Sarah Deyo, MMS, PA-C, Physician Assistant (PA) program director at Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady University, was recognized at the Physician Assistant Education Association's 2017 Education Forum with the New Faculty Award for Professional Excellence. This award is given annually to a program faculty member with three or fewer years of service who has made noteworthy contributions to PA education.
"Sarah leads with a calm sense of direction," said Tina Holland, PhD, president of Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady University. "She is responsive to student requests and sets expectations for the other faculty in the program. She has pride for her profession, is creatively resourceful, and is the ethos for the program."
Deyo joined the University in September of 2015 and was appointed as the PA program director in the spring of 2016. In this role, she continues her active teaching responsibilities along with overall administrative oversight of the program.
Deyo graduated from Our Lady of the Lake College's (now Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady University) PA program in May 2009 and went on to practice in the pediatric emergency room as a PA at Our Lady of the Lake Children's Hospital. As a practicing PA, she provided guest lectures in pediatrics to students at the University and served as a clinical preceptor in the emergency room from 2009 before joining the faculty in 2015.
In the spring of 2016, Deyo began to incorporate simulation to reinforce course material – the first time that students at Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady University interacted in a formal simulated environment prior to their clinical rotations at the end of the program. Over the course of her tenure as a faculty member, she also served as the primary investigator in a scholarly project with the Pediatric Residency Program at Our Lady of the Lake Children's Hospital in addition to acting as the physician assistant representative on an interdisciplinary project with the Graduate Medical Education program at Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center.
Deyo is active in both the academic community as well as in her professional organizations. She serves on the Graduate Council, Faculty Senate, Faculty Simulation Committee, and the School of Health Professions Faculty Assembly. She also serves as the faculty advisor for the Physician Assistant Student Organization. She is an active member in the Louisiana Academy of Physician Assistants and is currently serving as the organization's president.