.