10 DMU Degrees. 10 Alumni Stories. 10 Ways to Make a Difference.
Whether they studied osteopathic medicine, public health or biomedical sciences at 722 Sixth Avenue, 3200 Grand Avenue or the new campus at 8025 Grand Avenue, graduates of Des Moines University Medicine and Health Sciences share one thing in common: the degrees they earned prepared them to care, to lead and to serve.
It’s a physical therapist helping patients regain balance and confidence after the disorienting effects of dizziness.
It’s a plastic surgeon restoring form, function and a sense of self.
It’s an occupational therapy graduate just beginning her career, working toward becoming a Certified Hand Therapist.
Each path is distinct, and each calling is deeply personal. At DMU, those callings are first shaped in the classroom and continue in clinics, hospitals and communities near and far.
Through our Life After DMU series, we celebrate 10 alumni who exemplify the many ways a DMU degree can make a difference.
The Life of a ... Physician Assistant: From Oxygen Tanks to the Operating Room
As she weighed her options between becoming a physician assistant and a doctor, Makenzie Driscoll, MSPAS’21, found herself leaning toward the PA path because of the profession’s flexibility — the ability to move between specialties — along with the shorter length of schooling.
Then, when Driscoll worked as an EMT in clinic settings and on Pikes Peak, mostly administering oxygen, she collaborated with PAs who helped confirm the path was right for her. One of those PAs was a Des Moines University Medicine and Health Sciences graduate who encouraged her to apply to the Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies program.
Applying proved to be the right choice for many reasons. Not only did Driscoll build skills in important hands-on areas like suturing, she also met her husband, Logan Driscoll, MSPAS’21, in class. He later proposed to her at their favorite running spot, Gray’s Lake, the day after Commencement in 2021.
Today, Driscoll serves as the first-ever physician assistant in the plastic surgery clinic at Broadlawns Medical Center in Des Moines, seeing both cosmetic and insurance-based cases due to the hospital’s diverse patient population.
In the operating room, Driscoll assists surgeons with procedures such as breast augmentation, facelifts, tendon repairs and skin cancer surgeries. As a PA, she plays a significant role in both the early and later stages of surgery, including suturing, closure and dressing placement. She also sees patients in the clinic and performs in-office excisions.
“You see people from all walks of life, and it’s meaningful to work with patients who are so appreciative of what you do for them,” Driscoll says. “For many of our patients, life hasn’t always been easy. Being able to provide good care, build relationships and see them happy at the end is one of the most rewarding parts.”
While becoming a PA wasn’t always on her radar, Driscoll is grateful her path — from the peak of a mountain in Colorado to meeting a DMU PA alumna and eventually finding both her career and her husband — led her exactly where she is today.