On a refreshingly cool and sunny morning, campus hummed with Commencement excitement. The University of Lynchburg celebrated the graduation of 308 Doctor of Medical Science and 39 Master of PA Medicine candidates on Friday, May 17, at 9 a.m. on Shellenberger Field.
University President Dr. Alison Morrison-Shetlar greeted the doctoral and master’s candidates, expressing pride in the health care providers they will become.
“Today, you leave this place empowered as patient-centered advocates who are forging the health care landscape everyone deserves,” she said. “I couldn’t be more proud of you. On behalf of all the patients and families whose lives you will undoubtedly touch, I thank you in advance for your kindness and your extraordinary skill.”
Beth Smolko ’18 DMSc, the immediate past president of the American Academy of PAs and associate corporate medical director for JPMorgan Chase, addressed the graduates as the keynote speaker.
Smolko first directed her message toward the 39 new PAs. She knew from her own experience that they would be anxious and excited for the road that lay ahead.
“As a newly minted PA, your first thoughts will be on passing the PANCE exam and finding a job, but the rubber meets the road when you walk into the exam room for the first time and no one is there to guide you,” she said.
“It’s your patient and you are expected to take all you have learned here and apply it to the person in front of you.”
She emphasized that they must remember to approach their patients with compassion and care, rather than as a number or an illness in need of defeating.
“Don’t let anyone leave your office feeling like you never ‘saw’ them,” she said. “Remember to treat the person in front of you and you will always win.”
Smolko then addressed the DMSc candidates as her peers, speaking to the responsibility they gain with this advanced degree.
“The responsibility that comes along with your level of knowledge goes even beyond the care of patients and into areas of leadership within your place of work, your profession, and advocacy for your patients,” she said.
Smolko explained how important the Doctor of Medical Science degree had been to her career and the impact it would certainly have on the candidates’.
“Today, I am the first woman and the only PA to ever serve as the associate corporate medical director for JPMorgan Chase,” she said. “It is a role I would have never been considered for without [this degree]. This degree opens doors.”
“And the concentrations you have chosen in the doctoral program will only further support your expertise in your chosen specialties and roles.”
After expanding on the importance of the specialized skills the doctoral students gained from their concentrations, Smolko concluded her address: “Congratulations to all of the University of Lynchburg’s PA graduates and … may you, your families, and your patients be forever blessed.”
Watch a video of the Doctor of Medical Science and Master of PA Medicine ceremony here.
