Thomas Dominguez

Quinnipiac Physician Assistant Program, Class of 2018

I was born and raised in West Babylon, New York. I graduated from SUNY Oneonta with a Bachelor’s of Science Degree in Dietetics.

As a dietetic intern at Stony Brook Medicine, I worked at and rotated through health care sites including Women, Infants and Children, HELP Suffolk, and the Head Start Program. At these sites, I mentored students, educated parents and worked with community leaders to build community gardens. As a Registered Dietitian on the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition’s (A.S.P.E.N.) Malnutrition Committee, I reviewed the committee’s final paper on accepting malnutrition as a National Patient Safety Goal that it submitted to the Joint Commission. I also created an algorithm to help practitioners identify malnutrition, and hosted a webinar for participants across the country. Currently, I continue to help raise awareness of malnutrition, specifically in underserved areas where malnutrition is more common and often undiagnosed.

Medically underserved communities often lack the resources and leadership to maintain a system capable of providing optimal healthcare. As an Urban Service Track member, I will learn more of the issues facing medically underserved communities so that I can apply this knowledge to my practice as a primary care physician assistant. Eventually, I hope to work with community leaders to promote free health education at schools and clinics in order to construct sustainable and effective healthcare systems. I believe such community partnerships coupled with medical expertise can prevent diseases from becoming unmanageable and expensive.