Amy Dereczyk

Because it's a hands-on class. You will get to do a whole lot of procedures—either on real people or on simulator manikins—so you will get a lot of experience.

And because I have eight years of experience in ER medicine and procedures, you know I have firsthand knowledge. I have been doing procedures for a long time, and that makes for a lot of questions and great interaction in class.

You will have the opportunity to do what you read about in the textbooks — on procedures or medicine or how to take a care of a certain kind of patient. In my class you will be able to do what you are reading about. And you will be using the new simulators that we just got in our new lab.

Upon completing the PA Program, you will have developed a confidence in touching the patient and not being afraid to attempt a procedure.  You also will have a new level of professionalism, and hopefully, a willingness to give back to the program by precepting PA students because you had such wonderful preceptors.

UDM has a quality program that trains you to be a top-notch PA, and when you graduate, you will have several offers for great paying jobs.  People love to hire our graduates. We have great relationships with all the healthcare systems in southeastern Michigan, and when they know you graduated from UDM, they know you are good.

That even though you are part of a diverse class, everyone gets along.  I appreciate that our students come from a variety of backgrounds.

My husband and I support and volunteer at a rural clinic in Ajalli, Nigeria, once or twice a year to provide medical care. We have volunteered for the past five years at the clinic, which serves nearly 3,000 people each visit — many of whom have never seen a physician or had healthcare in their lives.