Cedarville University Sends Out First Cohort of Physician Assistant Students

Cedarville University has sent its first cohort of physician assistants in training into the world to practice what they have learned in class. Completing clinicals under the supervision of physicians in locations from Cincinnati to Hawaii, these students are fulfilling their calling to care for the health needs of others while reflecting God’s love. This cohort is the latest step in a long journey for Cedarville’s physician assistant (PA) program. These 30 students, now learning in real-world healthcare settings, are helping prove the value of physician assistants to the greater medical world. 

“The PA profession was birthed out of a need for more medical professionals to care for sick and hurting patients,” said Faye Hodgin, director of clinical education and associate professor of PA studies at Cedarville University. “Nearly 60 years later, that need is still present and we are thankful we can help train more PAs to answer that call to service. Helping to train students who seek to practice medicine as a way to be the hands and feet of Jesus as we do here at Cedarville, makes the experience even richer.” 

After decades of work behind the scenes, the PA program’s greatest triumph came in September 2022,when the ARC-PA (the professional accrediting body for PA programs in the U.S.) granted Cedarville’s program Accreditation-Provisional status. This achievement paved the way for the first cohort of students to begin earning their Master of Medical Science in PA Studies (MMSc-PA) at Cedarville, which has now culminated in their traveling across the country to complete nine clinical rotations, each lasting four weeks. 

PA program students undergo a full year of didactic studies, where they take 20 credit-hours each semester to grow their medical knowledge before embarking on a full year of preceptorship clinicals. This first cohort finished their didactic studies in May and began their preceptorships in June.  

Students serve in preceptorship locations like hospitals, emergency rooms, surgical arenas, clinics or even street medicine. Each student is required to rotate through each of seven different core rotations plus two electives. The core rotations include family medicine, internal medicine, emergency medicine, pediatrics, behavioral health, women’s health and surgery. 

“The physician assistant program at Cedarville is well-rounded in the sense that there is no specialization to work in one setting or another,” said Hodgin. “We purposefully train our students across multiple medical disciplines so they have as much experience in as many different areas as possible, so they will be equipped to function well in any one of them after graduation.” 

One student from the cohort, Adrianna Landrum of Hilliard, Ohio, recently finished her second rotation at an OB/GYN clinic in Mansfield, Ohio. There, Landrum was able to put her knowledge into action as she sought to manage patients’ acute or chronic complaints, assist in gynecological surgeries and even deliver babies. For Landrum, being a physician assistant is not about being a doctor’s helper. It is about meeting needs and acting as a full healthcare provider alongside doctors and nurses. 

“It is a beautiful thing is to be able to share Christ’s love with those who are sick and hurting,” said Landrum. “Whether it is the best day of their lives and I am handing them their newborn baby for the first time or it’s the worst day in receiving a life-altering diagnosis, I can extend the love of Christ. I want to keep learning to become a provider who can impact patients’ lives for eternity.” 

To ensure a full year of preceptorship rotations, dozens of doctors around the country are needed to volunteer as clinical instructors for the program. Dozens have answered the call to host Cedarville’s students who operate under the careful guidance and instruction of medical veterans. These preceptorships have brought innumerable blessings to the students and faculty of the PA program. 

His Branches Community Health Center, a nonprofit medical mission in Rochester, New York, is one such blessing. The clinic opened its doors to students from this cohort under the suggestion of its medical director, Brad Van Heukelum, MD, who is a 2002 Cedarville graduate. Through this partnership, two Cedarville students have already been able to help His Branches serve the community of Rochester in meaningful ways. 

“My preceptor believes the best thing he can do for his patients is not just provide healthcare, but connect them to the one true God who can heal and provide for them in ways far beyond what any provider could achieve,” said Julia Anderson of Bradenton, Florida, one of the two PA students who served at His Branches. “Through this experience, I have better seen how I can integrate medical expertise and prayer to connect my patients with Christ and care for them holistically.” 

As this first cohort continues to change lives and serve others through wise stewardship of medical skills, a second cohort is undergoing their own didactic year in preparation for their turn to practice in communities that need medical service. The continued support of Cedarville’s own faculty and staff, the training and mentorship of preceptors such as Van Heukelum and the comradery and community between students will continue to be the backbone of Cedarville University’s physician assistant program for this cohort and many more to come. 

“I’ve done a lot of training of medical students, and these Cedarville students were some of the best I’ve seen in their knowledge base and determination,” said Van Heukelum. “That tells me Cedarville does a great job of teaching them and preparing them to excel even in their first rotations, and that the students themselves have an overwhelming desire to serve and save those who need their help.” 

Located in southwest Ohio, Cedarville University is a Baptist university with undergraduate programs in arts, sciences, and professional programs, and graduate programs, including the Master of Medical Science in PA Studies. With an enrollment of 6,384 students in 175 areas of study, Cedarville is one of the largest private universities in Ohio and is recognized nationally for its authentic Christian community, rigorous academic programs, and high graduation and retention rates. For more information about the University, visit cedarville.edu.