Class of 2021: Robert Morhauser, M.S. Physician Assistant

An Unconventional Journey from English Teacher to Physician Assistant

Robert Morhauser would sometimes stand beside a patient’s bed and wonder what he was doing there. For ten years he had been a teacher and now he was in clinical rotations in emergency rooms as a physician assistant student.

A few years earlier, he had been teaching English at a private school in the port city of Busan, Korea when four doctors from the hospital across the street came in to learn English. As he taught them, he learned something too – he wanted to be in the field of medicine.

After moving back to the U.S., he enrolled in a biomedical science post-baccalaureate program to fill gaps in his knowledge of science, worked as a medical scribe to get medical experience and in 2018, got accepted to the M.S. in Physician Assistant program at Rutgers School of Health Professions. This month, he graduates.

“Sometimes it’s the things you don’t do that you regret the most, and I thought if I didn’t try to do this, I’d regret it,” he said. “It was daunting, but it was do-able.”

His unconventional career change began with conversations with the four Korean doctors – an ear nose and throat specialist, a radiologist, an oncologist and a family provider. From them, he heard stories that were both heart-wrenching and inspirational. He began to think of how skills he already possessed might help him make the transition to medicine.

“A good provider should be able to educate his patients, speak in a clear and concise way to get the message across,” he said.

During his clinical rotations in emergency rooms, he sometimes experienced what he calls “imposter syndrome,” or the feeling that he didn’t belong in medicine. But those feelings soon subsided.

“I still worry but then I would see that my plans and my assessments are the same as the other PAs, and it solidified my belief that I can do this, and that Rutgers was the right program and provided me with the skills I needed to practice,” he said.

Claire O’Connell, associate professor, said the PA program seeks out applicants like Morhauser who can bring diversified life experiences to the classroom.

“Robert’s work around the globe and interacting with different cultures added to discussions about health care and humanity,” she said. “His calm demeanor was infectious, helping to alleviate anxiety in his less experienced colleagues. Ultimately, his experiences and cultural curiosity will make him a great provider.”

Morhauser said his multi-cultural experiences help him see patients with a different perspective. Not every culture has the same healthcare goals and understanding the culture the patient is coming from can help shape their plans, he said. “The most important thing for any provider is to get across your goals and understand their goals in moving ahead with their health care.”

He hopes to work in an emergency room and is eager to start his new career.

“The thing that I love about medicine in general is, you get to make an impact on someone’s life and see the results of what you do,” Morhauser said.

“With teaching, the change is so subtle it takes a long time to see growth in students, and by that time, they are moving onto next grade. In medicine, if you set a bone or sew someone up, you see immediate results.”