Duke Physician Assistant Program News & Blogs

CASPA is open, which means it’s time to put the pedal to the metal and start applying. Before you do, take a breath and make sure all your ducks are in a row to avoid making some common application mistakes.

When asked why speaking directly to legislature regarding these bills is so important, Hillman said, “The most crucial tool for change that we have is our voice; it is up to us as future health care leaders to speak up and advocate for the patients who will trust and rely on us.”

I serve as the Interprofessional Education (IPE) Chair for our student organization, the Stead Society. In this role, I am the liaison between the Stead Society/my classmates and the Duke Health Center for Interprofessional Education and Care (IPEC). IPEC is made up of students and faculty from the School of Medicine and the School of Nursing. The School of Medicine includes physician assistant (PA), doctor of medicine, physical therapy, and occupational therapy students. The PA program alone has nine students who are part of IPEC.

One of the items on your Future PA checklist likely involves collecting patient care experience (PCE).   

Most schools require some amount of PCE. Even for those that don’t have a requirement, having patient care experience can make your application more competitive. Getting PCE may be another box on your list, but those requirements are there for a reason. Having experience in medicine prepares you for the adventure ahead.   

Incoming students of the Duke Physician Assistant (PA) Program class of 2025 gathered together for the first time over St. Patrick's Day weekend. For many, this was their first visit to Durham.

Prior to 2020, applicants who earned an interview traveled to each school, where they met other applicants, got tours of buildings, and explored new towns. Then came COVID-19 and a sudden shake up of the status quo.   

Suzanne Hallquist, MSPH, MHS, PA-C joined the faculty of the Duke Physician Assistant Program on March 1st, 2023. She earned her Master of Science in Public Health in Epidemiology from Emory University in 2001 and her Master of Health Sciences in Physician Assistant Studies from Duke University in 2019. She also completed a post-graduate fellowship in primary care with Duke Primary Care in 2020.

Near-peer teaching, in which senior students provide instruction to students in the classes below them, has received growing recognition for its utility and efficacy in medical education. At the Duke Physician Assistant (PA) Program, three new student organizations are implementing near-peer teaching as a way to build student-learning opportunities: the Semi-Pro Seminars, the Duke Point-of-Care Ultrasound (POCUS) Society, and the Wilderness Medicine Student Interest Group (SIG).

Brittany Macon-Davis, DMSc, MHS, PA-C, joined the faculty of the Duke Physician Assistant Program on March 1, 2023. She earned her Master of Health Science in Physician Assistant Studies from the Duke PA Program in 2015 and her Doctor of Medical Science from the University of Lynchburg in 2019. She also completed the Advanced Practice Fellowship Program in Hospital Medicine at Atrium Health in Charlotte, NC in 2016.

Should you retake courses for better grades, or take a completely different, higher level, course? When it comes to your GPA, CASPA includes everything. Retaking a course does not replace the grade in the GPA that CASPA sends to individual schools. So, there is no one-size-fits-all answer to this question.