Kinesiology Graduate Found Arkansas Fit Into her Team Approach

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Jenna Burchield plays with a friend she made in Haiti.

Editor's Note: This is one of a series of profiles about alumni of the College of  Education and Health Professions.

Jenna Burchfield is a team player. From her high school days on track team relays to her future on a physician team, her choices always involve working with others.

That desire went unmet in her first college experience at a university in her home state of Texas. She found it difficult to get connected in a large student population. When visiting her high school track mentor at the University of Arkansas, Burchfield noticed how closely knit the smaller school seemed. After deciding to transfer her sophomore year, she found it much easier to get plugged into the things that interest her.

Burchfield earned her bachelor's and master's degrees in kinesiology from the University of Arkansas. She credits a seminar class with Paul Calleja, an assistant professor of kinesiology, with introducing her to the idea of a physician assistant career. Upon completing her undergraduate degree in 2013, and knowing how difficult it is to get into PA schools, Burchfield pursued Kelly Elliot, a PA mentor at the University of Arkansas. Elliot inspired her to go for her goals in spite of her fears and helped build her confidence. She completed her master of science in kinesiology with a focus on heat and hydration in May 2015.

Now in her second year of PA school at the University of North Texas, Burchfield can detail why kinesiology was an excellent route to take. First, she notes the hands-on opportunities as a plus and relates a story from a medical mission trip when, as an undergraduate in exercise science, she was the one who knew how to take vital signs and was asked to instruct the others from more traditional pre-med programs. Second, since exercise is a stressor, exercise science students learn how the body reacts in different situations in addition to normal. Third, the master's program includes many human physiology courses, and all of that knowledge can be applied to PA school. Finally, the research experience is what Burchfield counts as most beneficial and how she discovered she wanted to spend time helping people.

"In research you get into the things that you are learning and see how it can apply," she said. "Just going to classes and learning from a textbook does not give you the insight as to how the process of learning new things happens in the lab and eventually gets into the textbooks. I really appreciated the opportunity to do research with people as the subjects."

She spent many hours in the Human Performance Laboratory on honors thesis and master's thesis research with Matt Ganio, an associate professor who directs the lab, as well as helping out with many other trials. She says Ganio pushed her to be a better student and to think about what you do with research.  Michelle Gray, an assistant professor of kinesiology, was another big influence. Gray taught her how to think critically, how to study, and how to care about the people with whom you work.

Burchfield, referring to Elliot, the staff at Pat Walker Health Center, Calleja, Ganio and Gray said, "I would not be where I am today if it were not for these people in my life. Each one of them played a role in me pursuing my dream as a PA student and I am eternally grateful for the patience and dedication these professors and mentors had in my life."

Burchfield was able to compete with other PA school applicants with degrees in biology, chemistry, nutrition, or athletic training. She is in one of the largest PA schools with a cohort of 75 people, but they were selected from between 2,500 and 3,000 applicants. She contends the things that set her apart include her research-laden program of study, clinical work experience, the opportunities she sought out for herself, and the ability to take initiative.  Her work as a phlebotomist at Pat Walker Health Center, the skills certifications she earned, and shadowing a PA were all crucial on her application.

Learning to juggle many responsibilities served as good preparation for the rigorous nature of PA school: 20 hours of graduate coursework in her first semester was a challenge she met. She reports that the professors are very engaged with the students, and the motivation on both sides (students work hard to earn admittance and professors invest in them and want them to keep their spots) keeps the retention rate extremely high. Coursework is followed by 10-12 specialty rotations, allowing PA students to figure out what interests them most.

Burchfield is appreciative of experiences she has already had in the program including a visit to a homeless shelter in Fort Worth to conduct physical exams. She described it as a win-win: a learning moment for the students under the supervision of their professor, and a time for the patients to receive needed care and attention.

A career as a physician assistant is appealing to Burchfield who wants to be working in the field sooner than medical school would allow. She likes the idea of being on a team, and working as an extension of a physician but with autonomy. PAs get to see their own patients and Burchfield looks forward to interacting and building relationships with hers. Another big draw is the fact that PAs can change their focus. On average, they switch specialties twice in their career. Burchfield says many students on their third-year rotations think emergency medicine is the best thing ever, but three to five years into their career they may experience burnout. Being a PA allows switching to another specialty.

Burchfield plans to focus on family medicine or women's health in a large urban area. She hopes to be able to devote time to volunteering, as well, in homeless shelters or with Special Olympics. Since she received the National Health Service Corps scholarship, which covers tuition, fees, books, supplies, and a monthly stipend in exchange for working at an approved site with an underserved population for an equivalent number of years afterward, she knows what her next step will be. Her mission trip to Haiti a few years after the major earthquake was when she knew she wanted to help people in underserved areas. Her love for people and the desire to be a team player keeps her focused on these goals.