Ohio native Ben Flowers is one of seven physician assistant students who recently wrapped up his tour in University of Maryland Shore Regional Health’s Physician Assistant (PA) Rotation Program. The PA rotation program brings physician assistant students for on-site training with physicians and advanced practice providers of University of Maryland Community Medical Group (UM CMG) eho serve patients of UM Shore Regional Health (UM SRH).
Offered in partnership with Anne Arundel Community College (AACC) and now with University of Maryland at Baltimore (UMB), the year-long rotation program enables physicians and nurse practitioners to serve as preceptors for students in the AACC and UMB combined Physician Assistant/Master of Science in Health Science program.
After his discharge from the U.S. Army in 2005, Flowers began his health care journey as a patient care associate while pursuing his studies as a radiology technician at Ohio State University’s The James Comprehensive Cancer Center, and then worked for Ohio State University Medical Center. “As a patient care associate, I was very involved in patient care, but once I became a rad tech, my role was more narrowly focused in diagnostics. At the same time, I saw that the medical residents and the physician assistants had the most time and interaction with patients, which is what I wanted. I did some research on career paths in the medical profession and decided to enroll in physician assistant studies.”
Flowers and his wife, who now works in Baltimore, moved to Greensboro, Maryland in 2013 so that he could begin his PA studies. Although he has enjoyed all of his rotations, his time with The Orthopedic Center, which is a partner of UM SRH and affiliated with the Surgery Center of Easton, was especially exciting to him. Of the Center’s board certified surgeons, physiatrist, and physician assistants, Flowers spent the most time with surgeon Myron J. Szczukowski, Jr., MD and orthopedic surgery PA Karen J. Luethy, assisting them in the Surgery Center, the Joint Replacement Center at UM Shore Medical Center at Easton and the practice’s clinic office on Idlewild Avenue.
“I observed and assisted with a variety of outpatient surgeries, including rotator cuff, ACL and meniscus repairs at the outpatient Surgery Center, and inpatient surgeries for knees, hips and shoulders and even a toe fusion at the hospital,” says Flowers. “My prior career as a radiology tech included operating x-ray and portable CT equipment during surgeries so I was not in entirely new territory, but there was still so much to learn. Every doctor took time to answer my questions, to get the joint models out and show me exactly how the surgery would work. My five weeks with them was pivotal in increasing my knowledge and hands-on experience in the continuum of orthopedic care.”
From a physician perspective, Dr. Szczukowski, Jr., MD, says the PA rotations have proved as valuable as he had hoped. “Bringing physician assistants to the Mid Shore region has long been a dream of mine, and it’s been great to see that dream come true and to have the opportunity to teach and mentor a truly excellent group of PA students,” Szczukowski says. “Just as important, physician assistants are in great demand nationwide and rural health systems and physicians can face challenges in competing for PA graduates, so a wonderful bonus of the rotation is that it brings PA students here before they have made their career decisions and shows them what UM Shore Regional Health hospitals and and physician practices have to offer. ”
In addition to Karen Luethy and Dr. Szczukowski, Flowers gives special credit to Dabanjan Bandyopadhyay, MD, of UM Community Medical Group – Surgical Care, with whom Flowers worked during his general surgery rotation. “Dr. Bandyopadhyay is a phenomenal teacher, very patient and answers every question in depth,” Flowers says.
Flowers admits to being a bit surprised by the quality of medical care on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. “I guess I assumed that bigger health care systems in metropolitan areas would have more to offer than a rural health care system,” he explains. “But once I got here, I was so impressed by the professionalism and expertise of the physician preceptors working with the PA students, and with the overall quality of care in the hospitals and outpatient facilities. I think the Shore Regional Health administration had great foresight in bringing the PA students here – we all feel that the Medical Staff rolled out the red carpet for us and provided excellent training, and I believe at least four of the seven of us are very interested in staying on in this community once we are ready to begin our careers.”
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