PA Newsletter Fall 2024

Letter from the Chair: Rolling along and changing times

Happy Fall! I hope you have found time to enjoy the beautiful fall weather before the snow soon begins to fly. At the UND PA Program, we are flying through the fall semester. Time seems to go by more quickly each year!

The Class of 2024 graduated in May with a hooding celebration at the Alerus center in Grand Forks. Many students have found employment and are finding their way as new graduate PA-Cs. Congratulations to the graduates of the Class of 2024!! In just a few years, you can all become clinical preceptors for future students!

The Class of 2025 will complete the majority of their primary care curriculum by the end of this year followed by time spent in various specialty rotations. In their “spare time”, they are working hard on their scholarly projects exploring the latest literature on a wide variety of topics. It is so interesting to read their work and hear their presentations. As a light of the future, graduation is right around the corner in May!

The Class of 2026 just finished their fall didactic learning physical examinations skills. All students successfully completed their history and physical exam testing and are finishing up the semester of sciences before beginning their clinical medicine in January. Best of luck to them to finish the semester strong!

Another admissions cycle is complete and offers have been made to 35 new students for seats in the Class of 2027. Application numbers continue to be strong making admissions decisions difficult. A special shout-out to our Admission Committee members and all those who help to make this process successful!

In terms of departmental updates, I would like to publicly congratulate Dr. Jay Metzger on completing his doctorate degree last summer and achieving promotion to Associate Professor this past spring. Jay has worked hard to complete his doctoral courses while balancing the workload of the department and has been successful in completing all requirements for both an advanced degree and promotion in rank. Congratulations, Jay! We knew you could do it!!

In addition, Russ Kauffman has been selected to serve the ARC-PA (Accreditation Review Commission on Education for Physician Assistants) as an accreditation site visitor. He has completed orientation training and his first site visit in this role. Welcome, Russ, to the world of educational accreditation!

Many of you will recognize the well-known name of Rhonda McDaniel as she has completed 35 years of service to the PA Program this year. Rhonda continues to approach her work with dedication and commitment for applicants, students, preceptors, faculty, and all stakeholders providing courteous customer service and a helping hand whenever needed. Thank you, Rhonda! We appreciate you and all you have done for the program and look forward to another 35 years to come!

Changing times are ahead with the recent appointment of Dr. Marjorie Jenkins as our new Dean and Vice President of Health Affairs. She will begin her new role at the School of Medicine and Health Sciences in December. To that end, we are grateful for the leadership of Dr. Joshua Wynne guiding the program and the school for many years and wish him well in his new role as faculty member in the UND Department of Internal Medicine.

As we prepare for the seasons to come, best wishes for a wonderful holiday and winter season. Be sure to stay in touch with us and share noteworthy news in your lives as well!

Best to all,

Jeanie McHugo, PhD, PA-C
Chair, Department of PA Studies

Faculty & Staff

Faculty Spotlight

Jay Metzger, Ph.D., PA-C, was promoted to associate professor recently. Congratulations, Jay!

Staff Spotlight

Rhonda McDaniel, our administrative assistant, has been working at UND for 35 years! Congratulations, Rhonda!

Students

Awards and Scholarships

UND School of Medicine & Health Sciences Department of Physician Assistant Studies announces awards and scholarships.

Research Awards

Research Awards were presented to the following graduates of the Class of 2024 on May 12, 2024, during the Hooding Ceremony at the Empire Arts Center in Grand Forks.

• Outstanding Scholarly Project, Faculty Choice: Chelsea Scheil of Faribault, Minn., for her project titled “Probiotic Therapy for the Treatment and Prevention of Bacterial Vaginosis.”
• Outstanding Scholarly Project, Student Choice: Allie Stoeffler of La Crescent, Minn., for her project titled “Effects of Probiotic Supplementation on PCOS Outcomes.”

Faculty Awards

Nicole Lemieux, PA-C, was awarded Preceptor of the Year.

Megan Vetsch PA-C and the Orthopedic Surgery Department at the Fargo VA were awarded Clinical Partners of the Year. Both were present to receive their awards at the Hooding Ceremony that was held on May 10, 2024.

Wally Olsen was presented with the Outstanding Service in PA Clinical Education award for his long term service.

Student Awards

Class of 2025 Mickey Knutson Scholarship

• Rachel Brothers of St. Cloud, Minn.

The Knutson endowment provides scholarships to UND students, allowing them the opportunity to complete their studies and pursue careers in the health field. The Knutson endowment is awarded to a graduate who will be working in primary care in a rural or underserved area.

Class of 2025 Katherine Maryann Rasmussen Scholarship

• Evie Reynolds of Minot, N.D.
• Hannah Wiersma of West Fargo, N.D.

The Rasmussen endowment provides scholarships to one or more high-achieving and qualified students enrolled within the Physician Assistant Program at the UND School of Medicine & Health Sciences.  Recipients shall be of high moral character and demonstrate the potential to lead successful lives and careers.

Faculty for Students Scholarship (shared among students in medicine, biomedical sciences, and health sciences)

• Todd Merchant of Stevensville, Mont.
• Mackenzie Weis of South Haven, Minn.

Congratulations Class of 2024!

The Hooding Ceremony for the PA Class of 2024 was held on May 10, 2024, at the Alerus Center in Grand Forks. We are proud of their accomplishment and dedication. A special thank you to all the preceptors for helping to prepare these students for their future as health care providers.

Pi Alpha Honor Society

Pi Alpha is the national physician assistant honor society organized for the promotion and recognition of both PA students and graduates. Membership signifies the inductees’ significant academic achievement and honors them for their leadership, research, community/professional service, and other related activities. The society also encourages a high standard of character and conduct among students and graduates. With this in mind, we are pleased to announce that the following SMHS Department of Physician Assistant Studies students were inducted into the Pi Alpha Honor Society this year. Congratulations!

• Kayli Day
• Brianna Droessler-Aschliman
• Rachel Kissee
• Madison Nitschke
• Chelsea Scheil

This graduating class has progressed the UND Department of Physician Assistant Studies past the grand milestone of more than 2,000 graduates!

Class of 2025

The following students progressed to their clinical phase of their PA education on Jan. 26, 2024.

Welcome Class of 2026

There was much excitement as the UND PA Class of 2025 were welcomed for their first week to campus on May 13, 2024.

Alumni news and updates

Thank you to our 2024 Adopt-A-PA Student Sponsors

The Adopt-A-PA-Student program can provide professional white coats for second-year physician assistant students who are about to begin their clinical experiences.

The white coats are formally presented to students during a ceremony. Similar to the Adopt-A-Med-Student Program, we also encourage donors to write letters to the students to be included in their coat pockets. Our goal is to provide a lasting, supportive connection between students and donors.

Gifts of $100 per student can be:

1. Mailed to the UND Alumni Association & Foundation, 3501 University Ave., Stop 8157, Grand Forks, ND, 58202. Please include “PA White Coat” in the check’s memo line. Or
2. Submitted online. Click on “Adopt-A-Student” and then under the “Gift Designation” space on the Foundation’s web page, choose “Adopt-A-Student Physician Assistant.” Feel free to leave a note for the student in the box provided.

Our goal is to provide a lasting, supportive connection between students and donors. Letters to students can be included in Option 1 above or emailed to kristen.peterson@UND.edu. Any gifts received after Jan. 1, 2025, are greatly appreciated and will be included in the 2026 Adopt-a-PA-Student Program.

Thanks in advance!

Alumni! We want to hear from you

Where are you practicing now? Any big accomplishments to announce? Great memories from PA school to share? We’d love to print your news and photos in a future newsletter. Contact us at und.med.paprogram@UND.edu

Odds & Ends

HRSA Geriatrics Workforce Enhancement Program

The UND PA Program has partnered with Dakota Geriatrics, a HRSA Geriatrics Workforce Enhancement Program, to strengthen Geriatric knowledge among health professionals and improve the care of older adults in primary care. Here are a few ways you can get involved!

Social Media for Geriatric Education

Social media as an educational tool for health care learning has untapped potential.

Benefits of social media include peer-to-peer engagement, active learning and interprofessional training. Dakota Geriatrics is exploring social media platforms as a vehicle to deliver short, pithy clinical pearls from evidence-based, peer-reviewed manuscripts

• Instagram           @Age_friendly
• Twitter                 @Dakota_GWEP
• Facebook           @DakotaGeriatrics

Educational opportunities

Find age-friendly educational presentations and webinars (recorded and live), a free online Geriatric curriculum for health professionals, and many other resources on the Dakota Geriatrics Website.

Scholarly Projects

Scholarly Projects were presented at the NDAPA Conference on Tuesday, May 2, 2024.

Kendra Bohm, Cassidy Mindeman and Nathan Young demonstrate and teach suturing to a local highschool class.

The PA Class of 2025 learned through various labs and simulations during their didactic sessions last spring.

PA Class of 2024 participated in the Challenge Bowl hosted by the department and won in a head to head with DPAS Faculty.

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