Approximately 700 family and friends were in attendance at Barry Universitys 8th Annual Physician Assistant Program Convocation. The ceremony honored 44 graduates of BUs PA program. The graduates now join the more than 60,000 physician assistants eligible to practice medicine in the United States with over 50 percent of all PAs practicing in primary care.
Graduates and faculty of Barry University’s Physician Assistant Program assembled in front of Cor Jesus Chapel on the Miami Shores campus.
At the ceremony, Dr. Chet Evans, vice president of medical affairs and dean of the School, commented on the remarkable success of the 10-year program which has risen to “national prominence” and is considered one of the best in the nation. Keynote speaker Charity Ramsey, PA-C, who received her Master of Clinical Medical Science (MCMS) from BU in 2001, recalled how she thought about dropping out of the demanding PA program when her 1-year-old daughter was diagnosed with LCH (Langerhans cell histiocytosis), a cancer-like disorder that mainly affects children
“At that time I was a mother to a little girl who was very ill. She had numerous hospitalizations during that time and chemotherapy every week. She was diagnosed with LCH one month after PA school began and she wasnt even a year old yet. And, as any parent would in circumstances such as those, decisions on priorities and lifestyle were at the forefront. I questioned whether or not to leave PA school at least until things got easier,” Ramsey said, adding that “in retrospect” that would have been the easy choice.
Of course I am not in to easy, and with the support of my husband we made it work. And now five years after my graduation, I am still so proud of myself for staying the course. My daughter is now eight years old and in great health and I have the career in medicine I dreamt about my whole life. But it is through that experience that I learned the most about who I am and who it is I came here to be and what I have to offer.”
Ramsey also advised the graduates to “be a role model for yourself” and “keep a healthy ego, one that doesnt crowd out those around you that can help.”
