Lena Ward is a new instructor for the clinical education team for the Drexel PA program. She is also the co-course director of Patient Communication and small group leader for Clinical Assessment and Ethical Issues in PA Practice.

She has transitioned from practicing Hospital Medicine here in Philadelphia but continues to hold a passion for working with underserve patient populations, which transfers to her persistence to teach students about social determinants of health to optimize patient care in this patient population.

As a Drexel PA program alum, Ward has developed the Physician Assistant Minority Alliance (PAMA), an alumni led organization aimed towards providing additional support to minority PA students.

Professional Society

American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA)

Research Interests

Currently she is the new podcast host for the Journal of the American Academy of Physician Assistants (JAAPA), where her and her podcast host review CME articles from each month’s edition.

Though she has yet to have any publications, Ward is interested in research pertaining to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) in PA education as well as decreasing attrition rates of underrepresented minority (URM) students in PA school.

Master of Health Sciences/PA-C
Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA

Bachelor of Science in Health Sciences
Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA