Expert Insights from Program Leaders

Season 2

Jan. 16, 2024

Season 5: Episode 80 - Insights on CASPA, Admissions, and Success

In this episode, we speak with Erika Brooks, CSPO, manager of admission services at the PA Education Association, and Olivia Ziegler, PA, chief experience officer at the PA Education Association. We discuss applicant experien...

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Aug. 22, 2023

Season 5: Episode 71 - On the Shoulders of Giants

In this episode, speak with one of the pillars of our profession, Dr. Donald Pedersen, PA-C, about his path to becoming a PA, his leadership and philanthropic efforts in the industry, building a strong PA program at the Unive...

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Oct. 3, 2022

Season 2: Episode 42 - Season 2 Reflections

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

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June 13, 2022

Season 2: Episode 41- Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medi…

We speak with Dr. Elana Min and Mr. Sam Ritchey who provide their time and valuable insights about the ideal applicant for their hybrid PBL PA program in Chicago. We also speak about PAs in education and Dr. Min's passion for...

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May 23, 2022

Season 2: Episode 39 -Karen Hills, MS, PA-C Chief of Educational Deve…

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.

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May 16, 2022

Season 2: Episode 38-Dr.Brian Lauf and the University of Nevada Reno …

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 ...

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May 9, 2022

Season 2: Episode 37 -Dr. Kevin Schuer and the University of Kentucky

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. T...

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May 2, 2022

Season 2: Episode 36 - An Author and 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 jou...

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April 25, 2022

Season 2: Episode 35 - Advocacy and PAEA

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...

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April 5, 2022

Season 2: Episode 34 - PAs in Urology

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.

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March 27, 2022

Season 2: Episode 33 - PAs in Indian Health Services

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 ...

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March 21, 2022

Season 2: Episode 32 - George Washington University PA Program

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 movemen...

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March 12, 2022

Season 2: Episode 31 - The PA Model in the Netherlands

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 stude...

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March 7, 2022

Season 2: Episode 30 - The German Model

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 G...

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Feb. 28, 2022

Season 2: Episode 29 - The Irish Model

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...

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Feb. 21, 2022

Season 2: Episode 28 - The Canadian PA Model

Mr. Ian Jones, MPAS, PA-C, CCPA, DFAAPA is a certified PA in Canada and in the United States. Trained at the University of Washington MEDEX Northwest PA Program, Mr. Jones went on to serve in Alaska and Manitoba, Canada befor...

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Feb. 14, 2022

Season 2: Episode 27 - Ms. Ruth Ballweg

Welcome to Season 2! We start this season by learning from one of our profession's national treasures, Ms. Ruth Ballweg, MPA, PA-C Emeritus. Ruth shares her story as one of the pioneers of our profession as well as her work o...

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