From September 28-30, 2023, I had the honor and privilege of attending the 2023 AAPA Leadership and Advocacy Summit (LAS) in Washington, D.C. I joined over 200 advocates from 41 states and was one of 75 students and 129 first-time attendees! PAs and PA students visited 191 Congressional offices to promote PA representation and discuss two pieces of vital PA-relevant legislation.

My name is Tesakiah Harjo, and I am THAT physician assistant (PA) student you always worry you might end up being. I generally did well in school, and then PA school hit me like a brick wall. I never really had to study in undergrad. I always did well on exams and was lucky enough to get into Duke on my first try. At the beginning of preclinical year, I expected to have to put in the work, but I did not foresee the struggles I would face – and ultimately, overcome.

My own recent experiences have made me realize how little I used to comprehend and appreciate the magnitude of the challenges that people with disabilities or chronic illnesses face daily, but also how important it is to ask for help when we need it and acknowledge the support we receive.

“165/95, that’s a bit elevated,” I say to the patient, a gentleman in his 50s, after checking his blood pressure. In Spanish, he tells me he’s nervous since he’s “never really seen a doctor.”

Before starting at Duke’s Physician Assistant Program (DPAP) in August of 2022, I had never seen a health care provider who looked like me. As a pansexual transgender man, I have experienced discrimination from physicians, nurses and health insurance companies. Now, as a PA student, I have the opportunity to share a little piece of my journey into the health care field.

Another year of the Burton Elementary School annual health education event is in the books! ... The afternoon started with a skit where Minecraft character “Blue”, played by Divine Mengue, visited the Physician Assistant, played by Maddie Parker, and took at trip through the body meeting germs and exploring the body.

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.

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).

“Chúc mừng năm mới sức khỏe dồi dào!” This is a common Vietnamese Lunar New Year greeting that expresses celebration and wishes for good health in the coming year.

Growing up, I always heard about the challenges and adversities my family had gone through in order to immigrate to the United States and create a better life for my brother and me. It was not until we began visiting India regularly that I began feeling so fortunate for my life here in the States. In late 2016, I had gone on what I believed to be another family vacation to India alongside my family.