Leadership Episodes

We speak with Dr. Dipu Patel about her role as Vice-Chair for Innovation at the University of Pittsburgh's Department of PA Studies. We also talk about her path to becoming a PA and about her thoughts on digital health and the impact of artificial intelligence on health care.

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.

We speak with Dr. Jed Grant about the University of the Pacific PA Program and about his service as an Army PA. We also talk about his service to the profession as the former Chair of the State of California Physician Assistant Board and the work they did to expand the profession in California.

This week we celebrate our 50th episode by speaking with Dr. Sharon Luke, Executive Director of the Accreditation Review Commission on Physician Assistant Education, Inc. Dr. Luke shares her path to becoming a PA, a PA educator, a national leader, and the director of the only accrediting body to oversee PA educational programs.

We speak with PA Cindy Lord about the Case Western Reserve University PA Program. Cindy provides insights into her program, but also some great advice for pre-PA students on how to vet programs for their CASPA applications. We also talk about the importance of advocacy and learn about Cindy's own path to becoming a PA.

We speak with Dr. Jeremy Welsh about the University of Lynchburg PA program and their post graduate doctoral program. Dr. Welsh shares his unique path to becoming a PA and his path to higher education leadership.

We speak with Ms. Laura Gerstner, Associate Program Director with Campbell University in Buies Creek, North Carolina about her path to becoming a PA, her program, and her state and national leadership.

This week we speak with Dr. Dana Sayre-Stanhope, Professor and Department Chair for the Point Loma Nazarene University Department of PA Studies. Dr. Sayre-Stanhope shares her vision for the San Diego program and she describes her own path to the PA profession. She also highlights many of the other programs she developed in her illustrious career as well as her leadership contributions in the various PA institutions.

Steph and Kevin reflect on the lessons learned in Season 2 and give a brief glimpse of Season 3.

We speak with Dr. Elana Min and Mr. Sam Ritchey about the ideal applicant for their program in Chicago. We also speak about PAs in education and Dr. Min’s passion for research. The episode was recorded in January, 2022.

We speak with Ms. Karen Hills, MS, PA-C; Chief of Educational Development for PAEA about her path to becoming a PA, her various roles in the profession, and about some of the trends in PA education.

We speak with Dr. Brian Lauf about the developing program at the University of Nevada-Reno. We learn about his path to becoming a PA and about his unique background in the profession. We also discuss the changes taking place nationally for the profession and he shares his perspective from his 25 years as a PA.

We speak with Dr. Justine Strand de Oliveira, former PAEA President and Division Chief for Duke University's PA program about her path to becoming a PA; her state, national, and international leadership roles; and her new journey as a fiction author with her new novel "The Moon is Backwards".

Today we speak with Dr. Daniel Park, Director of the Keck Medicine Urology Fellowship for PAs. Dan and I talk about the pros and cons of a post-graduate fellowship, his doctoral degree, and his leadership.

We speak with Mr. Quinten van den Driesschen, MPA about the PA profession in the Netherlands and his nearly two decades serving as a PA in their health system. We also learn of a very unique model of education that pays students to go to PA school while serving their sponsoring institution along the way.

We speak with Dr. Lisa Mustone Alexander about the physician associate profession in Ireland. Dr. Alexander shares her insights on the differences between the Royal College of Surgeons' programme and most U.S. PA programs and she explains the challenges and rewards of helping the profession grow in the Emerald Isle.

We speak with Mr. Jonathan Bowser, Associate Dean and Program Director for the University of Colorado Child Health Associate Physician Assistant Program. Jon, Stephanie, and I speak about his path to the profession, his long-standing program, and his thoughts about the future of the profession. We also discuss the pros and cons for a pre-PA entrance examination and chat about Jon's experiences leading the Physician Assistant Education Association.

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...

We speak with PA Brian Peacock from the Wake Forest School of Medicine PA Program. Brian serves as their Program Director and he highlights the unique inquiry-based curriculum that Wake has utilized for generations of Wake PAs. This format promotes critical thinking and allows their graduates' to be prepared for the ever changing scientific environment. We also discuss their strong history of producing national leaders and his desire to see health systems change from a quantity driven model to a...

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.

The University of Iowa PA program has a unique distinction as one of the only programs in the country to share their curriculum with their medical school. The first 18 months are identical for both medical and PA students and then each profession heads out on their clinical rotations. We speak with Dr. David Asprey, Associate Dean for Medical Education and Mr. Tony Brennamen, PA-C, MSW about their success as one of the top programs in the U.S. News & World Report and about the benefits of a shar...

The Stanford University Masters of Science in Physician Assistant Studies team speaks with us about their program, their unique curriculum, and their commitment to service and leadership. We speak with Drs. Sue Fernandes, Nicole Burwell, and Jess Butler about their careers and vision for the future of Stanford University.

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.

Ted Ruback, MS, PA-C Emeritus is widely known as the father of CASPA, the centralized application service for the PA profession. He is also the founding father of the Oregon Health and Sciences University PA program in Portland, OR and he is the recipient of the two highest honors in our profession; the American Academy of Physician Assistants Eugene A Stead Jr. Lifetime Achievement Award and the Master Faculty Award from the Physician Assistant Education Association. We discussed his path to be...