Oregon Office of Rural Health Recognizes Three Physician Assistant Students

The Oregon Office of Rural Health has announced the 2015 recipients of its Primary Health Care Loan Forgiveness program, and three Pacific University physician assistant students are among the honorees.

Third-year students Richard Nile, Joshua Burns and Katherine Volk have been awarded the maximum amount of $35,000 each toward their tuition in exchange for one year of clinical service in an approved rural Oregon practice site. They will each provide a minimum of 32 hours per week of clinical practice in a rural community.

Eligible practice sites are located in a rural federally designated areas that are medically underserved by health professionals, or areas of unmet need as designated by the Oregon Office of Rural Health.

The three Pacific students are among just 11 recipients statewide to receive the awards. "We are very proud that members of our class of 2016 have been selected to provide rural communities here in Oregon with much-needed primary care," School of Physician Assistant Studies director Mary Von said.

The Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies degree at Pacific University is a 27-month program that provides comprehensive primary care training for a variety of practice settings.