SIU Physician Assistant Program Celebrates Preceptors of the Year

The Physician Assistant Program Class of 2017 at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine in Carbondale has selected eight central and southern Illinois physicians, physician assistants and nurse practitioners to receive the “Preceptor of the Year” award.

“Preceptors are the heart of a medical education program,” said Rhonda Pulver, assistant professor and coordinator of the Physician Assistant Program at the School of Medicine. “They’re not paid; they volunteer their time to be a mentor. We rely on each preceptor to educate the students in the journey to becoming an efficient health care provider.”

The preceptors awarded are:

• Tarah Cranick, PA-C, Emergency Medicine at Southern Illinois Healthcare, Memorial Hospital in Carbondale

• Heather Sanders, PA-C, California Emergency Physicians Emergency Medicine at Memorial Hospital in Belleville
   
• Sanjiv Jain, MD, Carle Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Carle Foundation Hospital in Champaign
   
• V.S. Rao Morisetty, MD, Obstetrics and Gynecology at Midwest OB-GYN and Infertility Center in Decatur
   
• Sheri Barnett, AFACNP-BC, Hospitalist Program at Sarah Bush Lincoln Health System in Mattoon
   
• Eugene Kostiuk, MD, Psychiatry at Carle Richland Memorial Hospital in Olney
   
• Monica Everett, PA-C, Emergency Medicine at Proctor Hospital in Pekin
   
• Pamela Phillips-Friye, DO, Obstetrics and Gynecology at Blessing Hospital in Quincy
   
• David C. Lieber, MD, Urology at Springfield Clinic in Springfield

The Preceptors of the Year are nominated and chosen by students and site coordinators. Criteria for nomination and selection include:

• Active involvement in educating students and serving as a role model
• Experience and knowledge in area of expertise           
• Timely and meaningful feedback to the learner and to the program
• Practicing with passion and enthusiasm
• Facilitating teamwork in the approach to patient care
• Fostering innovative learning experiences and opportunities for growth
• Exemplifying the standards of ethical and professional conduct, including respect, flexibility, academic integrity, honesty and trustworthiness, accountability and cultural competency.

The Class of 2017 will celebrate its completion of the program at 2 pm on August 5 at the SIU Student Center in Carbondale. The Class of 2019 will also kick off the start of its clinical education in a white coat ceremony, during which graduating students pass down their short white coats to the Class of 2019. The Class of 2017 students are then given long coats as a symbol of being equal to practicing clinicians. For more information about the white coat and completion ceremony or the SIU School of Medicine Physician Assistant Program, contact Don Diemer, DHSc, PA-C, program director, at 618-453-8850.

About the PA Program

The SIU School of Medicine Physician Assistant Program has been a pioneer in using problem-based learning, simulated patients, innovative evaluation techniques and clinical mentoring programs. The mission of the program is to prepare health care professionals to provide primary health care to underserved populations in rural and health professional shortage areas by preparing graduates who are interdependent medical providers, dedicated to both community and profession. The SIU program has a five-year average first time board pass rate of 100 percent. Since its inception, 467 students have completed the program.