Members of the Duke Physician Assistant Program Class of 2019 received their PA certificates in a ceremony on Aug. 2, 2019, at the Duke Chapel. The students received Master of Health Sciences degrees from Duke University in May. The Class of 2019 includes 88 graduates.
Program Director Jacqueline S. Barnett, DHSc, MSHS, PA-C, gave words of encouragement to the graduates.
“You will serve as a beacon of hope to many patients and communities who come your way, and expect the best care that you can provide, irrespective of their circumstances,” she said.
The following PA students were inducted into Pi Alpha, the national PA honor society, representing the top 15 percent of their class:
- Sandra Salim Anton
- Grace Carolyn Cupp
- Jose Carlo Macalino Esteban
- Laura Mary Gilland
- Rachel Cahoon Gray
- Suzanne Proctor Hallquist
- Rebecca Jo Leeann Howell
- Aileen Pearl Jiras
- Rachael Theresa Mudd
- Maurice Andre Paquette II
- Amanda Rae Schwartz
- Claire V. Shabet
- Aroldo Marin Trejo
Additionally, Quincy Jones, MSW, LCSW, MHS, PA-C, assistant professor of family medicine and community health, was inducted as a faculty member.
Preceptor Senthil Radhakrishnan, M.S., PA-C, was awarded the Henry “Buddy” Lee Treadwell Award by the Class of 2019. The award is named after Treadwell, who was considered the “prototype PA,” and greatly influenced the vision of Eugene A. Stead Jr., M.D., for PA education and function. Stead founded the Duke Physician Assistant Program and the profession.
Donna Davis, who recently retired after 43 years serving as information services specialist for the PA program, was awarded the Stead Society’s Outstanding Staff Award by the Class of 2020.