October 15, 2012

The Wilbur B. Oaks Physician Assistant Student Society was named for Dr. Oaks, an internal medicine PA who retired from the College’s PA Program faculty two years ago and was instrumental in starting the Program here in 1971. While the Student Society once focused much of its attention on planning fun social events for the Physician Assistant classes, it is now very community service-oriented. “During the last couple of years, one of the things I felt was important was that the Student Society was donating money to a charity,” Julie Kinzel shared. Julie is both a PA Program instructor as well as the faculty advisor for the Student Society. “Rather than solely being responsible for the senior celebration,” she went on, “the students are now focused on charity more than planning parties. The last class donated more than $4,000 to the Salvation Army Red Shield Family Shelter to help them build a playground for the children who stayed there with their mothers.” Each class of PA students at Drexel chooses an organization to support. The current class has chosen the Children’s Crisis Treatment Center as the recipient of their fundraising efforts.

The Student Society gets creative in the ways they raise funds and awareness for the organizations and agencies they support. In the past, the students have hosted jewelry parties, designed t-shirts and sweatshirts, created patches for their white coats, and hosted bar nights where they received a large monetary reward for bringing the most guests into the establishment. In addition to fundraising, members of the PA Student Society regularly manage tables at health fairs, blood drives, and blood pressure screenings. This week (PA Week) is a particularly active time for the students in this regard.