Dovid Schoenberg

A love of science and a strong desire to help others made a career in medicine an obvious choice for Dovid Schoenberg, a Touro University School of Health Sciences grad. “Once I discovered that physician assistant (PA) was a career option, I knew it was for me. As a former EMT, I wanted to start working right away as a provider and becoming a PA was the best way to advance my career and get in the workforce as quickly as possible!” he explains.

It was important for Dovid to study in a place that would respect his Jewish values and Touro became his top choice for undergrad and grad school. “Touro had great science professors, which was important to me as a pre-PA student. I also liked that Touro had small classes where I could readily form a bond with my professors. We had many opportunities for research in the lab and, overall, I had a great experience there,” he said.

Dovid credits Professor Sondra Middleton in Touro’s School of Health Sciences PA program for helping him succeed. “Professor Middleton believed in me and would listen when I felt school was too much and maybe I couldn’t do it. She never gave up on me,” he said.

Now an emergency medicine PA at Montefiore Medical Center, Dovid appreciates the fast-paced energy with new cases coming in all the time. “As a former EMT, I saw everything before we got to the hospital. Working in emergency medicine, I now see everything that happens in the hospital and, in a sense, completes the picture,” he said. “I work 13-hour shifts of organized chaos. I shuffle between the urgent care zone and the main emergency department, handling anything from CPR to suturing. I do it all.”

Dovid hopes to stay in emergency medicine and leaves open the possibility of teaching at a PA school one day as well.