A Better Tomorrow

A Better Tomorrow

For the past three years, learners in Ithaca College's Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies program have been striving to answer the question: How can the next generation of PAs create a more inclusive medical industry?

JEDI-B (Justice, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging) is a national movement advocating for more inclusive institutions, especially in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) fields. By creating safe spaces to ask questions and facilitate discussion, JEDI-B seeks to prepare students to work in diverse spaces. The values of JEDI-B are foundational to the physician assistant curriculum at Ithaca College, and beginning with the first cohort's admission in fall 2021, both students and faculty saw an opportunity to educate one another about how best to address systemic inequality in healthcare.

Jordan Beckley '19, M.S. '23 served as the diversity, equity, and inclusion chair on the first cohort's JEDI-B committee, where she worked with now-former program director Dr. Susan Salahshor on the initial development. They began with a mission to address gaps in learners' educations by sponsoring presentations and discussions about key issues facing practicing physician assistants.

"There may be classmates in our program that have never had the opportunity to work with LGBTQ patients or patients from Black and Brown communities or other minority populations, and we really wanted to make sure they got the necessary education before entering the workforce of how to better serve these underserved populations,"said Beckley.

"During my clinical rotations, I was able to look back on the lessons we learned and was able to navigate situations differently than I would have if I didn't have this training. I'm excited to see how I will bring what I learned in JEDI-B into my practice in the workforce," said Beckley.

The second cohort's committee was chaired by Shaunt Korkounian '24. Events included discussions on microaggressions in medicine, a visit from a PA working in a rural area, discussions on transgender healthcare led by a trans paramedic, and case-based learning experiences challenging learners to put their new skills into practice. Korkounian explained that the combination of learners' enthusiasm and openness and support from Ithaca College allowed the committee's work to thrive.

"Our meetings were always very intuitive, always very hands-on learning experiences that combine all these topics," said Korkounian. "It was easy to get the buy-in from the learners as well. After all, these are things that we're going to be seeing in our patients for the rest of our lives. Our class has accepted us with open arms, and we've been able to have some great meetings."

Now in the midst of his clinical rotations, Korkounian says the lessons he's learned through the JEDI-B committee have stayed with him.

"In medicine we are often taught a very archaic way of treating patients," said Korkounian.

"What we're often taught to think is, 'You have a patient that has hypertension and is on this many medications.' But you also have a patient that works 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., has to get to physical therapy, has a child at home, and has no money to pay for these expenses. How are you as a provider going to make this patient's life easier, how are you going to give them the tools necessary for them to succeed? What programs are you going to refer them to if they need guidance and assistance? JEDI-B is about seeing how intersectionality impacts a patient's life and what we as providers can do to make it better, and implementing these ideas in an educational context is so important."

The current JEDI-B committee is chaired by Sowgand Bashiri '25, who began her term this past December. Bashiri says that the committee seeks to expand their programming to become a more permanent fixture in the PA program.

"Since we're a newer program, we want to start building more structure to our events," said Bashiri. "We want to start programming annual events, like spirit days, to boost morale and make sure we're having fun with our work as well."

"By being able to work on those skills now, we start that chain reaction that continues when we go into our clinical work and then into the workforce. It starts with us to make this change.

The committee recently published their first newsletter, which included an article on the first female physician assistant in celebration of International Women's Day. Future plans for the committee include presentations on racism in medicine, roundtable discussions with PAs in specialized fields such as mental health care, and an Around-the-World potluck for the end of the semester. As JEDI-B continues to expand its programming, Bashiri hopes the lessons learned will lead to even more positive changes in the medical field long after the cohort has moved on from Ithaca College.

"If we make the effort to learn more about health equity, we will be more well-rounded physician assistants, but we can also use that knowledge to educate other people we work with," said Bashiri. "By being able to work on those skills now, we start that chain reaction that continues when we go into our clinical work and then into the workforce. It starts with us to make this change."