The Le Moyne Physician Assistant Program had to make many adjustments over the last year, as both students and staff faced new challenges due to the pandemic. Whether it was navigating technological issues or safely being in a lab on campus, nothing came easy. However, students and staff were able to balance all the unknowns and came out of our first two semesters stronger than ever.
At the Physician Assistant Student Society (PASS) meeting held early in the fall 2020 semester, everyone shared their goals for the year. The common themes were communication and interconnectedness. The program is rigorous in nature, but one facet that helps students get through it is the relationships with other people in the same position. It was especially difficult for us to make those connections over the past year but we made every effort to do so while maintaining social distancing protocol. Students safely planned hikes, virtual cooking classes, workouts and study groups. We started offering yoga classes so students could take a break from their studies and focus on mindfulness. To aid with communication, we began Think Tank Zoom meetings on Friday mornings. All students and faculty were invited to discuss what is going well throughout the semester and what we can improve on. Although there were many hurdles, we were able to come together as a class and fostered the relationships that are needed to make it through the incredibly challenging didactic year.
In addition to activities focused on our class’s well being, we also organized ways to give back to the community. Our Service and Outreach Committee and Diversity Committee organized various opportunities to help those in need over the last two semesters. Over 150 items were collected for a toiletry drive, snack bags were donated to a local homeless shelter, and over $2,000 was raised for the White Ribbon Campaign. We delivered flowers and hand made cards to three nursing homes for Valentine’s Day. Students also volunteered to tutor around Syracuse once a week. It was inspiring to see how generous a group of people could be.
As we looked to the spring 2021 semester, we were dedicated to continuing the routines we have established to improve on our program and ourselves. As first years, we look forward to coming together in person to finish our final didactic semester. Those on clinical rotations have achieved so much since they began their journey to becoming PAs. They were thrilled to reconnect this past summer for the White Coat Ceremony and graduation. Although this has been a particularly challenging year for everyone, Le Moyne’s PA Program has shown great initiative and we will continue to accomplish our goals no matter what stands in our way.