On August 18, 2022 I joined the North Carolina Academy of Physician Assistants (NCAPA) Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) outreach subcommittee at Winston Salem State University to talk about the PA profession to incoming freshmen students. The event was a part of Winston Salem’s orientation week, known as “Ramdition.”
It was great getting to teach people about our profession. As a fellow HBCU grad I want to make sure the PA profession is getting exposure. I was always told about medical and nursing school but not PA school. I think it is very important to show that one can pursue multiple areas of medicine. It is even more important to show that as an African American woman, it is possible to pursue these different areas of medicine. In undergrad, I was so excited whenever I ran across African American female clinicians because it gave me hope that I could go into medicine and thrive.
It is also helpful to let these freshmen know they can enter a different field before attending PA school. At that age, we get so hung up on trying to make the perfect decision that it’s essential to show these students that even if you pursue a different career or take a break from school, you can still apply to PA school and become a successful clinician.
Kendra Ireigbe is a second-year student with the Duke Physician Assistant Program. Email kendra.ireigbe@duke.edu with questions.
Editor’s note: Duke Physician Assistant Program students blog monthly. Blogs represent the opinion of the author, not the Duke Physician Assistant Program, the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, or Duke University.