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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We did it again! Des Moines University earned another “A” on the American Medical Student Association (AMSA) PharmFree Scorecard this year. The AMSA PharmFree Scorecard, now in its fifth year, offers a comprehensive national overview as well as an in-depth, school-by-school analysis in 11 areas, including gifts and meals from the pharmaceutical industry to doctors, paid promotional speaking for industry, interaction with sales reps, acceptance of free drug samples and industry-funded education.

In the March 2012 report, of the 152 US medical schools, 28 receive “A”s (18%), 74 “B”s (49%), 15 “C”s (10%), and 13 “D”s (9%). Des Moines University was the only D.O. school to receive an “A” – quite the honor!

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Hats off and hearty applause to several students in DMU’s College of Podiatric Medicine and Surgery (CPMS) for their recent achievements:

• Kyle Duncan, CPMS Class of 2014, was elected president-elect of the American Podiatric Medical Students Association at its House of Delegates meeting in February.

• Jeff Weber, CPMS Class of 2013, received the Robert Barnes Memorial Scholarship from the American Academy of Podiatric Sports Medicine (AAPSM). This $1,000 scholarship, which was presented to Jeff on campus by AAPSM vice president and CPMS graduate Paul Langer, D.P.M.’99, is awarded to a pediatric medical student who has demonstrated a commitment to advancing pediatric sports medicine and who is active in an AAPSM student chapter.

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For nearly three decades, Des Moines University has given students real-world preparation to advance or change their careers as leaders in health care administration. To ensure DMU’s master of health care administration program continues to offer students highly relevant, evidence-based experiences they can immediately apply in their work, the College of Health Sciences recently revised its curriculum to include both online courses and new on-campus executive residencies, a blend the U.S. Department of Education states produces the highest student outcomes.

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Last Friday morning I was about 15 miles into my 35-mile commute to DMU when my cell phone rang. The caller ID showed me it was someone here at the University. I answered the phone and right away knew something was not right. The caller asked me where I was, what I was doing, had anyone called me yet this morning, and could I pull my car over for a minute so we could talk. I answered her questions and pulled my car off at the closest exit.

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We don’t like to brag, but we are continually impressed by our hard-working students.

We just got word regarding the final pass-rate data for the Des Moines University Physician Assistant Class of 2011 on the PANCE exam. Our PA students had a 98% first-attempt pass rate, while the national average was 91%.

Over the past five years, DMU has averaged a 95% first-attempt pass rate on the PANCE, while the national average has been about 93%.

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