Tomorrow is my first day at the hospital – we went for a tour today and it is completely indescribable as almost everything here is. It is divided into Old Mulago and New Mulago. Old is a web of dozens of smaller buildings housing wards including TB care, pediatric oncology, labor and delivery (just to name a few). The buildings are built with red dirt paths connecting them and several of the walkways are covered. New Mulago is a six-story open air more modern hospital building with newer  operating theatres, more labor and delivery, more infectious disease wards, the ER, cardiology and many other specialties.

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Thirty-six hours of travel and I’m finally in Kampala, Uganda. I’m rotating at Mulago Hospital through Makerere University College of Health Sciences for the next four weeks. There are 3 other DMU students here this month and medical students and residents from all over the world training at Mulago.

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Do you want to know more about supporting youth diagnosed with autism? How about new treatments for Alzheimer’s disease, malignant melanoma, migraine and more? Want to explore the ethics of medically treating family members, the health effects caused by the World Trade Center attacks on September 11, 2001, or the “slippery slope” of the increased use of medical interventions in labor and delivery?

You can learn about these and many other topics thanks to members of DMU’s physician assistant Class of 2012. Right now they are wrapping up their rotations and preparing to present their master’s projects, which they’ll do next Tuesday through Friday, May 29-June 1.

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The next big event to hit the Des Moines University campus is right around the corner and just so happens to be this year’s commencement. Our grads will don their caps and gowns and when it’s all said and done, head out on their own.

The festivities take place over a three-day period starting on Thursday, May 24 with the COM Scholarship Golf Outing and class parties. On Friday, the campus will be abuzz with registration and a picnic on the grounds concluding with a reception and banquet at the new Veterans Memorial Convention Center. We’ll wrap the weekend up with the grand finale – the commencement ceremony on Saturday at Hy-Vee Hall in downtown Des Moines.

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A few quick facts about physician assistants:

• They are licensed to practice medicine with physician supervision in physicians’ offices, hospitals and other health care settings.
• They are formally trained to examine patients, diagnose injuries and illnesses, provide treatment and prescribe medications.
• According to the U.S. Department of Labor, job opportunities for physician assistants (PAs) are growing at a rate of 30 percent – “much faster” than the average among various professions.

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A new student initiative will help future health care professionals serve a variety of patients.

When asked by prospective students what it is about DMU that should impress them, I always bring up the quality of the students. It’s not just that we are more diverse than we might seem at first glance, with surprising talents and interests and personal histories. The biggest difference between DMU students and my undergraduate colleagues is how genuinely giving we are. We are going to spend our lives helping people, it’s true. And a substantial fraction of us intend to work with underserved populations.

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