It is with great pleasure that the UAMS Arkansas Geriatric Education Collaborative (AGEC) announces its 2022-2023 selection for the Geriatric Student Scholars program – Dhielan Bustos (College of Health Professions), Ranique Daniel (College of Nursing), Stephanie Graves (College of Health Professions), Szarria Thomas (College of Pharmacy), and Julia Townsley (College of Medicine).
The purpose of the Student Scholars program (sponsored by AGEC) is to increase health professions students’ interest and exposure to older adults, to improve knowledge of older adults and the specialized care they need and to promote interprofessional collaboration among health professions students.
We are so excited to announce the Geriatric Student Scholars for FY 2023 to support emerging health professionals education and participation surrounding specialized needs for older adults, and to foster interprofessional collaboration in academic and clinical geriatrics. The goal of the Geriatric Workforce Enhancement Program (GWEP) is to enhance the quality of health care for elderly Arkansans through research, education and training. The Geriatric Student Scholars program is an excellent way to achieve this goal and mentor future healthcare team members.
AGEC Director, Robin McAtee, Ph.D., RN., FACHE
The Arkansas Geriatric Education Collaborative is a program of the University Of Arkansas for Medical Sciences – Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging. The collaborative is funded by a Health Resources and Services Administration grant of $3.7 million for a Geriatrics Workforce Enhancement Program.
Geriatric Student Scholars – Congrats!
Dhielan Bustos (Third-year Doctor of Physical Therapy student, NWA campus)
Ranique Daniel (Fourth-year BSN student)
Stephanie Graves (Second-year Physician Assistant student)
Szarria Thomas (Second-year Pharmacy student)
Julia Townsley (Second-year Medicine student)
Dhielan Bustos is a third-year Doctor of Physical Therapy student at the UAMS-NWA campus. He is originally from California but was raised in New Jersey and attended Rutgers University where he received his Bachelor of Science degree in Neurobiology. Dill, a nickname he goes by, has worked in many settings that led to his acceptance to PT school that included a skilled nursing facility, an outpatient sports clinic, and an outpatient geriatric clinic. Besides studying, Dill likes coffee, going to the gym, playing tennis, and spending time with friends and family. His interests in geriatrics began at his first PT tech job in a skilled nursing facility where he got to work with many geriatric patients with complex medical conditions. He recognized just how powerful the rehabilitation can be for older adults by assisting with exercises, providing care, and witnessing their incredible progression. In his career as a physical therapy student, he looks to figure out ways at which he can incorporate higher intensity interval training in the older adult population as part of their treatment plan. Dill is very thankful for being chosen to be a Geriatric Student Scholar and is excited to gain insight on how he can improve the lives of older adults.
Ranique Daniel is a Senior BSN Student from Marked Tree, Arkansas. She is a recent University of Arkansas Alumna (Woo Pig!) and first-generation college graduate with a B.S. in Public Health and minor in Medical Humanities. She is honored to have been selected as a Geriatric Student Scholar, and looks forward to expanding her knowledge on serving this special population. She had the opportunity of working with this population this past summer with a student nurse internship at Wellth, Inc., and has always had the desire to learn more about their standard of care after taking care of her own great grandmother for many years. She witnessed a deficit in the care for older adults during this time in the Delta region of Arkansas, and this made her realize the importance of how much further it is we have to go, and it starts with us! This is a wonderful opportunity to work with this interdisciplinary team and the UAMS Geriatric Education Collaborative to further advance her education, and she looks forward to what this year brings!
Stephanie Graves is a second-year Physician Assistant Student in the College of Health Professions at UAMS. She is from Little Rock, AR and currently resides in Sherwood, AR with her husband, daughters, two dogs, and two cats. She received her B.S in Child Development and Family Science at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville and became a Certified Child Life Specialist. She received her degree in Medical Lab Science from National Park College in Hot Springs, AR. She enjoys her spending her spare time outdoors and doing activities with her family. Her passion for geriatrics came from her close relationship to her grandparents. She watched them go through various health issues and saw first-hand the impact interdisciplinary teams had on the quality of care and overall well-being of not only the grandparents, but caretakes as well. Her passion grew greatly during her Geriatric Rotation where she was fortunate to work with a variety of geriatric patients and saw how truly amazing and special this population is. She is honored and excited to have been chosen as a Geriatric Student Scholar. She looks forward to gaining insight on how to better advocate, treat, and promote health and wellbeing among geriatric patients. Stephanie also is excited about collaborating with an interdisciplinary team of health professionals to learn how to provide the best comprehensive and quality care to this population.
Szarria Thomas is a second-year pharmacy student at University of Arkansas Medical Sciences. She has a received a Bachelor of Science in Biology with a chemistry minor. Her past and current experience working in retail pharmacy with geriatric patients, exposed to her the importance of the need of more exploration of the care of geriatric population. The opportunity to immerse into the study of how medications effect geriatric patients is intriguing and imperative to the future. Her goal as an AGEC scholar is to gain knowledge through research that will propel her passion to clinically provide exceptional care as well as knowledge to the geriatric community.
Julia Townsley is a second-year MD student in the College of Medicine at UAMS. She is from Fayetteville, AR, where she grew up and would later attend college. She received a B.S. Degree in Biomedical Engineering at the University of Arkansas. Julia is the President of the UAMS Geriatric Interest Group and is completing the Honors in Underserved Primary Care Program. With experience being a caregiver for her grandmothers, Julia was drawn to geriatric medicine from a young age and is excited to work with the aging population. She is grateful for the opportunity to be an AGEC Geriatric Student Scholar and is looking forward to the experiences she will have within the program. Her future goals include working as a geriatrician to be an advocate for elder patients and to provide a supportive community for her patients. In her free time, Julia is a singer for a local church and enjoys spending time with her friends.