Physician Assistant Students Show Off Their Community Health Course Work

Salus University’s first-year didactic Physician Assistant (PA) Studies students recently gathered in a classroom on the Elkins Park, Pennsylvania campus and presented the results of a semester’s worth of research and development related to vulnerable populations and their health needs.

The program’s introductory Community Health course was developed over the past few years with faculty and student feedback and debuted in the first semester of 2023. The course included foundational lectures in public health, vulnerable populations, health prevention topics and health literacy.

“Then we had the students create this project where they chose a population of their interest, a health topic specific to that population where there is a disparity and a need for education, and develop some sort of program, pamphlets, an Instagram post, to help provide information to this population in a culturally appropriate way,” said Cara Orr, PA-C, director of Didactic Education and assistant professor in the PA program.

Julia Drozdowsky ‘24PA and Catherine Oakley ‘24PA were two of five students working on a project about access to STI/HIV testing in the LGBTQ+ population.

“We created a resource for medical providers to assess which patients they have that might have certain sexual transmitted infections (STI) screenings with a special focus to the LGBTQ+ population,” said Drozdowsky. “So, we created a survey with a series of screening questions and a key for the provider to better understand what tests might need to be provided based on risk factors to the patient to make sure they maintain good health.”

Oakley said the survey helps the medical provider determine what STI tests the patient needs based on the patient’s answers.

“Moving forward, when I become a PA and go into the field, I’ll be more knowledgeable about that and when I face patients in those populations, I know what test to give them,” said Oakley. “Overall, it decreases the likelihood of complications and helps my patients.”

Orr believes the Community Health course has been a great benefit for the students who she said were excited to take it on.

“Students had the opportunity to work on the projects during our classes and in the classroom, and you could feel the energy,” she said. “At a minimum, we’re raising awareness about different vulnerable populations and what some of their needs are. And, then as clinicians, we can recognize that we need to look at this individual and have a better understanding of how to meet them where they are.”