Jenny Mears, a physician assistant in the neurological/neurosurgical intensive care unit, has been selected as 2021 Physician Assistant of the Year by the Department of Physician Assistant Services at NewYork-Presbyterian. The awards, given each year to honor outstanding PAs on each campus of the health system, recognize excellence in the profession and a stellar commitment to patient care. Jenny, selected from among 350 PAs, has provided care for neurological surgery and neurology patients in the neuro ICU since 2019 – when she was named PA Rookie of the Year.
Since that first recognition, Jenny has proven her merit many times over. Just a few months after being named Rookie of the Year, Jenny found herself working not in a neuro ICU, but in a Covid-19 unit. That was during the early days of the pandemic, when so many spaces were converted into specialty units for coronavirus patients. She wrote a poem about that experience for her alma mater, Quinnipiac University (see the poem here).
The annual awards honor not only a PA and a PA Rookie of the Year, but also a PA Mentor of the Year and a Physician Partner of the Year. In fact, our neuro service had nominees in all four categories this year, with two of those awards given to members of our neuro team. This year’s winners included Dr. Judy Ch'ang, an attending physician in the neuro ICU who was honored as Physician Partner of the Year.
The top-notch neuro service at Weill Cornell Medicine has a distinguished history of PA awards, including multiple wins in just the past few years:
2021
Beth Higgins, Neurosurgery Resident Appreciation Award
Kristen Nowling, Neurology PA of the Year
2020
Sara Mohamed, Neurology PA of the Year
2019
Stephanie Sharkey, PA of the Year
Jennifer Mears, PA Rookie of the Year
Michelle Acosta, Neurology PA of the Year
2018
Chloe Holland, PA Rookie of the Year
Crystal Jairam, Neurology PA of the Year
Suzan Wollard, Neurosurgery Resident Appreciation Award
2017
Allison Basham, PA Rookie of the Year
Melissa Owenburg, Neurology PA of the Year
We have tremendous pride in all of our advanced practice providers, and it is gratifying to see their remarkable efforts recognized by our colleagues. Congratulations to Jenny and all our dedicated PAs!
