51 don white coats in ceremony for new PAs

January 9, 2007

NORFOLK—Ryan Smith of Newport News considered becoming a doctor as she worked to get a B.S. in nuclear medical technology at Old Dominion University. But Smith decided to become a physician assistant because she wanted to have more contact with her patients.

Physician Assistant class of 2009

“I love taking care of people,” she said after the formal induction of the class of 2009 in the Jan. 5 White Coat Ceremony in Lewis Hall. “There’s nothing better than feeling like you’ve made a difference in someone’s life.”

Thomas Parish, DHSc, the Master of Physician Assistant program director, spoke at the ceremony in which members of the class of 2008 presented white lab coats to those entering the program.

“This ceremony today marks your transition to a new career,” Parish said.

Physician assistants are trained to diagnose, treat and prevent health problems. They can perform surgical procedures, interpret X-rays and laboratory test results and prescribe medicine, all under a physician’s supervision.

At EVMS, as throughout the nation, the physician assistant program has been increasing in size as demand increases. The class size has increased from 36 to 51 over the last two years. Today, 168,000 physician assistants practice in the U.S., accounting for 231 million patient visits.

As part of the ceremony, faculty, friends, loved ones and family members packed McCombs Auditorium to watch as the 2009 physician assistant class donned their white coats, then recited the physician assistant professional code of ethics.

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