Pennsylvania Society of Physician Assistants Conference 2017

Physician Assistant (PA) Studies and Pennsylvania College of Optometry (PCO) faculty members conducted presentations, while three PA students competed in a Student Challenge Bowl at the Pennsylvania Society of Physician Assistants (PSPA) Conference last week in King of Prussia, Pa.

PA Program director Donna Agnew, MSPAS, PA-C, presented, “Hematologic Malignancies: A Primary Care Perspective.” She provided an overview of the risk factors for the development of hematologic malignancies (cancers that affect the blood and lymph systems) and explained the diagnostic evaluation process. She also discussed current and emerging therapies used in the treatment of hematologic malignancies. Her presentation was supported by an independent medical education grant from Bristol-Myers Squibb.

Associate Professor Daniel Pavlik, MSPAS, PA-C, presented “Eye Emergencies: What to ‘Watch’ for in Primary Clinical Practice.” He discussed common traumatic and non-traumatic eye emergencies and identified management and referral options in regards to treatment.  He also reviewed the key historical, physical and diagnostic findings associated with eye emergencies and eye exams.

Pavlik also teamed up with PCO Dean Melissa Trego, OD, for an interprofessional workshop on comprehensive vision and ocular health exams. After reviewing common eye conditions physician assistants may see during treatment, they jointly demonstrated the proper novice examination techniques and provided guidance on how to handle certain eye emergencies when applicable. Pavlik, who works in emergency medicine, hopes the PAs in attendance will be more comfortable in the future when encountering eye emergencies. 

“Eye emergencies are something that I manage, and a lot of medical clinicians are not comfortable doing so,” he said. “In particular, the workshop highlighted skills that medical providers do not perform often and, therefore, would like to develop more comfort with.”

Erik Baish ’18MMS, Michael Guerrier ’18MMS and Alexandra Adolf-Gothier ’18MMS competed in the PSPA’s Student Challenge Bowl. Led by Assistant Professor David Smith, PA-C, the team met weekly to prepare for the competition, which tested the students’ knowledge on a wide variety of topics. The three students were selected to represent Salus after receiving the highest scores on a test administered by Smith. They also had “superior comprehension of medicine, including diagnostics, physical exam, treatments and pathophysiology,” Smith said.

Photo credit: PSPA-Pennsylvania Society of Physician Assistants Facebook