Diversity Episodes

This week Stephane and Kevin talk about the Season 4 episodes, themes, and trends and share some exciting news about the future of the podcast.

We speak with PAEA Past-President Kara Caruthers about her path to becoming a PA and about her developing program at the Meharry College of Medicine's Department of PA Sciences. PA Caruthers also shares her personal perspective about the PA profession's recent doctoral summit held this month in Charlotte, NC.

In honor of National Coming Out Day and National PA Week we speak with Josef Burwell, MS, PA-C about his path to becoming a PA, his mission work around the world, and his transition to becoming a male while working with the Central Intelligence Agency as a PA.

In our first episode back from break we speak with Dr. Pangela Dawson about her path to becoming a PA and about the Morehouse School of Medicine PA Program. We also speak about racial justice and leadership approaches to difficult conversations.

We speak with Stephen Neal, MPAP, PA-C who serves as the Chief of Staff for the Chinle Comprehensive Health Facility, an IHS facility in northern Arizona. He has worked here since 2016 as a PA in Family Practice and clinical informatics. We speak about COVID-19 and the impact on the Navajo Nation, the National Health Service Corps, and financial literacy for PAs.

We speak with Claire Norman, MSJ and Sara Diosdado-Ortiz, MBA about the Primary Care Physician Assistant Program at the Keck School of Medicine for the University of Southern California. We talk about their focus on diversity, leadership, and technology in their curriculum and Claire shares some stories about the program while Sara shares tips for applicants.

Dr. Bill Kohlhepp‘s PA career spans over 4 decades and throughout those years he has led in a multitude of ways and for most of the major PA organizations. He is the 2020 recipient of the PAEA Lifetime Achievement Award, a former Dean for Quinnipiac University, and a passionate leader. Dr. Kohlhepp speaks with us about his path, his program, and about the most important issues for the PA profession.

Dr. Carolyn Bradley-Guidry is the Assistant Dean for Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity Affairs for the UT Southwestern School of Health Professions and she is a national leader on diversity as well. We speak about her path to becoming a PA via nursing, her path to education, and the challenges of degree creep for the profession as it relates to diversity.

This week we speak with Dr. Jacqueline Barnett, Associate Professor and Program Director at the Duke University School of Medicine PA Program about her path to becoming a PA; her role in the DC Coroner‘s office; her passion for diversity, equity, and inclusion; and about the program that started it all for the PA profession - Duke University. We talk about her vision for the program and for the profession as well and celebrate PA week and Dr. Eugene Stead‘s contribution to our profession. *Trigg...

2021 PAEA Lifetime Achievement Award recipient Grace Landel, M.Ed., PA-C speaks with our team about Touro University's dual degree program, her path in the PA profession, and about the impact of diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts for her and her students.

Dr. Dawn Morton-Rias is the first PA and woman of color to lead one of the four national organizations representing the PA profession. She shares her path to becoming a PA, her clinical journey, her work in PA education and her rise to national leadership. We'll learn more about the NCCPA and their role in supporting the profession in certifying PAs across the country.

Michael DeRosa, PhD, PA-C and I talk about his unique path to becoming a PA, Samuel Merritt University in Oakland, CA, and the incredible work he and his colleagues are doing in the remote mountains of Panama providing health care and public health services to the people of Batata. The beauty of their land and the people are worth listening in on as we talk about their triumphs and a tragedy.

Tony Miller has been a PA for over 42 years and throughout his career he has sought new opportunities to lead our profession. In this episode Steph and I talk about Tony's passion for faculty and curricular development, his legacy with Shenandoah University, his leadership, and about the potential impact of the doctoral degree on the PA profession.

Today we speak with Paula Phelps, MHE, PA-C. Paula is the former Department Chair and current Professor and Service Learning Coordinator for the Idaho State University Department of PA Studies. She is also the first and only PA to serve on the Idaho State Medical Board and she has an impressive history of writing successful grants that have supported numerous innovations with the program, and publishing her findings in many different journals. She has been a PA since 1996 and has practiced in fa...

Mr. Terry Scott, MPA, PA-C, DFAAPA is the Program Director and Section Head of MEDEX Northwest, the PA Program at the University of Washington (UW) in Seattle. Terry and I discuss our passion for diversity, equity, and inclusion and the historic roots of the MEDEX Northwest PA Program including some of the historic work their founding father Dr. Richard Smith led in his career. We also talk about the "why" behind the applicant and the importance of knowing your why before applying to any PA prog...

The CEO for the Physician Assistant Education Association (PAEA) shares her vision for PAEA and listen for the new roles that are contributing to PA education from PAEA.

Welcome to the PA Path Podcast where prospective PAs, PA students, and current PAs can learn more about the profession and the paths that PAs take to serve their communities. The podcast team will be interviewing leaders from around the world to help us all understand how to navigate the journey to becoming a certified PA and to better understand the PA profession.