Student News

Students Gather In-Person for Spring Interprofessional Event

The Department of PA Studies at Wake Forest University School of Medicine teamed up with Winston-Salem State University and Forsyth Tech Community College for an interactive Interprofessional Event (IPE) on April 9.

The three schools have been jointly hosting this event online since 2020, but for the first time this year, students from all the programs gathered in person at the Benton Convention Center in Winston-Salem.

The event drew more than 325 participants, representing PA Studies, Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Nursing, Medial Laboratory Sciences, Healthcare Management, Healthcare Administration, Therapeutic Recreation, Rehabilitation Counseling, and Social Work. The Northwest AHEC provided support for the collaboration.

Students were divided into mixed-discipline teams and tasked with working through virtual escape rooms to help Brian Martinez, a patient who had suffered a serious fall while working. The rooms transitioned from acute care to in-patient rehabilitation to home care after discharge. Teams discussed crucial patient care topics related to each setting and helped one another learn more about the vocabulary and acronyms used in their disciplines with the “jargon jar.”

2024 Graduate Research Symposium

The Wake PA Class of 2024 shared their research with first-year students, faculty, and guests at the annual Graduate Project Symposium on February 26. Health disparities among patients with thyroid cancer, neonatal resuscitation, and concussion protocols were just a few of the topics that students had researched throughout their time at the Wake Forest University School of Medicine.

Emily Adams, CEO of the North Carolina Academy of Physician Assistants (NCAPA), delivered the event’s keynote address "Supporting a Culture of PA Leadership."

The symposium is the culmination of the Graduate Project, a four-course series that spans PA students’ didactic and clinical years. Students formulate a topic relevant to the practice of medicine or patient care, review related literature, and critically appraise and synthesize results. In their second year, students present and defend their findings to a faculty panel before sharing with a larger audience at the symposium poster session.

The Graduate Project is purposefully designed to equip students with the skills needed to engage in evidence-based medical decision making and informed, shared decision making with patients.

2024 Project Titles and Research Teams

The Benefits of Non-Pharmacologic Treatments in Adult ADHD: Expanding the ADHD Toolbox
Kailee Alred, Jessica Branower, Camila Cifuentes Nainika Kumar, Sanjana Nelluri, Haven Poore, with Ethan Stonerook, MMS, PA-C

Healthcare Disparities in Heart Failure Device Therapies and Heart Transplant
Kate Duran, Kaitlyn Lester, Katrina McTigue, Isatta Ndure, Allison O’Neill, Maria Gomez, with Lauren Eyadiel, MS, MMS, PA-C, CCC-SLP, FHFSA

Cost-Effectiveness of Care Provided by APPs Compared to Physicians: Patient Outcomes and Costs
Luca Calero, Virginia Hamilton, Lindsey Hoots, Jeryl Lockley, Taylor Miguelino, with Sobia S. Hussaini, MHA and Chris Gillette, PhD

Cervical Cancer Disparities in Black and Hispanic Women
Jesseca Garcia, Tiye Young, Olga Correa, Lucia Gurrola, with Robert Wooten, MS, PA-C

Concussion Protocols: Updates on Recognition, Diagnosis, and Management
Brenna McNamee, Haley Rodham, Bailey Boka, Erika Horback, Shane Prebis, James Itaya, with Sarah J. Garvick, MS, MPAS, PA-C

Contraceptive Counseling: Knowing the Options to Give Your Patients the Power of Choice Utilizing Shared Decision-Making
Mairin Daubert, Emma Fiore, Anna Seuser, Emily Tiehen, Leah Vidal, Dominique Young, with Sarah J. Garvick, MS, MPAS, PA-C

Diet and Exercise Strategies to Improve Survivorship Among Women in Breast Cancer Remission
Isabelle Edwards, Mary Edwards, Julian Glassman, Katherine Kennedy Proctor, Eleni Stoycos, Lauren Stringfield, with Alisha DeTroye, MMS, PA-C, DFAAPA

Family Planning, Unintended Pregnancy, and Associated Outcomes in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA)
Christina Santosa, Megan Spehar, Alison Brandt, Jordan McKain-Miller, Melissa Ayala, with Sarah J. Garvick, MS, MPAS, PA-C

Health Disparities Among Patients With Thyroid Cancer: Strategies to Recognize Obstacles, Optimize Screening, and Improve Long-Term Outcomes in Primary Care
John Mingo, Ethan Wells, Bethany Thompson, Olivia Kleven

Impact of Neonatal Resuscitation Program, “Helping Babies Breathe” on Mortality and Morbidity in Developing Countries
Ellen Featherstone, Kristen Green, Allie Hrabovsky, Peyton Ray, Melissa Romano

Nonpharmacologic Management of Pain and Anxiety in Lumbar Puncture and Bone Marrow Biopsies
Catherine Coughlin, Anna Jenks, Daniella Guzman, Emily Schmutz, Hannah Hillard, Olivia Simmons, with Ethan Stonerook, MMS, PA-C

Utilizing Situational Judgment Tests (SJT) in Medical Program Admissions to Increase Diversity and Predict Clinical Performance
Kendra Clingerman, Wheeler Ogbu, Nataly Osorio, with Sobia S. Hussaini, MHA

Barriers to Access and Utilization of IUDs
Ari Elfenbein, Ari Nassar, Jenny Fichera, Maria Shaia, Hadeel Elhaj, Karuna Dahal, with Andrea McKinnond, MMS, PA-C

Prognostication of Silent Myocardial Infarction (SMI)
Reid Gilbert-Vass, Rachel Shepherd, Courtney Wismer

Roles and Risks of Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor (SSRI) Use in Pregnancy
Madeleine Gibson, Simran Mehta, Brianna Monserrate, Lexi Roberts, with Courtney J. Perry, PharmD

Food Is Medicine: Exploring the Benefits of Mediterranean and Plant-Based Diets on Cardiovascular Disease and Diabetes Mellitus
Bernice Chen, Khara Davidson, Robert French, Caroline Haidinger, Grace Morrow, Ramona Parkash, with Sarah J. Garvick, MS, MPAS, PA-C

Disparities in Healthcare for Autistic Patients: Adapting Healthcare for Neurodivergent Patients
Virginia Niver, Sonya Gunter, Akshara Kothpally, Meghan Reichert, Meredith Sokolowski, with Suzanne Hawks