You are here: Summer Scholar Program » Steamboat Scholars » 2008 » Alicia Jones

Hometown:
West Chester, PA
University Partner:
Northeastern University
Degree:
B.S. in Health Sciences
Grant Partner:
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Senior Mentor:
Dr. Edwin Alyea, Associate Professor of Medicine
Growing up in a healthcare environment, Alicia spent time visiting patients and volunteering at the hospital where her mom worked as a nurse. Unfortunately, Alicia’s childhood was also heavily influenced by cancer. She grew up observing several close family members who courageously battled the disease. Spending each day caring for her loved ones helped Alicia realize the importance of cancer research and the hope it provides for patients and their families. Throughout her college career, Alicia volunteered in various departments at Brigham & Women’s Hospital, including the Radiology Department and NICU. A Dean’s Scholarship recipient, Alicia was an officer and executive board member of Lambda Kappa Sigma, a professional organization promoting women in pharmacy, for which she helped to plan fundraising events, including the annual Breast Cancer Walk. After completing her internship at Dana-Farber, Alicia was inspired to establish a “Colleges Against Cancer” chapter at Northeastern with a group of peers, with the hope of establishing a supportive community of students interested in cancer education and advocacy.
At Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Alicia had the opportunity to work alongside the physician assistants (PAs) on the bone marrow transplant team, which usually only accepts PA students on clinical rotations. Alicia participated in morning rounds by collecting vitals, labs, and nursing reports on select patients. By the end of the summer, she understood the process of autologous and allogeneic stem cell transplants and how treatment plans are chosen. Alicia also worked on a research project, which enabled her to interact with many influential physicians, PAs, and administrators at both Dana-Farber and Brigham & Women’s Hospital. She explored different inpatient care provider frameworks by examining various models involving physician assistants in different hospital departments to determine which was the most effective for the oncology service. She worked closely with her mentors, Dr. Ted Alyea and Deb Yolin, Dana-Farber’s chief physician assistant, who guided her through the process of performing a qualitative research project and aided her in the interpretation of the data.
Alicia is currently attending the Physician Assistant Program at Drexel University.
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