Episodes

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 special Thanksgiving week edition highlights a conversation with one of our founding father's, Dr. Alfred Sadler. We talk about the book he and his twin brother Blair Sadler wrote to highlight the Pluck they found in history while serving our country with a variety of prestigious institutions on important issues including organ donation, medical ethics, emergency medical services, and the health workforce. At each stage of their careers you can see how hard work, determination, and a little...

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 the Director and Department Chair for the Northeastern University PA Studies about her path to becoming a surgical PA and her program. PA Carey Barry talks about their dual degree options and the newly developed Doctor of Medical Science degree at their institution.

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.

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.

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 Dr. Davison about her numerous contributions to the PA profession as a PhD, a Program Director, a Founder of the OU-Tulsa PA program, and as a researcher and accreditation expert. We also talk about the impact and cycle of mentorship.

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. Kevin Schuer from the University of Kentucky about his path to becoming a PA, about the University of Kentucky PA Department; and about his career as a professional musician with a band called The Schuers. The session includes some excerpts from their 2001 album Step Outside.

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".

This week we speak with Tyler Smith, MPH, Senior Director for Government Relations with the Physician Assistant Education Association. Tyler and I speak about student involvement in advocacy, the National Health Service Corps, and other key issues PAEA is tackling for the profession.

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 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.

Steph and I have a delightful conversation with Drs. Ritsema and Hermann from the George Washington University Physician Assistant Program. We learn about their program and about their roles in the Physician Associate movement in the United Kingdom and with the National Health Service Corps. We also discuss some different perspectives on the doctoral degree for PAs.

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 Prof. Dr. Marcus Hoffman who is widely known as the father of the German PA profession about the origin of their model, their current path, and some of the curriculum differences between the U.S. model and the German model. We also talk about his work with the Euro PA-C movement as well.

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.