September 2020
A newsletter for students, faculty, staff, alumni and friends
UMES expands health professions training With a nation transfixed by a pandemic that’s disrupted every aspect of life, the University of Maryland Eastern Shore welcomed a charter class this fall to its new graduate-level physician assistant program. Seventeen students – including four from Maryland and two from Delaware – will spend the next three years pursuing credentials that will prepare them for the frontlines of healthcare at a critical time in history. Just as the university transitioned mid-spring to online instruction, the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant announced in March UMES had met standards to start training the next generation of medical professionals. Physician assistants “diagnose illness, develop and manage treatment plans, prescribe medications, and often serve as a patient’s
Charter class of physician assistant graduate students enrolls principal healthcare provider,” according to the American Academy of PAs. “With thousands of hours of medical training, PAs are versatile and collaborative” … and “practice … in every medical setting and specialty, improving healthcare access and quality.” Leading UMES’ program is Dr. Tiffany S. Maxwell, who has recruited a half-dozen colleagues to form the core of the physician assistant department’s faculty. All seven also maintain eligibility to practice clinically, which Maxwell said is standard. Maxwell described conducting a fiveday orientation the first week of August as “a challenge.” “Although we definitely emphasized physical distancing,” Maxwell said. “We did not want to take away the professor / student relationship
Maresha Carrie of Irving, TX is among the 17 students in UMES’ physician assistant program.
HEALTH PROFESSIONS / continued on page 3
UMES junior named to state-level post Aaliyah Edwards appointed University System of Maryland student regent Aaliyah Edwards, a junior exercise science major from Parkville, Md., is the first student to serve a two-year term representing peers on the University System of Maryland’s governing board. A 2019 state law change doubled the number of student appointees to two that Maryland’s governor can make to the panel responsible for oversight of all but two of the state’s public, four-year colleges. Edwards will be a non-voting member of the system’s Board of Regents for the 2020-21 academic year, then transition next year to being a voting member. Salisbury University senior Nathaniel Sansom is the
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Pandemic Alters New AR Director Campus Life PA Program cont. Student Regent cont.
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Student Perspective
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Faculty/Staff News Student Perspective
current USM student regent with voting privileges. “I take this position very seriously,” said Edwards, a dean’s list student. “I wanted to show people you have to take chances. You have to step out of your comfort zone.” The amended state law is designed to give students an opportunity to observe the board conducting business before assuming a voting role. Edwards will be the first to benefit from that scenario. At the urging of Star Ames, a fellow UMES student she considers a mentor, Edwards submitted an application that led to a recommendation by a screening panel that she be presented as a qualified nominee to Gov. Larry Hogan. The pandemic lockdown disrupted the formal process, so Edwards
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Dr. Marksman Virtual D-Psi reunion
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Day of Activism Groove Chapter Rallies
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Environmental Science Major Upward Bound Goes Virtual
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Big Data Grant
REGENT / continued on page 2
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Delmarva Public Radio Women’s Golf
Page 11 Page 12 COVID Impact on Athletics
Yellow Ribbon Campus NAA Officers