Salus Celebrates Physician Assistant Week in October

My name is Samonne Palazo and I am a first-year Physician Assistant (PA) Studies student at Salus University. I received my bachelor’s degree in biochemistry from Eastern Oregon University. While I had worked at an assisted living home during my summers in college, I needed more patient care experiences, so I decided to take two years off after undergrad before applying to PA school. I continued to work at the assisted living home and as a medical assistant at a rural family practice clinic. Living in a rural area, seeing the demand for rural providers, and how well the PA fills that need, is one factor that led me to pursue the PA profession.

Click here to read more about a “Day in the Life” with Palazo written in July 2019. Palazo will graduate on Tuesday, Oct. 13.

Hi! My name is Toby Heller and I am a second-year Physician Assistant (PA) Studies student from Maryland. I completed my undergraduate degree in Movement Science at the University of Michigan. I always knew I loved the sciences and wanted to help others, but it wasn’t until a friend actually told me what a PA was that I fell in love with the career and never looked back! I started my first year of PA school directly after graduating from undergrad. My first year of PA school was filled with studying, exams, and more learning than I ever could have imagined!

Now, I am in my second year – which means clinical rotations! This year is composed of 10 clinical rotations in different fields of the PA profession, including emergency medicine, family medicine, surgery, internal medicine, pediatrics, women’s health, mental health, and elective rotations! Each rotation is five weeks long, allowing us to really get a feel for what each specialty is like.

Each typical day really depends on the rotation – for example, some are in the hospital, some are in private practices, and each daily schedule varies. I really like having changing schedules and different clinical settings –having such a vast array of medical experiences helps me to grow as a PA student! 

Click here to read more about a “Day in the Life” with Heller written in April 2019.

My name is Emily Noll. I graduated from Bloomsburg University with a bachelor’s in Health Sciences in May 2018. My undergraduate education was a roller coaster to say the least. I began as a speech-language pathology major but switched to health sciences during sophomore year. I worked as a Certified Nursing Assistant throughout my last two and a half years of college and earned enough hours of patient care (between my undergraduate classes) that prepared me for PA school.

Every day has a different schedule. Some mornings/evenings are earlier and some are later, which keeps things interesting. Some days we have pre-clinical experiences during the entire morning, which allows us to shadow at different locations around the area. I have been to the Operating Room (OR), Respiratory Care, and The Eye Institute (TEI) so far. I am able to apply what I am learning in class, which really enriches my education. We also have Physical Diagnosis lab every week in the afternoon, where we are split up into groups of six and learn techniques about completing a physical exam. We just completed the Musculoskeletal exam and will be tested on it this week.

Click here to read more about a “Day in the Life” with Noll written in September 2019.