For the first time, the Barry University Physician Assistant Program held two White Coat ceremonies on two campuses. On August 24th, 44 students from the class of 2007 were recognized on the Barry University Miami Shores campus and, on the following evening, 24 students were recognized at the University Partnership Center at St. Petersburg College.
The white coats, which today symbolize the beginning of clinical training, have been recognized as the attire of the medical profession since the middle of the 19th century. This year, physician assistant students donned the coats during clinical rotations at practice sites from rural areas in the Florida Keys to a state mental hospital on the Florida/Georgia border.
Dr. Anita Naravane, adjunct faculty member for the Barry St. Petersburg PA Program at the University Partnership Center at St. Petersburg College, served as the keynote speaker for the St. Petersburg White Coat ceremony.
“You have selected the world of patient care where you will have many enjoyable and satisfying experiences while, at the same time, you may feel unsure of yourself and you may question your decision to enter this field. But remember you have chosen the best and noblest calling and in the end, you are all heroes," she advised the students.
Dr. Richard Finkel, adjunct professor of pharmacology for the PA Program served as the keynote speaker for the White Coat ceremony held on the Barry University campus in Miami Shores. He encouraged students to "remember to continue to study hard as your patients need you and your white coat signifies that you are ready to engage in patient care."
The PA program has made impressive progress since its inception in the fall of 1997. The Miami Shores Program received full national accreditation in 1999 and five-year re-accreditation in 2002 by the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant, Inc. In fall 2005, the PA program began admitting students on the west coast of Florida in partnership with the University Partnership Center at St. Petersburg College via interactive videoconferencing.
The ceremony held in St. Petersburg honored outstanding students, including Roxanne Blouin, Crystal Coker, Michelle Jordan, and Rosemary Woolfe, who were each awarded the Dean’s Scholarship for the highest grade point average. On the Miami Shores campus, the ceremony honored outstanding students, such as Robert Gehret, Joanna Calderon, Adam Clark, Amy Garten, Emma Gibbons, Robert Gehret, Kaitlin Jacobs, Kyle Horner, Brian Petrine and Jessica Spinelli. Each was awarded the Dean's Scholarship for the highest grade point average.
Dr. Doreen C. Parkhurst, assistant dean and program director of the Physician Assistant Program honored Dr. Richard Fien, medical director and Director of Didactic Studies. Fien presented a special scholarship to honor his mother, the late Goldie Fien, who worked as a registered nurse at Mt. Sinai Hospital for over twenty five years. The Goldie Fien Memorial Award, sponsored by the PA Program faculty, staff and students, was given to Stephanie Livingston in St. Petersburg and Virginia Valentin in Miami Shores for their academic achievement in physical diagnosis and for exemplifying compassion and caring.