Jasmina Salcinovic-Spahic ’20 DMSc, who works as a physician’s assistant at a Veterans Affairs hospital in Iowa, bonds with her patients through shared experiences of war. Salcinovic-Spahic grew up in Bosnia, which was embroiled in conflict for four years until she and her family emigrated to the United States as refugees of war in 1997. They started life over in Clarkston, Georgia when she was 15 years old and barely spoke any English.
Of her childhood experience, she said “from an early age, I felt driven to help people through medicine. There was a definite shortage of medical professionals in Bosnia during the war.”
On her decision to take a career path as a PA, Salcinovic-Spahic said that as a young person in Georgia, she worked as a pharmacy tech. A physician introduced her to the PA program at Emory University.
“I was intrigued. I checked it out, applied, and became the only student from Bosnia enrolled in Emory’s program at that time,” she said.
Salcinovic-Spahic moved to Iowa 11 years ago, her husband’s home state. For several years, she has worked at VA Central Iowa Health Care System, with many veterans and said she is always willing to share her personal experiences with them. Salcinovic-Spahic and her patients form natural bonds.
“They are the best patients. They are wonderful, but try to downplay their problems. I love listening to them and getting to know them as people. They inspire and motivate me to work even harder,” she said.
Salcinovic-Spahic completed her DMSc at the University of Lynchburg in April 2020. She said that the DMSc program was excellent for her. It helped her learn more about medical hematology-oncology, health care policy, and system processes. She also said that the program helped her rediscover her love of writing.
She is now driven to publish in journals and loves the community formed with her faculty and fellow DMSc students. Just prior to beginning Lynchburg’s DMSc program, Salcinovic-Spahic completed her Master of Health Care Administration in December 2018 at Des Moines University, all while working full-time and being a mom to two small children.
“I actually cannot believe that I did it all. There is just so much time in the day, and time goes by quickly,” she said.
Upon nearing completion of the DMSc, she was promoted at her hospital and also accepted onto a new Veterans Affairs Board for PAs, which will provide oversight into administrative practices across VA hospitals. In addition, the American Academy of Physician Assistants awarded her the Distinguished Fellow Award . Only 2% of all AAPA members in the country are honored with “DFAAPA” designations.
“I would recommend the program to all PAs who have a passion for professional development and advocating for the PA profession,” she said.
