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PA Students
Selected as
2004 Winners of the APAP Student Writing Awards
By Eileen Evans
APAP, in conjunction with the Journal of the American
Academy of Physician Assistants (JAAPA), is pleased to announce
that three PA students were chosen as the 2004 APAP Student Writing/Nyquist
Award winners. The students and their winning entries are
- Stacey Sellins, from the Midwestern University PA Program, Downers
Grove, Illinois. Her topic was “No Breath of Fresh Air: Asthma
in Inner-City Children.” As first place winner of the APAP
Student Writing Awards, Sellins is also designated the J. Peter
Nyquist award winner, to commemorate the student for whom the awards
were originally named. Sellins will receive a prize of $500.
- Kristine Himmerick, MA, from the University of Iowa PA Program,
took second place for “Enhancing Contraception.” Himmerick
will receive $300.
- The third place winner is Michelle Ronsick of the Wichita State
University PA Program for her entry, “Crohn’s Disease:
Through the Bowels and Beyond.” Ronsick will be awarded a $200
prize.
Students will receive their prizes from JAAPA
personnel and present their submissions at the APAP Awards Ceremony
on Tuesday, June 1, at the Semiannual Meeting in Las Vegas. In addition
to covering students’ travel, hotel accommodations, and meeting
registration, JAAPA, now in its fourth year of sponsoring the
writing awards, also provides the cash prizes. APAP is grateful to
JAAPA for continuing the tradition of the writing awards that
has been extended to well over a decade of PA students. JAAPA’s
generous funding gives students the opportunity to present their writing
submissions to an audience of peers, practicing PAs, and family members.
The students deserve much praise for having been selected
from nearly 200 contestants. When asked for comments, first-place
winner Sellins said that her submission about asthma resulted from
her personal experience with the condition. She acknowledged that
the problem was growing, particularly among inner-city children, and
said that the best outcomes were to be gained from treating asthma
early in its course. Himmerick’s goal in undertaking her project
was to distill an array of information from clinical trials and other
published materials into a concise format that would enhance patient
care in the exam room. Ronsick spoke of her appreciation for the opportunity
to have her work reviewed by future colleagues. Her topic, Crohn’s
disease, is one she is passionate about, and she hopes that she will
be able to contribute more in the way of writing in the future.
I. Keir Todd, PA-C, MEd, chair of the APAP Research
Institute subcommittee that oversees the student writing awards, facilitated
the judging process for a fourth year. The submissions, which were
considered for the relevance of the topic to the PA profession, the
quality of the review, the thoroughness of the topic’s exploration,
and the paper’s overall literary quality, were blinded throughout
the process. Initially 10 semifinalists emerged; from these, the final
three winners were selected. Todd was assisted by a number of reviewers
who have repeatedly donated their time and expertise to the writing
awards competition. APAP commends Todd and his team of reviewers for
so effectively managing this process.
The APAP Student Writing Awards come under the auspices
of the APAP Research Institute. Chair Richard Dehn, MPA, PA-C, commented
that “The APAP Student Writing Award is the only mechanism we
currently have that recognizes exemplary scholarly work performed
by our students. As an increasing number of programs move to the graduate
level, more PA students are required to author original manuscripts.
APAP’s support of student writing, designed to encourage the
development of future PA authors, benefits the profession in that
the writing process requires students to refine their communication
skills and also encourages development of critical thinking skills
that are part of day-to-day clinical decision-making.”
Dehn went on to say that he has observed how, over the
years, several winners of the Student Writing Awards have eventually
joined the ranks of PA educators. “Therefore,” Dehn said,
“I suspect that APAP’s support of student writing ultimately
benefits the PA academic community as well.”
APAP extends an invitation to member faculty to show
their support of the students by attending the awards ceremony. To
judge by the winners of previous years’ contests, the students
will impress with the outstanding quality of their work and the level
of professionalism they bring to their presentations.
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