The PA Path Podcast

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.

Season 1: Episode 26: Reflections

Stephane and Kevin take time to look back at the first season including the who, what, where, when, and why that was shared in episode 1. They review the themes that came up along with a sneak preview of Season 2.

Season 1: Episode 25: USC PA Program

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.

Season 1: Episode 24: George Washington University - Harrison Reed, MMS, PA-C

We speak with Harrison Reed, MMS, PA-C about the challenge for pre-PAs in navigating applications to PA schools as well as the issues around paid consultants and disadvantages to many applicants. We also talk about his social media presence and focus.