The PA Path Podcast

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 journey as a fiction author with her new novel "The Moon is Backwards".

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, and other key issues PAEA is tackling for the profession.

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.

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 informatics.  We speak about COVID-19 and the impact on the Navajo Nation, the National Health Service Corps, and financial literacy for PAs.

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 movement in the United Kingdom and with the National Health Service Corps. We also discuss some different perspectives on the doctoral degree for PAs.

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 students to go to PA school while serving their sponsoring institution along the way.

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 German model. We also talk about his work with the Euro PA-C movement as well.

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 she explains the challenges and rewards of helping the profession grow in the Emerald Isle.

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 before being asked to lead the University of Manitoba Physician Assistant Program. He is an international leader and past president of the Canadian Association of PAs. He shares his insights on the growth of the PA profession and provides a perspective of what is different between our two models of practice.

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 on supporting the international growth of the profession with the support of the NCCPA. She highlights the challenges of being a woman in the early days of the profession and how she deftly navigated the politics to become one of our biggest names in the profession.