Chicago City Wire

Leaders among Rush University Medical Center’s Physician Assistant (PA) students and alumni are making an impact through advocacy and service, both within the institution and in the broader community.

Zebedee Cluff, a 2023 graduate of Rush’s Physician Assistant Studies program who now works in urology at Northwestern Medicine, was recognized for his leadership while at Rush. Elected by classmates as student legislative representative to the American Academy of Physician Associates (AAPA), Cluff collaborated with Rush’s Office of Student Life and Engagement to secure funding that enabled more than half his class to attend a national conference.

“It was a great opportunity to work with the university at large, and to advocate for us as students and as PAs to make sure that we’re highly educated and well connected,” Cluff said.

Cluff also served on Rush’s system-wide LGBTQ Leadership Council, contributing to the implementation of pronoun badge-toppers aimed at fostering inclusivity for staff, students, and patients. “It’s such a simple thing, but it communicates a lot to patients that we care,” he said.

His efforts extended beyond campus. In September 2023, Cluff participated in a global health trip to Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic, where he helped provide primary care services to over 400 adults and children. He also organized 55 PA student volunteers from Rush for medical support during the 2023 Chicago Marathon. “It was a nice way to give back to the community and highlight our abilities as PAs to provide care in all sorts of settings, even in the middle of one of the biggest marathons in the country,” he said.

Second-year PA student Shay Schwimmer is also active in advocacy. After earning his master’s degree in public health while working as a paramedic, Schwimmer joined Rush—ranked among U.S. News & World Report's top 50 PA programs—as his “dream school.”

“Being politically active is important to me, not only for the community that I’m helping, but also for the physician assistant profession,” Schwimmer said.

Schwimmer serves as student representative for the Illinois Academy of Physician Assistants (IAPA), keeping student liaisons across Illinois informed about legislative issues affecting their field. He credits Rush with connecting him to these opportunities: “I never would have found IAPA if it wasn’t for Rush in the first place,” Schwimmer said. “Rush makes it very apparent from the first day you’re here that they have all the resources available for you to go into leadership.”

In February 2023, Schwimmer joined other Rush students on Lobby Day in Springfield, Illinois. They advocated for legislation removing requirements for written collaborative agreements between PAs working at federally qualified health centers (FQHCs) and physicians—a bill signed into law last June that took effect January 2024.

Kayla Martinez, assistant professor for PA studies at Rush and faculty liaison for IAPA, supports students’ involvement in advocacy efforts. She highlighted how faculty encourage creative approaches: “As educators, we’re showing students that, on an individual level, we can make a difference and shape our career,” she said.

Martinez is part of IAPA’s legislative committee which contributed both to changes affecting FQHCs and recent legislation allowing PAs authority to sign death certificates—a move she described as reducing delays faced by families when making arrangements after death: “This is important as many PAs act as primary care providers, and this reduces delays in the family being able to make arrangements.”

Reflecting on her role mentoring future practitioners during their two-and-a-half-year program at Rush University Medical Center—which has operated since its founding in Chicago since 1837 under current president Dr. Omar Lateef—Martinez added: “The highlight for me is watching students grow during our two-and-a-half- year program… By the time they graduate, they’re ready to be our colleagues, and it’s really impressive.”

“Rush makes it very apparent from the first day that you’re here that they have all the resources available for you to go into leadership.”

For more information about Rush University Medical Center, including its history dating back nearly two centuries or its role training healthcare professionals across specialties including pediatrics.