PA Volunteers Across the Country Inspire the Next Generation

Middle and high school students received hands-on experience with basic first aid techniques, including practicing with blood pressure cuffs, stethoscopes, and splints.

October 15, 2026

During PA Week, physician associates volunteered their time to participate in AAPA’s Project Access™ initiative, visiting middle and high schools in four major metropolitan areas — Brooklyn, New York; Seattle, Washington; Dallas, Texas; and Denver, Colorado. In partnership with the National CARES Mentoring Movement, volunteers gave insight into the PA profession, shared their experiences, and taught basic first aid techniques that the students replicated with their classmates.

At Dimmitt Middle School in Seattle, PAs Rebecca DePalma and Luis Pena sparked students’ interest in becoming PAs by sharing what a day in the life of a PA looks like, as well as helping them practice wrapping wounds and checking pulses. One boy even went on camera after the hands-on activities and said he planned on becoming a PA one day. According to DePalma, he had not known about the PA profession before her presentation.

PAs Robert and Jessica Oladeinde spoke to the Brooklyn Emerging Leaders Academy, an all-girls charter high school in Brooklyn, and in addition to first aid demonstrations, played trivia with the kids and offered prizes.

“We included patient case scenarios and spin-the-wheel questions that challenged the students to think about what they have learned regarding anatomy and physiology, questions about the PA profession presented during the PowerPoint, and other categories of medical questions and true/false questions,” said Jessica Oladeinde. “It was a fun interactive way to engage their knowledge and what they retained from the presentation.”

In Denver, PAs Andrea Sykora, Johnna Jaynes, and Ellen Hartman volunteered at East High School, where they taught the students how to wrap wounds and apply splints.

“The students were curious and interested to learn what it is like to deal with people who are bleeding, injured, or who needed surgical intervention.” said Sykora. “I love the ability to be involved in community outreach and to connect with other organizations that we can partner with in the future to promote the PA profession. We had a great group of volunteers at the event from Denver East High School, National CARES Mentoring, and our AAPA volunteers.”

PAs Amanda Brosnan, Laine Markham, and Isuri Weerasinghe performed multiple demonstrations at Yvonne A. Ewell Townview Center, a high school in downtown Dallas, including how to apply improvised tourniquets and CPR training with teddy bears.

“The students seemed to love learning any new skills. They were already familiar with CPR and manual blood pressure checks, but Stop The Bleed training was new! They loved learning how to make improvised tourniquets and pack wounds,” said Markham. “It was really cool to get to meet high school kids who already had so much experience and interest in a healthcare profession. It made me feel hopeful for the future!”

PAs interested in hosting Project Access™ events at their local schools can find free toolkits and presenter resources on AAPA’s website.

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