LOS ANGELES, June 2, 2008 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- A team of physician assistant students graduating this week from Charles Drew University of Medicine and Science (CDU) successfully outperformed 45 other school teams in last week's Medical Challenge Bowl at the 36th Annual Academy of Physician Assistants Conference in San Antonio, Texas, taking third place among the 48 total schools in competition. The CDU team, comprised of Rosa Pallan, Al Quintana, Marc Sandoval, and America Stone, won over teams from many larger, prestigious physician assistant programs in institutions such as Drexel, Duke, Cornell, Samuel Merritt and the University of Oklahoma.
"The Charles Drew University team's success in this challenging competition simply validates the quality of students we continue to attract and the program they undertake," stated Dr. Gail Orum-Alexander, Dean of CDU's College of Science and Health. "We congratulate Rosa, Al, Marc and America on a superb job for bringing such distinction to the University."
As a part of its mission, Charles Drew University's graduates continue to provide urgently needed healthcare services to millions of medically underserved residents of the poorest communities. Named in honor of the brilliant African-American physician whose pioneering work in blood preservation has saved a billion lives in 60 years, Charles Drew University was born in a fire, the Watts Rebellion of 1965. In its aftermath a strong, vibrant and resilient institution was created committed to the ideal that health is a human right. Through excellence in education, clinical practice outreach and research that makes a real difference, the University continues four decades later to proudly serve people in the greatest need, in the largest underserved urban area in the nation -- and others like it everywhere.
For more information, visit the Charles Drew University website at http://www.cdrewu.edu.
ABOUT CHARLES DREW UNIVERSITY:
A private non-profit educational institution in the Watts-Willowbrook area of South Los Angeles, Charles Drew University of Medicine and Science has provided quality college, graduate and post-graduate education and training to thousands of qualified minority and other students for more than 35 years. As part of its mission, the University has also provided urgently needed healthcare services to chronically underserved residents of the poorest communities in Los Angeles County, serving the 1.6 million citizens in its 94-square-mile service area. If this service area were a municipality, it would be the fifth largest city in the U.S.
The University is widely regarded as an innovative medical education university pioneering in teaching doctors and healthcare professionals, and in conducting quality research, to deal with the special needs of the poor, chronically ill populations in the inner city. By expanding relationships with local medical school, research institutions and community-based organizations, the University is focused on eliminating health care disparities by providing access to and delivery of vital health care services to underserved populations. The University has been remarkably successful in achieving its primary goal of producing physicians and other healthcare professionals who return to the community to serve people who are uninsured or underinsured. It has graduated over 500 medical doctors, 2,500 physician specialists, 2,000 physician assistants and hundreds of other health professionals.
Charles Drew University's unique environment of providing medical education has been lauded as a national model. Research shows both that its students become more committed to the mission as they progress through their medical education and that 10 years after graduation, 70% of Charles Drew University trained physicians are still working with underserved populations.