When you hear the words “Robeson Community College” being spoken, you most likely wouldn’t think immediately that it’s a place where you could build a path to become a physician assistant. But for one local man from Robeson County, RCC is the place where he did just that.

Meet Jarrett Oxendine. He’s 30 years old. He is originally from Pembroke, but now calls Fayetteville his home. He grew up in Robeson County and loves being able to give back to the community that helped raise him. He currently works as a Physician Assistant in the Emergency Department at UNC Health Southeastern in Lumberton. It’s a job that he loves, and it’s one he’s worked hard to achieve.

“I graduated from UNCP in 2016 with a B.S. in Biology,” Oxendine said. “I always wanted to practice medicine, but I wasn’t sure if I wanted to become a medical doctor or a physician assistant.”

It was probably one of the biggest decisions of his life and it wasn’t something he could just decide overnight.

After talking with Eric Freeman, who at that time served as the program director of the EMS program at RCC, Oxendine realized that his goals were well within his reach and that becoming a physician assistant would give him the greatest flexibility, granting him “portability” within the medical field.

“If you become a medical doctor, you need 4 years in medical school, and then you have to apply to residency in a specific specialty,” Oxendine said. “With becoming a PA, you are broadly trained over all subjects giving you a baseline that you can excel anywhere, in any specialty with most of your training taking place on the job.”

With his thoughts on studying emergency medicine, Freeman helped guide his decision on his next steps.

“Eric Freeman convinced me to apply to the degree program for Emergency Medical Science,” Oxendine said. “So that’s what I did.”

The EMS program provided Oxendine with valuable experience that not only helped him get into PA school but also helped him with his current role in the ER in dealing with emergencies and trauma-related injuries.

“I primarily did this to gain experience and get into PA school,” Oxendine said. “But the EMS program gave me a broad knowledge and also set a good foundation in medicine with hands-on patient care that I couldn’t have received anywhere else.”

Oxendine graduated from Robeson Community College in 2018 and became a licensed, certified paramedic.

“I worked full-time with the Robeson County EMS and part-time with rescue agencies doing convalescent transport,” Oxendine said. “I needed 1000 clinical hours of patient contact to get into PA school.”

With the experience he gained, along with his education credentials and paramedic certification, Oxendine was accepted into the physician assistant program at Methodist University.

“It was a process,” Oxendine said. “PA school took 28 months to complete… it helped me in going to UNCP first, and when Eric Freeman recommended the EMS program and to sit for the paramedic, I was able to jump halfway through.”

With a strong drive and highly motivated, Oxendine says one day he may branch out into another specialty but for now, he’s very content.

“I enjoy being a PA, especially in the emergency department… you end up seeing people on the worst day and time in their lives and so to be able to bring joy and hope to people is pretty gratifying, to say the least.”

Now with his career established, Oxendine encourages others to follow in his footsteps so they too can achieve their dreams of working in healthcare.

“I highly recommend the EMS program to anyone who wants to become a physician assistant,” Oxendine said. “The individuals I met and who taught the program, were very knowledgeable, and good at what they do.”

“It did not hurt having the associate degree,” Oxendine said. “I have recommended this route to multiple people to finish their undergraduate degree and then go do the EMT classes at Robeson Community College.”

“I really appreciate the opportunity that attending RCC has afforded me,” Oxendine stated. “I would not be where I am today without the training and tutelage I received at Robeson.”

For more information on the EMT and EMS Bridge program at Robeson Community College, please contact Thomas “Brad” Byrd at tbyrd@robeson.edu or 910-272-3408. You can also visit the EMS department online at www.robeson.edu/ems for more information.