Congratulations to Finley Kernan-Schloss (they/them), a first-year PA student at the University of Utah. Fin has been accepted into a 12-month fellowship as a PA student leader.
Student Leader Fellows (SLF) are out and openly self-identified lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and/or gender-diverse PA students who are chosen through a competitive selection process to participate in a 12-month fellowship to foster leadership and professional development within the PA profession. During their yearlong fellowship, SLFs:
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- Participate in a self-proposed fellowship project during the term
- Attend the AAPA Conference in May (of the following year) and participate with Caucus activities and the AAPA House of Delegates
- Join LBGT PA Caucus Board of Directors monthly meetings (virtually)
- Serve as an ambassador of fellowship for future students
- Make a difference for the PA profession and our LGBT communities
Prior to PA school, they earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry at Kalamazoo College and spent nine years working in clinical research. Finley is passionate about advocating for the sexual and gender minority community and committed to providing affirming and inclusive care to all patients.
As a LBGT PA Student Leader Fellow, Finley's project “The Effectiveness of Bystander Intervention Training in Improving PA Student Confidence in Providing Support to Transgender and Gender Non-Binary Patients” will teach PA students how to intervene on behalf of their pediatric transgender and gender non-binary patients who experience deadnaming and/or misgendering by their caregiver in a clinical setting. The training will also provide background information on the barriers faced by transgender patients in healthcare and the importance of creating affirming and safe clinic environments. It is their hope that if successful, this curriculum will be adopted and taught at other PA programs.
