UMSV PA Students Offer Free Health Screenings

Students from the University of Mount Saint Vincent’s, UMSV, physician assistant program provided community members with free vital signs screenings — tests that track heart rate, respiratory rate and blood pressure. 

The 55 students started the master’s program in August and recently passed their first vital signs exam. The event was a chance to gain hands-on practice, offer healthcare services to residents and kick off annual Physician Assistant, or PA, Week. 

From Oct. 6 to 12, PA organizations celebrate the profession through events like PAs on the Plaza, where over 100 gather in Times Square to raise awareness, among other educational and community outreach events. 

A physician assistant is a health care professional trained to do most of the same things doctors are but requires less school. The 28-month UMSV program includes 16 months of classroom work, and a year-long clinical phase, where students learn real-life skills in hospitals and other medical facilities in the Bronx. 

Hundreds of people — students, professors and community members — filtered into UMSV’s Founders Hall, where PA students wrapped blood pressure cuffs around visitor’s arms, and guided them through the results. At some tables, students practiced the other skills they were learning in class, such as surgical suturing, also known stitches, and manual ventilation. 

Vital signs are the first step of a medical exam and provide insight into how well the body’s basic functions are working. 

“We knew we were going to do something special for PA Week,” student Mounssif Mahin said. “Our professors kind of surprised us with this, and we feel comfortable. We practice it a lot … [and] we love to give back to people.”

To measure blood pressure, the patient sits at the table with their arm facing upward, and the cuff wrapped about an inch above the elbow crease. The student inflates the cuff by squeezing a rubber bulb, while monitoring the patient’s pulse on their wrist to see when blood flow has stopped. The two numbers — on average 120/80 millimeters of mercury, or mmHg — show pressure of blood against artery walls as the heart pumps and rests. The higher the number, the harder the heart is working to pump. 

Vitals are just the first of several skills PA students are building this year. The rest of the semester, they are focusing on healthcare ethics, anatomy, diseases and diagnosing a patient. 

After graduating, students can take on a variety of roles, such as in surgery, emergency medicine, dermatology and primary care. 

Tiana Garcia, who is looking to pursue pediatrics, said she appreciates the potential of the field. 

“With PA, I can work in a hospital emergency setting for two years, get really well-rounded practice, then maybe move to an [intensive care unit for newborns], then maybe move to a pediatric practice,” she said. “You can kind of take all these different steps.” 

Most students come from a medical background, as UMSV requires 200 hours of direct patient care before applying. Daniel Miller previously worked as an emergency medical technician, EMT, and said it led him to want to deliver longer-term care. 

“When I would bring patients into the emergency department as an EMT, that’s where your job ends,” he said. “I always wanted to stay and see how the patient recovers.” 

The Bronx has some of the worst health outcomes in New York City and is the least healthy county in the state. Lynne Bongiovanni, provost and dean of faculty, said engaging with the borough’s community was a priority when creating the program. In the spring, students will take a class that focuses on medicine in underserved areas. 

“Cardiovascular outcomes are not super good in the area, we know that’s tied to poverty and a lack of access to healthcare,” said Bongiovanni. “It’s important for us to be able to train future medical staff to really dig into those outcomes.”