Yale School of Medicine PA Online News

A virtual celebration of poetry, prose, and art, which Yale MD, physician assistant (PA) online, physician associate, nursing, and public health students created, took place on May 5, at the annual Program for Humanities in Medicine (PHM) Health Professions Students’ Creative Medical Writing & Art Contest. One hundred thirty students submitted entries, almost twice as many as last year. With “so many beautiful outstanding pieces,” Assistant Professor of Medicine and Associate Program Director, Traditional Internal Medicine Residency Cynthia Frary McNamara, MD, said selecting winners was particularly difficult. McNamara is serving as interim director of the PHM.

Nearly 90 members of the Yale School of Medicine (YSM) Physician Assistant (PA) Online Program Classes of 2020, 2021, and 2022—and hundreds of family and friends—gathered on May 6 in Woolsey Hall to celebrate at the program’s first graduation ceremony. Since the inaugural cohort of students began the 28-month program in January 2018, 162 have completed the program and received their master of medical science (MMSc) degree.

“I am so glad to be together this time.” James Van Rhee, MS, PA-C, program director of the Yale School of Medicine (YSM) Physician Assistant (PA) Online Program, said in his opening remarks at the March 18 White Coat Ceremony for the 80 members of the PA Online Class of 2024. It was the first White Coat Ceremony the program was able to hold in person on the Yale campus since March 2019, because of COVID-19 restrictions.

Biomedical engineer for a medical device company. Health Science teacher. U.S. Navy Intelligence professional. Hospital administrator. These roles, held by four members of the Yale School of Medicine Physician Assistant Online (PA Online) Program Class of 2024 prior to starting PA school, are reflective of the class’s diversity. The 80 students in the class began the 28-month program on January 4, 2022.

At the peak of the influx of refugees from Afghanistan, Dulles International Airport in Virginia was receiving just under 5,000 refugees daily. It was not uncommon for about 50 of these arrivals each day to need medical care at a hospital. There were a variety of reasons the medical needs were so high.