CO LLEG E O F A RT S & S CI E N CE S
Graduate Student Shares her Journey to Becoming a Physician Assistant by Sabine Wetzel “Hold out your hand and stay still,”
Eager to learn more about the profession, I shadowed a surgical
whispers my grandfather in Swiss-German
physician assistant. who demonstrated compassion for her patients,
as he angles the lamp to illuminate
expansive clinical knowledge and a proclivity for patient education.
my injury.
We rounded on critically ill patients with a team of attending surgeons,
My failed attempt to whittle a roasting
and would return to each patient after rounds to review and further
stick for my bratwurst left me with a
explain what had been discussed earlier. This experience solidified my path
superficial laceration and tear-stricken
to becoming a physician assistant.
face. He swings open the bathroom closet
to reveal a myriad of concoctions in glass
my eye, including its emphasis on small, interactive classes and its
When applying to schools, several facets of the USF program caught
jars ranging from Chinese teas to onion extract. A few drops from a
commitment to preparing students to provide primary care in rural
carefully selected bottle are applied to my wound with the reassurance
settings. While the USF faculty has offered constant support and
that I will heal quickly.
encouragement, the most significant support I’ve received has come
from my fellow classmates. The Class of 2019 is made up of
My grandfather’s illustration of Swiss home remedies first sparked my
enthusiasm for health and medicine. When he was eventually diagnosed
compassionate, intelligent, inspiring future providers, and I am humbled
with pancreatic cancer, there were always family members, friends, or
and ever-grateful for my journey with them over these last two-and-a-half
neighborhood hospice workers by his side. I remember thinking that
demanding years.
everyone deserved a strong network of support comparable to what he had received. I began to see health care as a collaborative network of care that encompassed the support of family, health care providers, and an entire community.
After graduating from college, I began volunteering and working in
various health care positions to investigate my potential role in the field, including medical scribing and providing direct patient care as a phlebotomist with the American Red Cross. But it was during a routine health visit where I was treated by a physician assistant that my future career presented itself. The individual’s scope of practice was remarkable, and I was astonished to discover that a physician assistant’s could be
The Class of 2019 from USF’s physician assistant program in Albuquerque poses for a mid-year photo.
the provider of one’s medical needs.
MA S T ER O F S O C I A L WO RK P RO G R A M P RODUCI N G S KI LLE D, COMPAS S I ON ATE S OCI AL WORK ER S USF’s Social Work program includes under-
interdisciplinary, multicultural settings. No other
one of the program’s biggest strengths is its
graduate (BSW) and graduate (MSW) degrees in
program in the area can make such distinction,”
student-focused approach to advising and
social work and certificates in forensic social
said Professor Alicia McLaughlin, who has
teaching. Students enter USF’s program at
work and gerontology. The BSW degree trains
served as the MSW program director since
various levels of understanding and potential,
students on generalist social work practice for
returning from her time as a Fulbright Scholar in
and instructors work with them to provide
entry-level social work duties. The MSW degree,
Guyana, South America in January of 2018.
sensitive feedback and mentoring so they can
on the other hand, trains social workers to
achieve their goal of becoming a social worker.
perform on an advanced level, as social service
Francis, according to McLaughlin, is the diversity
program directors at social service agencies or
of the faculty because diversity and inclusion
students. The world needs more social workers
as private practitioners.
are tremendous values of the profession. USF is
to bring about positive change that will reflect
also unique because it offers a weekend MSW
and honor those who have been systematically
generalist practice, with specific aims to create
program, aimed at working professionals who
marginalized from the mainstream.”
social workers who can work proficiently in
want to learn while maintaining a job. However,
12
“USF’s program goals focus on advanced
Engaging Mind & Spirit Magazine
A big strength of the MSW program at St.
Said McLaughlin, “I enjoy training our
