The USF Health Morsani College of Medicine Physician Assistant Program has a new address,
a new set of neighbors and a new home in the heart of downtown Tampa.
On May 11, the PA program officially opened its doors in the USF Health Downtown building,
welcoming its first incoming class to begin training in the new location.
The move relocates the program from the USF main campus in North Tampa to a facility
designed specifically for modern health education. In its new home, PA students will
train alongside medical and pharmacy students, creating more opportunities for interprofessional
learning and collaboration.
The downtown location also brings the program closer to USF Health clinical sites
and the expanding Tampa Medical & Research District, a life sciences epicenter enhancing
access to cutting-edge education and research while driving regional growth and innovation.
The transition was both strategic and carefully timed, said Todd Wills, MD, associate
dean and program director.
“This was not something that we just decided a year ago,” Wills said. “When we looked
at the flow of our program, its needs and the cadence of how we deliver things, we
decided that this would be the best time to make this full transition.”
The move was five years in the making and planned with medical education in mind.
Classrooms are surrounded by small-group spaces for problem-based sessions, advising
and peer study. PA students also have access to a simulation and procedural skills
lab.
“The building has been designed to really foster didactic education and small-group
education in a very highly functional way,” Wills said.
For Gigi Jamison, a second-year PA student, the shift is already tangible. While her
first year on the Tampa campus drew her cohort close, the new building provides something
different.
“Now we get to connect with med students, with pharmacy students,” she said. “There’s
no better place to be than here.”
Joelle Hugney is among the first PA students to begin the program at the downtown
location. She relocated from the Washington, D.C., area and said the building made
an impression before orientation was finished.
“When you take your first couple of steps inside, you are just in awe,” Hugney said.
“It makes you want to work hard.”
She added that training alongside other health professions students before entering
clinical rotations adds a layer of preparation that distinguishes the program.
“It’s really unique to know that we are already going to have those experiences of
working with other professions before graduating,” Hugney said.
The program welcomed its 10th incoming class this spring, marking the milestone in
a downtown home designed to support the next phase of its growth.