Stephen English Wins Physician Assistant Student Leadership Award

MC President Lee Royce with Stephen English

A 26-year-old Jacksonville, Fla. native who played football for the Florida Gators, Stephen English is a proven winner as a new student leader with Mississippi College’s physician assistant program.

In August, English, a zoology major in Florida’s honors program, was the recipient of the inaugural Wayne Parker Student Leadership Award. The honor goes to physician assistant students for their leadership, academic excellence and compassionate, caring attitudes towards patients and fellow students.

The honor is named for Wayne Parker, a successful Mississippi businessman and member of the Mississippi College Board of Trustees.

President Lee Royce and P.A. Studies Chairman Dr. Bob Philpot joined English at the award ceremonies on August 19^th on the Clinton campus.

English is in elite company. He’s among the first 30 students enrolled in MC’s new graduate program in physician assistant studies. Their classes in subjects like human anatomy and physiology, and diagnostic medicine, began in late May at the program’s headquarters at the Baptist Healthplex in Clinton.

The primary mission of MC’s P.A. program is to prepare physician assistants to provide primary health care services in medically underserved areas of Mississippi and surrounding states. Physician assistants work under the supervision of physicians.

A recent issue of “Forbes” magazine lauded the physician assistant master’s degree program as one of the best master’s degrees in the nation. The magazine evaluated median salaries for P.A. graduates and took into account the job market, noting the tremendous shortages of physician assistants around America.