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Misericordia developing new program for 2012
Dr. Stanley J. Dudrick will lead the new physician assistant training program this fall at Misericordia University.
Niko J. Kallianiotis/For The Times Leader
Dr. Stanley J. Dudrick speaks with spokesperson Paul Krzywicki Sunday afternoon at Misericordia University. Dudrick will lead the new physician assistant program this fall at Misericordia University.
Niko J. Kallianiotis/For The Times Leader
Misericordia University has enlisted the help of Dr. Stanley J. Dudrick, a pioneer in the academic, clinical and medical fields, to develop a new physician assistant program.
The Dallas university’s new endeavor, aimed at meeting the demands of the changing health industry, will roll out this fall for undergraduate students and in May 2012 for graduate students. The physician assistant program will be the third in the area, along with King’s College in Wilkes-Barre and Marywood University in Scranton.
“Misericordia has a great nursing school. This is a really good next step,” said Dudrick, 76, formerly of Nanticoke but currently residing in Connecticut.
A physician assistant is an individual medically trained to work under the supervision of a doctor while offering quality care to patients. Dudrick, named the program’s medical director, explained a physician assistant would complete the same curriculum as a medical student but does not need the level of expertise as a doctor.
The proposed entry level physician assistant master degree would be the first graduate program for the College of Arts and Sciences at Misericordia University, said Paul Krzywicki, assistant director of Marketing Communications.
The university has applied for provisional accreditation status from the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant studies. Krzywicki said a site visit from the ARC-PA will be made in October. Provisional accreditation status could be issued by March 2012.
Dudrick’s role in the developing program is to make sure the curriculum will meet the patient care practice standards, as well as teaching and evaluating the performance of students and the program. Upon the program’s accreditation, Dudrick will be appointed to the Robert S. Anderson Endowed chair, the first academic position offered by Misericordia.
Dudrick said he plans to draw on his vast knowledge, which includes an impressive list of notable universities and hospital positions as well as being the first professor and founding chair of the Department of Surgery at the University of Texas Medical School, the chief of surgical services at the university’s teaching hospital, the Memorial Hermann Hospital in Houston, chairman of the Department of Surgery at the Pennsylvania Hospital, director of the Residency Training Program in general surgery, and clinical professor of surgery at the University of Pennsylvania.
Currently, he is a respected surgeon, educator and honorary chairman and director of the Department of Surgery and Program in Surgery at St. Mary’s Hospital in Waterbury, Conn., a Yale University affiliate.
Job security as a physician assistant is a definite, Dudrick said. He explained with President Barack Obama’s Health Care Reform law placing importance on preventative care and quality of care over quantity of care, combined with more doctors retiring and the nation’s population growing older, physician assistants can help fill in the gaps and streamline medical practices.
“By 2020 we could have a crisis due to the increase in the elderly population and their needs with a limited supply of doctors,” Dudrick said.
He estimated there are about 70,000 to 80,000 physician assistants in the nation, but 100,000 are needed.
Dudrick said despite his age he is not ready to shelve his knowledge and retire. He said after six months of discussion with Michael A. MacDowell, Misericordia’s president, he decided to take on the position and help get the program rolling.
Dudrick said that he and his wife, Theresa, a Misericordia alumnae, have always been very supportive of the university.
With his strong views on the role physician assistants will have in the future of health care, Dudrick plans to work with the staff and trustees of Misericordia University to develop a strong curriculum for the physician assistant program, “making it among the best in the country.”