Certified physician assistant (PA-C) Helen Ramirez was drawn to becoming a physician assistant (PA) because she loved medicine, science, and helping others.
“I really enjoy the role that PAs play in the healthcare system. I enjoy collaborating with my teammates,” she says. “It's a unique opportunity to develop relationships with patients but also work really closely with the physicians.”
Helen Ramirez graduated with a Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies from South University, Richmond in 2019. She was a member of the first PA program cohort at this campus. While at South University, Helen was inducted into the Pi Alpha National Honor Society for Physician Assistants.
“One thing I love about the PA program here is that it's small and really intimate. You know all of your professors and classmates extremely well. You spend a lot of time together throughout the 27 months you're in the program,” she shares.
For Helen, the environment provided a sense of community and a strong opportunity for finding mentorship. “People who are clinically active and also teaching prepare you for the journey to becoming a PA and then professionally what it's going to be like once you're actually working,” she says.1
Helen recently returned to South University, Richmond to speak at the short coat ceremony, where current PA students receive a short white coat for shadowing and clinical rotations. “It was special to see how much South has grown, especially this program,” she says. “When I was here, it was just our class for a long period of time. We felt like we were starting something and creating a tradition.”
Helen began her physician assistant career as part of an advanced heart failure and transplant team. In 2022, she changed specialties to focus on family medicine and primary care. “On a day-to-day basis, I help manage a whole host of chronic health conditions. We also help manage any acute health conditions—high blood pressure, diabetes, mental health,” she explains. “You get to develop a really lasting relationship with your patients.”
At work, Helen regularly encounters other South University PA graduates and sometimes current students. “It's fun to watch the other cohorts coming through and knowing that they have such a bright future ahead of them and such an opportunity to have a good medical education foundation here,” she says. “[You know] that they'll get the skills that they need to go into the community and be good healthcare providers.”1
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1 South University does not promise or guarantee employment.
Graduates are required to sit for and pass the national certification exam and obtain a state license in order to work in the field. (Exam names vary by program) Please refer to the State Professional Licensure Determination and National Certification/Licensure section of the University catalog for program and state specific information. South University cannot guarantee each graduate will pass the required licensure examinations. Outside agencies control the requirements for taking and passing certification/licensing exams and are subject to change without notice to South University.
Students must pass the required licensure to work in their respective field.
Testimonials have been provided by students/alumni in their own words and without coercion. This spotlight is based on video interviews with Helen Ramirez published in 2024.
