The NSU Jacksonville class of 2013 celebrated PA week: October 6 – 12th. Although Sunday’s beach “Hydration Station” got rained out, the other planned activities were a success. The main goal: To promote the PA profession in our community. On Saturday morning, twelve students provided free blood pressure checks and health screening information at a local YMCA. The handouts and NSU gear giveaways were appreciated and the students took the opportunity to answer questions and explain the role of a PA in health care. One woman turned the tables and started quizzing us about when the first PA class graduated and from where, but you can’t stump a NSU Jax PA student! Monday evening after class, several students offered free blood pressure checks at a Chick-Fil-A restaurant. If NSU’s name was mentioned at the register or if they presented one of our fliers, we collected 10% of their purchase. It was a great chance to spread the word about the PA profession and raise funds for future events. Though PA week has come to a close, October is also Breast Cancer Awareness Month. On Saturday, many students joined the city of Jacksonville in Making Strides for Breast Cancer in honor of one of our favorite professors, Donna Smith, MPAS-PAC, survivor. This fundraiser was a 3.1 mile walk along the river in Downtown Jacksonville. It was a beautiful day, but best of all, we raised over $1000 in support of ending breast cancer!
