Two Future Physician’s Assistants Discuss COVID-19

Seniors Sarah Bovo and Colden Vogl are headed to Daemen College in the fall. There, they will prepare for careers as physician’s assistants.  In this feature for The Green and White,  Sarah and Cole discuss their perspectives on the historic Coronavirus pandemic that is affecting the world. 

Today we are realizing who our essential workers truly are, whether they may be nurses, doctors, physician’s assistants, truck drivers, delivery specialists, postal workers, janitors, grocery store employees, police, military personnel, and much more. I am very thankful for these professionals who have put in endless hours just to make ends meet and work on the community’s behalf. I am also very proud that my future profession of a physician’s assistant is among these professions. 

Seeing the intensity of what healthcare providers are dealing with every day from the past weeks does not scare me. I want to be in this profession for a reason – to provide care and treatment to others. I know by entering this workforce, we will most likely experience catastrophic events like the coronavirus.

The uplifting comments about health care currently encourage me even more to become a physician’s assistant. However, my heart goes out to all essential workers as they are dealing with the most stressful times of their lives and for the people  at the front lines who are putting their own health at risk. 

Nothing will ever change my mind about becoming a physician’s assistant. I have wanted this for five years and I’m not going to let the coronavirus change my mind. In fact, it makes me eager to enter the field even at this very moment, because I know they need the extra hands right now. 

My biggest advice regarding  COVID-19 is to stay home! Save your health, your grandparents’ health, and everyone’s around you.

Cole and I will be attending Daemen College together in the fall for its 5 year BS/MS physician assistant program. I’m very excited to start this new chapter of my life and gain first-hand experience of the medical field, all alongside Cole.

-Sarah Bovo, Lake Shore Class of 2020

With each passing day, I see the true miracles of medicine happen as the world is hit with this global pandemic. Watching as everyone from every corner of the earth alters routines to implement more health-conscious habits, along with taking the extra steps to try and stay healthy in this time of great uncertainty, it amazes me that people have the ability to change their lifestyles for the safety of their well-being and that of others. 

Given any normal day, it would be a challenge to try and determine who is considered “high priority” or “essential,” but with the outbreak of COVID-19, it is clear to see on whom society is most dependent. Doctors, nurses, healthcare providers, emergency services, and other members of society who dedicate their selfless lives to helping people, are the true heroes of today. 

Whether being overwhelmed at hospitals and clinics, being sent directly to the field, or assigned a task of trying to provide care with little aid, these saints of society are met with some of the most adversity one can imagine. Round the clock care and always on call, some healthcare providers practically live at hospitals with the amount of attention required to treat incoming patients, especially the influx of newly infected coronavirus patients. 

Seeing these acts of mercy now will motivate me in the future to provide the utmost care for when I am seeing patients of my own. While most people are watching this pandemic unfold from afar, it is the physicians and care providers who are facing this task head-on. I will be attending Daemen College in the fall for the Physician Assistant program alongside Sarah, so that one day I will be able to provide professional care for others, just as physicians are doing today amidst this highly infectious disease. 

-Colden Vogl, Lake Shore Class of 2020