As a physician assistant with a masterʼs degree in public health, Charles Stream has dedicated his career to serving people living in underserved rural and urban communities. After a decade in clinical practice in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Stream saw the opportunity to make a difference on a larger scale by instilling his passion for serving the underserved in the next generation of physician assistants. And at Drexel's College of Nursing and Health Professions, he found a school that shared his commitment when he joined the faculty in 2004.

“The mission statement for the physician assistant program includes educating physician assistants to ʻimprove healthcare delivery in rural and urban medically underserved areas,ʼ” Stream says. “So that fits.”

HELPING STUDENTS SUCCEED

In addition to preparing the next generation of physician assistants, Stream conducts research to analyze student and program outcomes. “Assessing how we educate our students helps us do it better, helps our students, and ultimately helps our patients,” he says.

THE 100 PERCENT SOLUTION

When Streamʼs research found that students with a certain score on a standardized practice exam were at risk to fail the national certification exam for physician assistants, the department developed a remediation program for those students. “Today,” he says, “our board exam rates are above the national average, and the last two years, we have had a 100 percent pass rate.”