Degree: Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies
Current Position: Physician Assistant, Avera Comprehensive Weight Management, Sioux Falls, SD
Certified Physician Assistant Katie Haverly is unequivocal when she talks about her experience in the University of South Dakota Physician Assistant Studies Program.
"The best decision I ever made was to further my education at USD," says the 2020 graduate. As a PA at Avera Comprehensive Weight Management in Sioux Falls, Haverly now helps surgical patients and others make lifestyle changes and adopt healthy habits.
Although she considered some other options for PA school, when she received the offer from South Dakota's only physician assistant studies program, Haverly says she knew it was the right call.
"I went to USD for undergrad and I still had so many family and friend connections in the area," she says. "I loved the smaller class sizes and the personal attention you get from the professors."
Once inside the program, Haverly found even more to love.
"There was a lot of interprofessional education so you got to interact with people from many different specialty areas," she says. "It allowed me to really understand the scope of practice in other fields." Haverly says that understanding is critical to the team-based model of care she practices.
"I tell patients that we [healthcare practitioners] all have our own unique lens through which we are looking at them," Haverly says. "Having multiple perspectives on the same set of issues can be very beneficial, especially for complex patients."
Thanks to USD, Haverly also has plenty of support for those complex cases and other professional challenges; Like other School of Health Sciences graduates, she keeps in close touch with many of her professors.
"I know that I can call on them when I need help or advice," she says. "They genuinely care about my success in my field and I don't think you get that in other places."
USD's focus on service learning was another aspect of the PA program that Haverly especially enjoyed. Her most memorable project involved helping people with disabilities clarify their long-term goals and create a document they could use to advocate for themselves when they need medical care.
"I loved that we got to go into the community, find a need, and figure out ways to make a meaningful difference for people," she says.