Q&A with New NYIT Trustee, Ernie Anastos

Mar 24, 2014

“I’m especially interested in how technology is changing the way we communicate and live. I’d like to explore technology’s positive influence on personal and cultural communications,” Lifetime Emmy Award winner and WNYW-TV news anchor Ernie Anastos tells Long Island Business News (subscription required) when asked what he will focus on as an NYIT trustee.

In explaining his longevity in the TV news business, Anastos offers: “I have a strong enthusiasm for my work, a positive attitude and the desire to grow in a changing world that keeps me young at heart.”

 

MedPage Today: 10 Questions for Lawrence Herman, RPA-C

Jan 15, 2014

"PAs were named as one of three primary care providers in the Affordable Care Act alongside physicians and nurse practioners. The contributions PAs make to the healthcare team are invaluable and cannot be overlooked," says Physician Assistant Studies Chair Lawrence Herman, RPA-C in "10 Questions" on MedPage Today. "We can't meet America's healthcare needs unless every member of the team is authorized to provide care to the fullest extent of their license."

Herman, president of the American Academy of Physician Assistants, also says the biggest barrier to practicing medicine today is the system that "incentivizes us to see as many patients and do as many procedures as we can," rather than spending time with patients and working to avoid procedures or hospital visits.

He also advises PAs to "find your passion and stick with it," but he notes that PAs also have the ability to switch specialties if they discover they're not as interested as they once were. "PAs are trained as generalists and we're in high demand," Herman says. "That's not going to change anytime soon."

 

Ott on Grad School: Cost-Benefit Analysis is Crucial

Jan 13, 2014

Prospective graduate school students should take time to carefully weigh the costs and benefits of getting a graduate degree, says Alexander Ott, Ph.D., associate dean of academic support and enrollment services in a MonsterWorking.com blog, "Five Signs You're Not Ready for Grad School." 

Ott says students should ask whether “attending graduate school for X degree will be worth the money and time. This ‘worth’ can be judged in a variety of ways, including the personal and intellectual growth that would hopefully be a result of the graduate school experience as well as the advantage the degree may confer in terms of added earning power.”

Students who haven't done a true cost-benefit analysis, or research into career opportunities or the actual responsibilities of employees in the field might consider postponing their entry into grad school, Ott and other experts advised.

 

NYIT's 3C Competition on CNBC

Dec 31, 2013

CNBC's report entitled "Floating Towns and Oyster Beds: How US Cities are Preparing for Rising Seas" mentioned NYIT's student-led Operation Resilient Long Island 3C Competition.

Alumnus Daniel Horn, who co-launched the competition to generate resilient designs for coastal areas, spoke with CNBC about the contest's winning entry that suggested improvements for Brooklyn's Red Hook neighborhood and the honorable mention winner that envisioned homes with sun shades that could double as protection against wind and water.

 

Bloom on Policing Public Housing in The New York Times

Dec 26, 2013

"So many people who don't live in public housing don't realize they are dependent on the well-being of public housing," says Associate Professor Nicholas Bloom, Ph.D. in a New York Times article about policing New York City's public housing developments. "The maintenance of a good housing project brings security, and it's a big factor in the value of property."

Bloom, an expert in urban development and public housing and author of Public Housing That Worked: New York in the Twentieth Century, also commented on Mayor Bill de Blasio's likely plans to eliminate the New York City Housing Authority's $70 million in annual payments to the NYC Police Department for policing in the face of shrinking federal housing subsidies. Bloom says that in the long term, the money saved "can add up to siginficant operating money." 

 

Newsday Features Stories Construct Design Interdisciplinary Project

Dec 20, 2013

"We want students to anticipate what aging seniors' needs are going to be," says gerontologist Tobi Ambramson, Ph.D., in a Newsday article featuring NYIT's "Stories Construct Design" project, a collaboration among students studying mental health, interior design, and occupational therapy. "The whole idea is to help before the crisis hits. And we want them to become aging specialists in their careers."

The article included two case studies presented by students in early December to highlight potential home modifications that local older adults could make to their homes to help them age in place. Interior design students Ashley Herz and Stacie Krug explained some of the changes they suggested for their clients.

"The design should last the whole life of a home," says Herz, whose redesign of a North Massapequa couple's home included installing a wheelchair lift, raising the floor in a lowered den area, and replacing carpeting with cork floors to help prevent falls.

Krug and her team worked with a client who has multiple sclerosis, and they proposed the addition of accessible bathrooms, an elevator, and color pallette changes to help their client see better throughout the home.

"Working with someone who already had needs presented different challenges than with someone who was aging in place," Krug says. "We had to think of what would make her life easier, but with designing you have to think about what makes everyone's life easier." 

 

Larry Herman on the Rise of Physician Assistants

Dec 20, 2013

"You can't argue, with another 20 million to 30 million people in the system, that there aren't enough patients to go around," Department of Physician Assistant Studies Chairman Lawrence Herman, PA-C, tells Long Island Business News (subscription required) in an article about the growing role of physician assistants in healthcare, due in large part to the Affordable Care Act. "It's not like we're struggling to find customers."

In "The Physician Assistant Will See You Now," Herman says about 93,000 physician assistants practice in the United States. New York State has more than 20 physician assistant education programs that train about 1,000 PAs a year. The job outlook for physician assistants is excellent; employment in the field is expected to rise 30% by 2020, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. 

Herman, who is also president of the American Academy of Physician Assistants, says he helps educate his patients about physician assistants, the rigorous education they receive, and the work they do, including medical testing, diagnosis, prescribing medicine, and patient care.

"I correct my patients all the time," says Herman. "They call me 'doctor.' One of the expressions my patients use with me is: 'I know you're not my doctor, but you do my doctoring.'"

 

Herman Gives His Two Cents on Germs and Money

Dec 17, 2013

“Currency contains all sorts of traces of stuff, including illicit drugs and especially lots of germs,” Physician Assistant Studies Chair Lawrence Herman, RPA-C, tells The Weather Channel in "16 Germ-Infested Places and Things You Need to Know About."

Herman, who is also president of the American Academy of Physician Assistants, adds: “Just imagine where some of those dollar bills were tucked.”

Cell phones, kitchen sinks, cutting boards, and TV remotes were among the other items likely to hoard germs. 

 

Blazey: Trust and Knowledge Help the Doctor-Patient Relationship

Dec 10, 2013

"I've had patients who have left their previous doctor because they said that in a 15-minute appointment the doctor spend 10 minutes typing," says William Blazey, DO, in an article entitled "Can the Doctor-Patient Relationship Survive?" in Medical Economics.

Blazey says time demands required by electronic health records can cut into quality care. Another challenge, he notes, is the coordination of care among specialists.

"As a primary care doc, one of the cornerstones of what I try to do with my patients is coordinate their care among specialists, especially if it's a cancer diagnosis or something else that requires multiple specialists," says Blazey. "Often  I find that patients will see a specialist and then forget who they saw so they can't relay back to me the testing they had done."

Blazey says that trust and knowledge about the patient are essential ingredients for maintaining a healthy doctor-patient relationship.

"When you have that longitudinal relationship with the person, you start to understand them and know the best way to reach them," he says.

 

NYIT Professor: Beam Power Where it’s Needed

Dec 06, 2013

Stephen Blank, NYIT Professor of Electrical and Chemical Engineering, notes that sending power over long distances via lasers and balloons could help provide emergency power to various areas, such as disaster zones.

Citing the recent typhoon in the Philippines, for example, Blank is quoted in the December 2013 issue of New Scientist as saying, "You could have an aircraft carrier off the coast of the Philippines, with its nuclear generator, beaming power where it's needed."