Daniel Regan ’12 knew Shenandoah was for him when he felt the sense of “family” from the professors he met at his interview for the PA school. Shenandoah’s approachability and annual mission trips enticed Regan to make Shenandoah his new home.
While at Shenandoah, Regan had the opportunity to take a medical mission trip to Nicaragua. “While I prefer the operating room to clinic type work, this experience of serving people who would not have had access to any medical care if it was not for Shenandoah’s Physician Assistant program was truly a fond one.”
As a physician assistant at Rex Cardiothoracic Surgery Specialists in Raleigh, North Carolina, Regan provides pre-, intra- and post-operative care to adult cardiac surgery patients. What’s most rewarding about this career for Regan is the pleasure of being in the operating room effecting complex procedures in collaboration with my attending surgeon. “I have taken great satisfaction in knowing that several patients are alive today because my team and I came to work.”
Regan’s advice for current students is: “Remember that once in clinical practice, no patient cares what grade you received on an exam, but they do care how they are treated. Being a compassionate provider is as and sometimes more important than knowing all the facts.”