UT PA Program Invites 30 Local Children To Be a “PA for a Day”

The University of Tampa is collaborating with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Tampa Bay to host 30 local middle school children to practice being a “PA for a Day.” The event will go from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Friday, March 1, in the Jenkins Health and Technology Building on campus.

With Tampa police officers as their mentors, the children will rotate through stations set up by the Physician Assistant (PA) Medicine Program to be trained by six PA faculty and eight PA students. The simulations will include stitching a wound, completing an ultrasound, performing knee injections, taking vital signs, practicing CPR, seeing synthetic cadavers and learning how to diagnose patients.

Each child will receive a “PA for a Day” T-shirt, a lab coat and a stethoscope. After the activities, lunch will be served in the Vaughn Center.

Johnna Yealy, chair, associate professor and founding director of the PA program, said that she hopes the department will hold more events like this to spark career goals for students in the community.

“This is an opportunity to show off our amazing campus and instill in these young people an aspiration to attend college and perhaps PA school in the future,” said Yealy.