Nicole Wooten

University of Maryland Eastern Shore, Physician Assistant Program

Nicole Wooten serves as program director and department chair of the University of Maryland Eastern Shore Physician Assistant Program, and her most significant accomplishment in that role came in March 2025, when she led the program to full 10-year accreditation from the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant.

The university had lost its accreditation in 2015 and was one of two regional historically black colleges and universities whose physician assistant programs had previously lost accreditation. Wooten stepped into the program director role amid significant faculty and staff turnover, at a time when two of Maryland’s four physician assistant programs were on probation. Working closely with faculty, staff and university leadership, she developed and submitted a comprehensive accreditation application and prepared the program for its site visit. The program received zero citations — a rare and notable outcome that speaks to the quality and thoroughness of her work as a leader.

Wooten also dedicates time each year to mentoring high school students from underserved communities, working to expand their understanding of the physician assistant profession among those who rarely see themselves reflected in medicine. According to the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants, only 3.4% of the country’s 189,907 physician assistants are African American — a gap she works to address through structured mentoring sessions that emphasize academic excellence, personal growth and professionalism, while educating students on the path to becoming a physician assistant. She has said that guiding, inspiring and empowering the next generation is why she mentors.

This is an honoree profile from The Daily Record’s Top 100 Women awards. Information for this profile was sourced from the honoree’s application for the award. The honoree profiles were written using an artificial intelligence program and supported by honoree nominations, applications and letters of recommendation. Each profile was reviewed, fact-checked and edited for accuracy by The Daily Record’s editorial staff.