In the spring of 2021, the ongoing pandemic limited Jordan Traynham's opportunities for hands-on learning in an emergency room for the St. Ambrose University Master of Physician Assistant Studies (MPAS) program.
The healthcare provider couldn't risk exposing non-employee learners to patients battling the COVID-19 virus. Yet, after earning his SAU MPAS degree on Saturday, Dec. 18, Traynham will more than bolster his credentials in emergency care.
In March, he will begin an 18-month residency in the Emergency Medicine Fellowship program at the famed Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. It is a hard-won opportunity, with Traynham and three other licensed physician assistants or nurse practitioners having emerged this fall from among dozens of qualified applicants.
His inclusion reflects Traynham's ability to communicate his keen interest in emergency medicine. It also is a credit to his preparation at St. Ambrose, where students previously have been selected for highly sought residency opportunities at teaching hospitals such as Baylor and Emory.
Traynham will be the first SAU grad to matriculate to the Mayo Clinic, whose Alix School of Medicine is home to several of the most highly regarded residency programs in the country.
"A Mayo residency is a prestigious position," said Kerry Humes, MD, Director and Associate Professor in the St. Ambrose MPAS program. "Jordan has done a tremendous job in the program. As both his program director and adviser, I have found him to be hardworking, compassionate, and insightful.
"Jordan will make an excellent provider with the additional training allowing him to utilize the knowledge and experience he obtained during his time at St. Ambrose more effectively."
For Traynham, the residency continues a journey he did not initially set out on when he graduated from United Township High School, or even after transferring to St. Ambrose from a state university midway through his second year of college.
"I wanted to do something in health sciences," said Traynham, who identified a career as a physician assistant as a great opportunity while earning his SAU Bachelor of Science in Biology degree in 2019.
Despite the challenges posed by the pandemic, the SAU program provided Traynham with the skills and knowledge to shine in his interview with the Mayo residency program directors earlier this year.
Here, he especially gained insights into the importance of a team-centered approach to healthcare, something emphasized by the programmed interactions of SAU health sciences students across all disciplines and reinforced by the Institute for Person-Centered Care at St. Ambrose.
"What I really highlighted in my (written) statement and my interview is that I want be part of a team," he said. "Not one person gets everything done in the ER. It takes teamwork and a team effort and that is really what draws me to the ER. The controlled chaos."
The Emergency Medicine Fellowship also complements a primary mission of the SAU MPAS program, which debuted in 2014 as one of three such programs in the State of Iowa and with a goal to fill a critical gap among healthcare providers in rural settings.
Traynham's residency will take him to Mayo facilities in smaller communities and provide what could be life-saving care to someone who might not otherwise have immediate access.
"They train you to work in critical access hospitals where resources are limited and you are providing solo coverage for the department," he said.
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