West Liberty University (WLU) students enrolled in the Master of Science in Physician Assistant (PA) Studies degree program shared Valentine love with area patients undergoing oncology treatment recently.
Members of the WLU Physician Assistant Student Society delivered gift bags to the Schiffler Cancer Center of Wheeling Hospital for cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy treatments, hoping to brighten their day.
“As PA students, we enter school dreaming to change lives in our community,” says Hannah Crewdson, project chair and a first-year PA student from Cross Lanes, WV, set to graduate in 2017. “During the year in the classroom, it is easy to get caught up in the daily studies of student life and forget the reason we are here. Making the Valentine’s Day gift bags as a class was a fun way to get involved in the community but more importantly a reminder of why we are here in the first place.”
About 100 festive bags were created and packed with homemade cookies, puzzle books, ChapStick and candy by the PA students.
A 24-month master’s degree program, the PA program at WLU offers selected students a chance to enter into an exciting career. PAs are state licensed health care professionals who practice medicine with physician supervision and are able to perform a range of medical services from entry-level primary care to highly technical specialty procedures in nearly every medical and surgical health care setting. In some rural and underserved communities, they may serve as the primary providers of health care.
All PAs must graduate from a nationally accredited program, pass a national certification exam (NCCPA) and be licensed by a state medical board before being able to practice with physician supervision.
A program of the College of Sciences, the PA program is housed in the Campbell Hall of Health Sciences. For more information, visit westliberty.edu/physician-assistant or call (304) 336-5098.
