Bridgeport, Connecticut — (June 28, 2023) — University of Bridgeport (UB) is excited to announced that students from the school’s Physician Assistant Institute, which operates under the College of Health Sciences, are the recent winners of both national and state titles in the 2023 medical challenge bowls. These competitions test students’ knowledge of physical diagnoses, microbiology, anatomy, emergency medicine, pulmonary care, cardiology, primary care, and obstetrics. Teams from UB came in first and third place at the Connecticut PA Student Day held at The University of St. Joseph on April 15, 2023. More recently, a team representing UB won the national title, coming in first place at the 33rd AAPA National Medical Challenge Bowl, held by the American Academy of Physician Associates (AAPA) on May 22, 2023, in Nashville, Tennessee. UB’s team competed against 89 other collegiate squads, including local teams from Yale University, Quinnipiac University, and Northeastern University.
At the Connecticut State Physician Assistant Day, two UB teams placed in the top three teams competing against groups from all Physician Assistant programs in the state. The team that beat out all others to take first place included UB PA students Nick Tuttle, Joel Hany, Stephanie Pinero, and Juliana Garofalo. The team that took third place included UB PA students Lauren Asmus, Nate Johnson, William Schumacher, and Kyle Capone. They were led by UB faculty professors Lauren Weindling and Sara Wallace.
The UB team that took the national title in Nashville included PA students Nick Tuttle, Lauren Asmus, and Juliana Garofalo. The squad tested their medical knowledge in a series of rounds against stiff competition from students attending other leading PA programs in the nation, eventually taking home the top prize.
“By the time we got to nationals, we knew each other’s strengths so well, we trusted each other to respond to questions and take risks,” said Juliana Garofalo. “We believed we could win. Our confidence in our preparation was key,” echoed Nick Tuttle. “We are so excited to have made our UB community proud,” said Lauren Asmus.
UB Physician Assistant faculty member Professor Sara Wallace led the winning team members at nationals. “From the first practice with this team, I knew they had the potential to win nationals.” She explained further, “They worked very hard to prepare during and between team practices. They have outstanding medical knowledge and the perfect combination of competitiveness, teamwork, and humility. They are fantastic students but, more importantly, just genuinely excellent humans. It was an absolute pleasure to coach them and to watch them win round after round,” reflected Professor Wallace.
UB’s Physician Assistant Institute (PAI) prepares students to become successful healthcare providers upon graduation. Since 2011, PAI has offered the Physician Assistant master’s degree program to address the demand for high-quality health professionals in our healthcare system. The UB PAI prepares candidates for the Physician Assistant National Certifying Exam (PANCE). The program’s five-year average for first-time pass rates is 98%, well above the national rate of 94%.
For more information about University of Bridgeport’s Physician Assistant program, visit www.bridgeport.edu/physicianassistant.