Theyre not just good at patient care. Miami Dade Colleges (MDC) physician assistant students are also masters at answering hard questions. On May 26, they proved knowledge truly is power by winning second place at the 2008 Student Academy of the American Academy of Physician Assistants (SAAAPA) National Medical Challenge Bowl held in San Antonio.
MDC qualified for the Challenge Bowl after winning the state championship title in February for the second consecutive year. At the national competition, team members Victor Quiñones, Jeffrey Abucay and Oswaldo Franco beat out squads from Duke University, Cornell University and Charles Drew University of Medicine, among others.
(l-r) Oswaldo Franco, Jeffrey Abucay, and Victor Quiñones.
“Its a big accomplishment for us,” Quiñones said. “We became the crowd favorite because we were the underdogs.”
The competition consisted of two rounds of trivia, leading up to a final showdown. Participants from all over the country were quizzed on general medicine, such as the common cause of pneumonia, as well as more advanced knowledge.
“Its very competitive,” said Dr. Peter Gutierrez, chair of the MDC physician assistant program. “Forty-eight teams participated, and, of those, most were students in masters-level programs.”
The vigorous physician assistant program at MDC trains students for in-demand careers performing various aspects of medical care, such as theory, instrumentation, diagnosis, treatment, and administration of medication under the supervision of a licensed physician.
