IAPA 2019 winners

Fifth straight state championship – The Southern Illinois University School of Medicine Physician Assistant Challenge Bowl team will be looking to win a second national title in three years in May. The team of, from left: Katy Coyer, Kody Hindman, Amy Kutska, and Kacy Murphy along with Don Diemer, program director and coach Don Diemer, won a fifth straight Illinois Academy of PA’s state title in April. (Photo provided)

May 01, 2019

Physician Assistant students earn fifth straight state title; prepare for nationals

by Pete Rosenbery

CARBONDALE, Ill. – Students in the SIU School of Medicine’s Physician Assistant Program will look to win a second national title in three years next month in the American Academy of PA’s Challenge Bowl.

SIU captured a fifth straight State Medical Challenge Bowl at Northwestern University on April 15. The medical knowledge competition consists of double elimination rounds each consisting of 20 medical-based questions. Physician assistant program teams competing were:

  • Dominican University, River Forest.
  • Midwestern University-Downers Grove.
  • Northwestern University.
  • Rosalind Franklin University, North Chicago.
  • Rush University, Chicago.
  • SIU School of Medicine, Carbondale.

Representing SIU in event at the Colorado Convention Center on May 20 in Denver, Colorado will be:

ILLINOIS:

  • Dwight: Kacy Murphy, a 2019 graduate.
  • North Riverside: Amy Kutska, a 2019 graduate.
  • Peoria: Katy Coyer, a 2020 graduate.

MISSOURI

  • Dexter: Kody Hindman, a 2019 graduate.

Don Diemer, program director and an associate professor in family and community medicine, is the team’s coach.

National competition will feature about 90 teams

With a game show style, all of the teams will answer multiple choice questions using an audience response keypad. The top-scoring 36 teams advance to on-stage competition. Topics include anatomy, microbiology and psychiatry with questions on subjects including:

  • Anatomy.
  • Cardiology.
  • Emergency medicine.
  • Microbiology.
  • OB/GYN.
  • Physical diagnosis.
  • Primary Care.
  • Pulmonary.
  • Surgery.

SIU Physician Assistant Program began in 1997

The competitive program takes place on the SIU Carbondale campus, and students are required to have a bachelor’s degree and complete perquisite courses. Potential students may also be interviewed by the admissions committee prior to being accepted into the program. Each cohort consists of 40 students.

A full 26 months (seven semesters) of on-campus study is required for students to earn a master of science in physician assistant studies (MSPA) degree. The first year of study, beginning in late May or early June, is on the Carbondale campus while the second year involves clinic rotations at a variety of Illinois sites. The final phase is an eight-week preceptorship at the site the student selects with faculty approval.