WRNMMC, Bethesda, Md.  –   Although the paths that Air Force Capt. Grace Kim and Army 1st Lts. Demetre Harris and David Owunna took to achieve their shared dream of becoming physician assistants (PAs) differed, all donned their white lab coats as the military’s newest PAs during their graduation from the Interservice Physician Assistant Program (IPAP) on Sept. 29 at Walter Reed.

IPAP is a 29-month graduate program accredited by the University of Nebraska Medical Center and recognized by the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant, Inc. (ARC-PA). Selection to the program is “highly competitive,” according to program director at Walter Reed, Air Force Lt. Col. Jennifer Middlebrooks. The initial 16-month didactic phase of the program is held at the U.S. Army Medical Center of Excellence at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas. It includes more than 100 semester hours encompassing 40 subjects and 101 exams, culminating in students earning a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Nebraska Medical Center.

During the 13-month second phase of the program, students gain their clinical expertise to become PAs, Middlebrook explained. The phase includes more than 2,000 supervised clinical clerkship hours in 19 different clinical and surgical specialties. Individually, the recent IPAP graduates devoted approximately 160 hours outside of their clinical rotations in the Walter Reed emergency department, as well as logging more than 1,200 patient encounters and performing more than 180 procedures each. They also presented three professional medical lectures, passed 11 rotation exams and amassed more than 100 hours in simulation center training. Upon completion of phase two of the program, students are granted a Master of Physician Assistant Studies (MPAS) degree from the University of Nebraska Medical Center, and those Soldiers not commissioned are into the Medical Specialist Corps as first lieutenants.

After receiving their degrees, the mothers of the graduates assisted them in donning their white coats, a tradition to welcome new members into the medical profession.

From Walter Reed, Kim heads to Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada to join the 99th Medical Group.

“Sometimes, we prematurely give up on our dreams before we give ourselves the opportunity to see them through,” Kim said. “Prior to PA school, I was a contracting officer for six years and had pretty much said goodbye to my dream,” shared the 2014 Air Force Academy graduate.
“It was really the fear of failure that kept me back,” Kim added. “If there is one thing that I learned in PA school, it’s reframing what failure means [and] not looking at failure as an end, but an opportunity to begin again and continue the pursuit of something better, whether that is for ourselves or for our future patients.”

Harris heads to Fort Drum, New York to become a member of the 6th Cavalry.

“I remember where I was when I got the email for IPAP,” Harris said. “I was heading home from work. I thought I was a straight-away candidate and that I would get accepted the first time. I had been a flight paramedic for six years and a staff sergeant with what I thought was a very tremendous record at the time. The email stated I was on the alternate list for IPAP, which basically means, apply again. I remember being very disheartened and thought, ‘Alright, I’ll just put my packet back together and I’ll apply again. It’s alright. It’s a minor setback. If you’re in the Army for any period of time you know what’s it like to take an L and keep going.’ So, that’s what I did. Then Halloween 2020, I get an email that stated I had 24 hours to reply because someone couldn’t make the class and I would be accepted. Fortunately, I was in Class 21-2.”

“I’ve always believed in the motto, ‘paddle your own canoe,’” Harris continued, explaining it’s important not to compare yourself to others or their accomplishments. “You have to paddle your own canoe against all odds. You can complain about your boat, your oar, or even the river that you’re in, but that’s your responsibility. Everyone is on their own little river so to speak, and you have to paddle your own canoe.”
Owunna’s next assignment is with the 2nd Cavalry Regiment in Vilseck, Germany.

“When I woke up this morning, I pinched myself,” Owunna said. “This moment is very surreal for me.”

“I was born and raised in Nigeria and was 21 when I came [to the United States],” Owunna shared. “I joined the Army almost right after I got here.” Initially, he was slated to be an Army helicopter repairman. “I took the paper and ran home and said, ‘Hey Mom, I’m going to repair helicopters in the Army.’ My mom said, ‘They don’t have medical jobs in the Army?’ She took me back to the recruiter’s office, and said to the recruiter, ‘If there is any medical job, that’s what I want my son to do.’”

That led to Owunna serving as an Army licensed practical nurse for six years, caring for beneficiaries in inpatients and outpatients units. “That was the foundation that set the stage for where I am at today. Thank you, Mom, for planting that seed,” he said his mom during the graduation as she and his sisters beamed in pride at him, now a newly-minted officer and physician assistant in the U.S. Army.