The UNTHSC PA class of 2011 is counting down the days until we head out the door for rotations. On March 29^th, we will go our separate ways for 3 ½ weeks at a time and come together every 4 weeks for testing, presentations and re-connecting with each other. 

Each student has 12 rotations ranging from 1-2 months each. Our core rotations consist of family medicine, internal medicine, surgery, ...

Leo Caamano, a PA at Open Door Family Medical Center in Port Chester, N.Y., was reprimanded last week when gory photos of patients, coupled with irreverent captions posted by Caamano, were discovered in a photo album on his facebook page titled "Bloddy (sic) Mess."

According to

The Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA) has chosen its new dean commissioner, Brian B. Shulman, Ph.D., dean of the School of Health and Medical Sciences at Seton Hall University in South Orange, N.J. For more on the ARC-PA dean commissioner position, click here. ...

While some of the procedures ...

If you've ever wondered what it's like to play a PA on TV, today you can ask a woman who does. LiveCloud is taking questions for Reshma Shetty, the actress who plays PA Divya Katdare on the USA show "Royal Pains," for a live chat today at 5 p.m. PST.

There may be time for the "real" PA voices to be heard: The site ...

Rebecca Knerr, PA-C, of Chantilly, Va., was among those special guests, representing her husband, Capt. II Joseph Knerr, the task force ...

Exactly two weeks have passed since the devastating earthquake struck Haiti on Jan. 12, and PAs, along with other health care professionals, are still providing much-needed care to seriously injured civilians.

Last week, Terri wrote about several PAs who were recognized in the news for ...

As the days in the classroom pass us by, we look ahead to the next chapter. With rotations only 63 days away, we still have much to learn. 

Our geriatrics block wrapped up last week and GI and renal continue on. The only clinical med classes left are hematology and pediatrics. I often find myself believing that rotations should start today and sitting in class is pointless. However, in those ...

The Eastern ...

The Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario yesterday published a press release detailing its unanimously-endorsed position statement, which "raises serious questions about the level of education and regulatory oversight physician assistants have and how these could jeopardize patients."

The ...

This week has been especially packed with material thus far, and it seems that I am again tackling the pressures of life outside of PA school.

As I'm sure anyone else knows who has experienced or is currently attending PA school, it's close to impossible to explain the immense pressure I feel from the demands I face each week. But when I try explaining that to the people closest to me, it can be ...

We've been reading stories every day of PAs who are helping to provide care to the victims of the earthquake that struck Haiti on Jan. 12. Here are links to just a few:

Pennsylvania PA Deborah Bohan, who specializes in pediatrics critical care, was part of a medical team who brought a group of orphans from Haiti ...

This week I finally saw the movie adaptation of Sherlock Holmes. I was amazed Holmes' incredible ...

The following is a guest blog post from Frank Patrick, PA-C, ADVANCE's resident literary critic. His reviews will appear on this blog from time to time as he shares with us the joys of reading for pleasure. 

For 20 years I have worked as an emergency medicine PA. In that span of time I have read countless articles and books related to medicine. Only lately have I rediscovered ...

Lately, we have spent our time in class discussing the decision-making capacity of our patients. Since I wrote my last blog entry on the value of patient autonomy and supporting our patients through their decisions, I have already found myself applying this topic to my own life.

On ...

Eucharia Iwuanyanwu, DHSC, PA-C, DFAAPA, who works at the Department of Investigational Cancer Therapeutics at M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, has shared her thoughts on the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force's new mammography guidelines on Africa Cancer Care Inc.'s Web site.

ACCI is committed ...

Here at ADVANCE, we're encouraged whenever we see PA mentions in the media that actually get the profession right. An article published today in the Miami Herald is one such example. Even the title grabbed me right away: "Hot jobs: Physician assistants a lot like doctors." No comparisons to medical assistants in this ...

Thuy Ho, a 38-year-old resident of Lincoln, Nebraska, and mother of two children, is studying to become a physician assistant, a choice she made after immigrating to the U.S. from Vietnam in 2001.

According to an article at Journalstar.com, U.S. medical licensing officials wouldn't allow Ho ...

Over the next 6 weeks, my classmates and I will spend time ...

Jessica Lazar, a physician assistant at Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh, is preparing to scale great heights to raise awareness of pulmonary hypertension, a disease that affects the heart and lungs of approximately 100,000 Americans.

In the

Because our conversation focused on ethics in several clinical settings, we went back and forth between different situations and the types of ...

In the January 2010 issue of the Journal of Oncology Practice, a handful of physician assistants have published two research papers on topics relating to PAs. You can read the articles in their entirety at the links below. On March 1, 2008, ADVANCE published a similar article written by Alicia C. Ross, MPAS, PA-C, titled "

In a letter to the editor of Psychiatric Services, Glenn D. Grace, PhD, MS, and Richard C. Christensen, MD, MA, argue that an increase in psychiatric PAs could provide a safe and cost-effective solution to a severe shortage of mental health practitioners.  

The letter was written in response ...