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I N S I D E T H I S
I S S U E :
Class of 2011
Pinning Ceremony
2
H1N1 Vaccine
Clinics
2
Survey of Clinical
Rotations -
Co-Workers and
Languages
3
The Song-Brown
Grant— Third
Year in a Row!
3
Meet the Students:
Sam Morales, Class
of 2010
4
Meet the Faculty:
Gayle Cummings
4
P R O M OT I N G G L O B A L H E A L T H , O N E P E R S O N A T A T I M E .
S P R I N G 2 0 1 0 V O L U M E I I I , I S S U E I I
The Class of 2009 kept the streak
going: a 100% pass rate for first-time
takers of the PANCE!
This makes two years in a row of a
100% first-time PANCE pass rate, and
three years in a row of exceeding the
national average.
The PANCE is the national certifying
examination. It is open to graduates of
accredited PA programs, and is neces-
sary for certification to practice as a
PA in the United States.
Congratulations to the students of the
class of 2009!
100% PANCE Pass Rate - Class of 2009
Joint MSPAS/MPH Program
College of Health
Sciences Program Directors:
Jim O’Connor, PhD (Interim)
707-638-5997
Assefaw Tekeste Ghebrekidan,
MD, DrPH
707-638-5834
http://www.tu.edu/
departments.php?id=42
Admissions Contact:
Melanie Lim
707-638-5270
New COO/Provost for Touro-California After an extensive national
search, Marilyn Hopkins was
chosen to serve as Touro Uni-
versity California’s new Provost
and Chief Operat-
ing Officer. She
formerly served as
dean of California
State University-
Sacramento’s Col-
lege of Health and
Human Services.
“With her vast
exper i ence i n
health science and
education, Dr. Hopkins presents
strong leadership qualities that
will usher in a new era for Touro
University California,” said Dr.
Michael Harter.
Dr. Hopkins will assume daily
administration of Touro Univer-
sity California. Dr.
Harter will con-
tinue in his role as
overseer of Touro
University’s west-
ern division and
manage daily op-
erations of the
Nevada campus.
Dr. Hopkins has a
Doctorate in Nurs-
ing Science from the University
of California, San Francisco. She
was a nursing faculty member at
CSU Sacramento for 23 years.
She was promoted to Associate
Dean of the College of Health
and Human Services in 1997 and
became Dean in 2000. Dr. Hop-
kins is also a licensed Registered
Nurse and has been active in
community activities which bene-
fit children, youth and families.
“With colleges of osteopathic
medicine, pharmacy, education
and health science, Touro Uni-
versity offers great expertise to
the region,” Dr. Hopkins said.
“Touro faculty and their gradu-
ates can be part of a national
effort that leads to healthier indi-
viduals, families and communi-
ties.”
Class of 2011 is Starting Rotations!
- Jesus Mena
P A G E 2
V O L U M E I I I , I S S U E I I
Touro’s H1N1 Vaccine Clinics On Thursday, November 12th the Joint
MSPAS/MPH students demonstrated their
commitment to providing public health ser-
vices by participating in the first H1N1 vac-
cine clinic sponsored by the
Solano Public Health Depart-
ment and Touro University.
The Joint Program was
well represented with an
overwhelming number
of volunteers who,
alongside students from
the Colleges of Pharma-
cology and Medicine, provided vac-
cines for over one thousand commu-
nity members.
This was the first of several vaccine
clinics sponsored by the Solano County
Public Health Department and our univer-
sity, but the only one that was located di-
rectly on the Touro campus in Farragut Inn.
The event was extremely suc-
cessful, in large part to the or-
ganization and enthusiasm of
our students who participated
for the entire clinic while in the
midst of an incredibly intense
academic session.
I could not have been more
proud of the work they did that day, and
the work I am certain they will continue to
do throughout their remaining days here at
Touro and beyond into clinical practice.
- Robin Wempe, PA-C
Class of 2011 Pinning Ceremony
P A G E 3
J O I N T M S P A S / M P H P R O G R A M
Rotations
January’s eResources Spotlight of
the Month is ExamMaster
ExamMaster is a USMLE, Certifica-
tion Review Series, Medical Sub-
ject Review, PANCE and NAPLEX
preparation and review tool that
provides access to thousands of
basic and clinical sciences ques-
tions.
The interface provides students
with the ability to create custom-
ized practice exams and study
blocks.
Visit the Li-
brary's website,
h t t p : / /
w w w . t u . e d u /
d e p a r t -
ments.php?id=85, to test out Ex-
amMaster today! This resource
can also be utilized by alumni.
-Christine Park
eResources Spotlight of the Month
According to a series of surveys held
over this past year, the students of the
Class of 2010 worked with an average of
3.4 other medical team members in each
of their rotations; some rotations in-
cluded a dozen other medical team
members.
The students also spoke a wide variety
of languages with their patients. Spanish
was the most common non-English lan-
guage used to communicate; it was used
with patients in two of every three rota-
tions. Seventeen other languages were
used with patients, including four Native
American languages.
The surveys were held as part of an ef-
fort to get a quantifiable and objective
picture of the clinical year experience.
Interview with Sam Morales, Class of 2010
At its November 2009 meeting
the California Healthcare Work-
force Po l icy Commiss ion
awarded the Joint Program fund-
ing for the third year in a row.
The funding will serve multiple
goals, all towards the end of re-
cruiting and graduating students
from California’s underserved
areas and populations with high
unmet health needs, in order to
better provide California’s popu-
lation with medical care.
This was the Joint Program’s
third application for funds.
3rd Year of Song- Brown Funding
Growing up on a farm near Fresno,
Sam Morales was always kept busy.
“If you weren’t doing something,
you were doing something wrong.”
While earning a bachelor’s in Exer-
cise Science & Physiology at Fresno
Pacific U., Sam developed an inter-
est in a healthcare career. He vol-
unteered for many types of provid-
ers, and decided to become a PA.
Sam chose to attend Touro be-
cause its integrated dual masters,
and began with the Class of 2009.
For a number of reasons, he left in
the spring of that year, and had to
decide whether to return in the fall.
It was a tough decision: now he
knew how demanding the program
was, and how challenging figuring
out a balance between life and
study would be.
Sam opted to return, and has now
just completed his rotations, where
his favorites were ER and Surgery.
“Being able to see the patient’s
progress as well as the various pa-
thologies is a great way to learn.”
In several of his rotations, the pa-
tients fondly remembered other
Touro PA students who had passed
through.
All faculty members have been
wonderful and student-centered.
He particularly remembers Dr.
Ingrid Lopes, his first advisor, as a
great motivator, and former APD
Emily WhiteHorse as straightfor-
ward and deeply student-focused.
Sam is set to finish this spring, and
would like to practice in a rural
setting, partially in primary care,
and partially in public health.
“I came [to
Touro] to earn
two degrees,
and I’d like to
use both in my
career.”
Focus on...
To improve the health of individuals and communities with a focus on recruiting and serving underserved
populations, by training clinicians who integrate the Physician Assistant and Public Health disciplines.
Joint MSPAS/MPH Mission Statement
Our Rotations
Joint MSPAS/MPH Program
College of Health Sciences
1310 Johnson Lane, Mare Island
Vallejo, CA 94592
Phone: 707-638-5809
Fax: 707-638-5955
http://www.tu.edu/departments.php?id=42
Editor: Julie Charles, MBA
Program Analyst
Contributors:
Jesus Mena
Christine Park, MLIS
Robin Wempe, PA-C
This year, we kicked off an effort to track
the languages used and medical team members
worked with in our students’ clinical and public
health rotations.
The results were impressive—but not surprising.
We have an impressive set of students. Here is a
snapshot of the data that was collected; see
“Rotations” on page 3 for more.
Want to See
Your Name
in Print? We are always inter-
ested in articles about
alumni, trends in the
physician assistant
workforce, public
health issues, health-
care access issues, and
more.
Send ideas or articles
to the Editor at:
Newsletters appear
semiannually in the
spring and fall; dead-
lines are Dec. 15 and
June 15.
Promoting global health, one person at a time.
Our Faculty Public Health Program Assis-
tant Program Director Gayle
Cummings, MPH is also Assis-
tant Professor of the Public
Health Program and coordinator
of Public Health Field Study, and
has been at Touro University-
California since 2005. Ms Cum-
mings received her Master of
Public Health from the School of
Public Health at UC Berkeley and her undergraduate
degree from UC Santa Barbara. She co-founded the
Center for the Analysis of Multicultural Issues (CAMI)
a program planning and evaluation firm, responsible for
conducting program and research evaluation, strategic
planning and analysis for disease prevention and health
promotion programs, primarily focused on assisting
underserved communities throughout California, and in
and around the Bay Area.
