College of Medicine Dean Dr. Alma Littles wholeheartedly supports Smith’ s assertion.
“ We went through some rough times with the accreditation,” Littles said.“ We were able to overcome that to the point that now, it’ s one of the premier programs in the country; really being seen as almost a gold standard in PA training practice.”
Fittingly, a 10th anniversary is also known as the aluminum anniversary, symbolizing durability and flexibility.
Since the arrival of the Class of 2023, FSU’ s PA program has seen a dramatic increase in applications annually, with significantly stronger candidates, based on academic profiles and the patient care hours they’ ve acquired ahead of matriculation, which are closely tracked.
It’ s also attracting students with a broader range of life experiences beyond healthcare.
“ There are naysayers that believe you can’ t have a strong student academically and have a strong student that’ s mission-driven, mission-fit,” Smith said.“ That’ s a false statement. We are doing that. Yes, you can see the academic stats are on an upward trend. We’ re so happy about that. But the class of 2027, our ninth class, averaged over 1,800 hours of work experience that was not healthcare related.
“ They were owning businesses, being a waitress, an academic coach; providing childcare. That shows their drive and determination to get things done. Our average direct patient care hours per student was close to 2,500 hours. That shows grit. That shows determination. Our students are multi-faceted because they volunteer with or lead other organizations. They participate in extracurricular activities. They participate in research.
“ We believe that all of those activities are a demonstration of students supporting and living the mission, even before they walk in the doors.”
Newly-arrived students Anthony Romero and Sydney Gardner, who completed their FSU undergraduate degrees in May, are representative of that trend.
“ I come from a low-income household, a first-generation student, and the mission statement really matched the type of healthcare provider I want to be,” said Romero, who worked his way through Anthony Romero FSU as a dormitory resident assistant and earned a biology degree.“ Serving underrepresented communities and going out there to the people who really do need it was the No. 1 selling point.”
Raised in a multi-generational Colombian family home in Deltona, Florida, he was inspired to pursue a healthcare career through his own life experiences, from a very young age.
“ I’ m a first-generation American,” he said, proudly.“ My family, they don’ t know English. Growing up I would go with my grandma to every single doctor’ s appointment, since I was 7. I would be responsible for translating. I would see all the different types of healthcare professionals. I would always see the PAs walking into my grandma’ s room. Most of the time they would be the ones that would come in before the doctors and just tell her everything that was going on. That’ s how I mainly became aware of the profession.”
Early in his undergraduate pursuit, Romero shadowed PAs at AdventHealth Hospital in Orlando, including one Spanish-speaking vascular PA whose relatability further solidified a career path.
Raised in Nashville, Tennessee, Gardner found her way to FSU when she was alerted to its Study Abroad program by her father, which took her to Spain and Italy for a year before setting foot in Tallahassee. Initially considering
Sydney Gardner
18 FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY | COLLEGE OF MEDICINE