Determined, loyal, caring, hardworking and compassionate - these are just some of the words peers use to describe senior biology major Holli Bossons. This past summer, Bossons showed these characteristics and used her knowledge from the classoom while she was a physician assistant observer at St. Luke’s University Health Network’s Bethlehem campus in Pennsylvania.
“The beauty of the program was that we didn’t have set rotations like the pre-medical observers did,” Bossons said. “We were given a list of contact information for physician assistants and a few nurse practitioners who agreed to have us observe them.”
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Holli Bossons gained more than 140 hours of experience working at St. Luke’s Bethlehem campus. Photo courtesy of Holli Bossons.[/caption]
She took it upon herself to get as involved as possible and scheduled shadowing appointments, and over the course of her rotation, she accumulated 140 hours of shadowing within various departments, such as the Emergency Department, the Operating Room, the NICU, Internal Medicine, and Nuclear Medicine.
She witnessed 13 surgeries and said the seven weeks at St. Luke’s was “the most amazing and eye- opening experience. I was so sad having to turn in my badge.”
Bossons said her most memorable experience was observing cardiac surgery for the first time.
“I was a little nervous, and the three orthopedic surgeries I watched the week before couldn’t prepare me for watching someone’s chest get cracked open,” Bossons said.
Bossons stuck it out and got to stand behind the sterile drape starting from the middle of the surgery to the end. “I remember looking down into the open chest and being intrigued as they closed the chest with thick wires, ” Bossons said.
Friends of Bossons, such as senior biology major Denise Donnelly, describe her as having “the best work ethic of anyone I’ve ever known.” Donnelly said, “she studies tirelessly for her classes, and she is one of the smartest people I know.”
Rebecca Marcinko, a junior double majoring in elementary/special education and environmental studies, said,“she always goes above and beyond in order to succeed academically and strives to be the best that she can be.”
Marcinko and Donnelly said that Bossons is not only an active member of Seton Hall’s chapter of Alpha Sigma Tau, but also the director of Academic Success. “She ensures that each and every chapter member is reaching their full academic potential,” Marcinko added.
Claudia Emanuele can be reached at claudia.emanuele@student.shu.edu.
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