Nathaniel Alston Student Achievement Scholarship Award

Scholarship Sponsored by Pennsylvania Society of Physician Assistants

Intro
Would you like $2,000 to help cover your education costs, recognition for your accomplishments as a PA student, and the chance to serve as a role model for your classmates? If so, consider applying for the Nathaniel Alston Student Achievement Award sponsored by the PSPA. Each year the PSPA honors student winners at its Annual Fall CME Conference.

Award overview
The PSPA is offering three competitive Nathaniel Alston Student Achievement Scholarship Awards of $2,000 each. Recipients are chosen by the PSPA Awards Committee and will be acknowledged during the Student Challenge Bowl at the PSPA Annual Fall CME Conference. Winners are expected to attend the conference banquet to accept their award in person. More than one student from the same PA program may be selected.

Who may apply
- You must be a PSPA member at the time you submit your application and still be a member at the time the award is presented at the fall conference.
- You must be enrolled in the graduate/professional phase of your PA program when you apply, and the essay must describe an experience that took place during that graduate/professional portion of training.
- Include verification from your PA program with your submission confirming that you are in good standing and meeting the program’s academic and satisfactory progress requirements.

Essay requirements
- Submit a single essay of no more than 750 words, typed, double-spaced, and provided as a Microsoft Word document.
- To protect patient privacy, identify any patients or clients only by initials. You may include quotations or excerpts from documents, but all such sources must be properly credited.
- You may reapply one additional time (during the graduate/professional portion of your program) if you remain eligible, but the second submission must respond to a different prompt than your prior entry. A student may receive this award only once.

Choose one of the following prompts (select and address only one)
1) What is the role of community service in medicine in advancing the PA profession? If you reference a personal example, it must have occurred during your PA training.
2) Describe an experience from your PA training—this could be a patient interaction, a project, or an educational activity—and explain how it will influence your future practice as a PA.
3) Describe a patient encounter during your PA training that raised an ethical or moral dilemma in medical practice, and explain how you would approach resolving the issue(s).

How to apply
Email your Word essay to hiserman88@gmail.com. In the body of the email include: your full name, mailing address, email address, PSPA membership number, PA program name, and anticipated graduation date. Also attach the required verification from your PA program confirming your good standing.

Questions
If you have questions about eligibility or the submission process, contact the PSPA Awards Committee via the above email.