By Joyce Coronel
Four Corona del Sol graduates have spread their wings and are ready to take flight as physician assistants this month. The four will be among 90 students who graduate from the Physician Assistant program at Midwestern University in Glendale Aug. 25.
The 27-month post-graduate program is rigorous and the students are in the midst of completing their final nine rotations through core areas of medicine.
Tres Kwilosz, Jessica Dang and Laura Bohning graduated from Corona in 2009, while Danae Cook received her diploma in 2010.
All four students have one thing in common beyond their Aztec roots: job security.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment of physician assistants is projected to grow 30 percent through 2024, much faster than the average for all occupations.
Median pay for a PA in 2015 was $98,180 annually.
Physician assistants perform much of what a physician normally does, though with some restrictions.
Kwilosz, who majored in neuroscience and cognitive science at University of Arizona, said he decided in grade school that he wanted a career in health care because he wanted to help people.
“It’s actually funny because I didn’t like school and so I would pretend that I was sick,” Kwilosz said.
“I would visit the school nurse a lot. I found my passion for helping others because of that.”
Danae Cook majored in nutritional science at University of Arizona. As a child, she struggled with severe eczema and spent a lot of time at the dermatologist’s office. Those experiences led her to seek a career in health care.
“I picked PA for the lifestyle—it’s a great career option. You get into practice soon,” Cook said. So is she hoping to specialize in dermatology?
“I am kind of still making that decision but I think I’ll be in acute care and rehabilitation for neurologic and orthopedic injuries,” Cook said.
Jessica Dang majored in biochemistry at Arizona State University and will be focused on pediatrics.
“I’ve always liked working with kids, even when I was growing up. Then there was exposure in my rotation—any rotation where I’ve come across kids has been pretty great.”
Both Dang and Cook recommended that students who are interested in a career as a PA engage in volunteer work and shadowing. Dang volunteered at Chandler Regional Hospital.
“I worked at the front desk for a while and then in the ER for a while, too,” Dang said.
“I was able to shadow a physician once a week for four or five hours, and that was good for me to get more experience in the health field—seeing how an everyday office operates.”
Cook, who took AP classes at Corona, was able to finish her undergraduate degree in three years and thus join three fellow Aztecs who are a year older at Midwestern.
“I shadowed a ton when I was at Corona,” Cook said.
“Even though I wasn’t getting anything as far as classes or getting paid, I gained a lot getting prepared and knowing what to expect and what I wanted to do.”
She said her best advice for students who might want to pursue a career as a PA was to “study hard and write down goals—have goals in mind always. That’s the way to get things done.”
Kwilosz said he hasn’t decided which area of medicine he’d like to focus on yet, though he is leaning toward emergency care.
The day Wrangler interviewed him, however, he’d been offered a job in neurology.
Kwilosz said his first rotation was in emergency medicine at Banner Ironwood in Queen Creek.
“I really liked the pace. I liked the kind of patients that I saw, and I liked the variety. It kept me on my toes.”
His years at Corona, he said, were a boost.
“The faculty over there pushed me in the right direction—they were always so positive about anything I was interested in. Everybody just kind of believed that I could do whatever I wanted to do,” Kwilosz said.
Laura Bohning, who majored in investigative and medical sciences at St. Louis University in Missouri, said she always planned for a career in the medical field. During college, she considered going to medical school but after learning about the PA option, opted to go that route instead.
“I decided it was better for my lifestyle — more flexibility if I want to move around or change specialties. It was very attractive overall,” Bohning said.
She spent a year after college working as a scribe in an emergency room and the experience has led her to choose urgent care as her specialty.
So what was it like having three fellow Corona grads as her classmates in PA school?
“I wasn’t necessarily close with any of the other three people (during high school) but when we started classes we kind of all bonded over that fact.
Everyone thought it was cool that we went to the same high school,” Bohning said.
And she offered a bit of advice to students who might be considering a future as a physician assistant but find the road ahead a bit daunting:
“Don’t give up. Keep good grades and work hard and persevere and follow your dreams.”
