黑料专区

You can accomplish a lot of medically miraculous things in a little under four hours. Just ask Kayla Miles, a student in 黑料专区鈥檚 Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies (MS-PAS) program.

During one of her most recent clinical rotations, Miles joined a pediatric cardiothoracic surgery team from Atrium Health Levine Children鈥檚 Hospital in Charlotte, N.C.

The team flew in the early morning hours from Charlotte to a hospital in suburban New York City, where doctors harvested a donor heart from a four-year-old girl who, sadly, had been diagnosed brain dead following a car accident a few days earlier. The team then flew back to Charlotte, where her heart was transplanted into a 10-year-old boy at Levine Children鈥檚.

From a medical standpoint, the whole production, flights and surgical procedures included, needed to be done in four hours or less to ensure the greatest chance of an optimal outcome. It took three hours and 50 minutes. Miles knows this as well as anyone: She acted as the 鈥渢imekeeper鈥� on whom the other team members relied to keep important steps of the process on schedule.

鈥淚t was so special to be a part of that and to see it happen,鈥� said Miles, a former women鈥檚 lacrosse player who did her undergraduate work at UNC-Chapel Hill. 鈥淚 still can鈥檛 wrap my head around it.鈥�

Miles hails from Watertown, N.Y., a small city about an hour north of Syracuse. Like all students in the inaugural class of MS-PAS, she started doing nine five-week clinical rotations this past May, each in a different specialty. The one at Levine Children鈥檚 focused on surgery — and then some, deepening her knowledge of all that鈥檚 involved in harvesting a heart from one body and then transplanting it into another. She also became acquainted with similar procedures for kidneys and a liver, which other teams removed from the girl鈥檚 body and transplanted into other patients.

Miles shared what she learned from her transplant experiences during a  for her fellow PA students and their professors. Among other things, this covered her patient鈥檚 diagnosis, treatment plan, why a transplant emerged as the best option, and what a harvest-transplant procedure entails.

Dr. Tommy Earnhardt, an Associate Professor, serves as the Director of Clinical Education for the MS-PAS program. Miles鈥� participation on the Levine Children鈥檚 team reinforces 鈥渨hy we do what we do,鈥� he said.

鈥淎s a parent, I can鈥檛 imagine the unrelenting grief of losing a child, and the strength needed to make that decision for organ donation, so that others may live,鈥� he added. 鈥淎s a healthcare provider and educator, I am humbled by the opportunities to touch the lives of others, no matter how small or grand.鈥�

Miles has moved on to another rotation. She likes working with kids, and her time at Levine Children鈥檚 has prompted her to consider specializing in pediatric surgery. No matter which PA career path she pursues, however, she remains a zealous advocate for organ donation, and she鈥檒l likely never forget her first encounter with transplant surgery.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a really sad story that a little girl died,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ut this child was able to save someone with her heart, someone with her kidneys, and someone with her liver. That鈥檚 really special.鈥�

Ken Keuffel, who authored this article, has served as Pfeiffer鈥檚 Assistant Director of Communications since December 2019. He welcomes story ideas from Pfeiffer鈥檚 faculty, staff, students, alumni, and friends. The form for submitting story ideas is at Story Idea/News Item Request Form.