Any successful career transition is rooted in self-knowledge, curiosity and a zestful movement towards what inspires you as a clinician. PAs have unique career journeys given their ability to navigate specialty transitions that can be both exciting and daunting.

Megan Pinder, MMS, PA-C, is an advocate for psychiatric patients both personally and professionally. She responds to questions about PAs’ role in mental health, how access, socioeconomic status, and stigma impact patient mental health, and how to advocate for mental health patients.

President of APAOG, Melissa Rodriguez, DMSc, PA-C, thinks PAs are a great fit for practicing in obstetrics and gynecology; they are medically trained, compassionate, team-oriented, and are qualified to identify, prevent, and treat most, if not all, causes of maternal mortality.

Pamela Lucas, PA-C, spent 22 years in the Air Force. She made personnel assignments, planned for disasters, and was one of only three healthcare providers at a NATO base. She looks back on her active-duty career and shares what she’s up to now.

The PA Foundation’s Vital Minds podcast featured a discussion on how health disparities have been exacerbated by COVID-19, the role socioeconomic factors and insurance may play in health disparities, and how PAs – and other allies – can help bridge the care gap.

What does a week look like for a PA in radiation oncology? Katey Wert, PA-C, has been practicing in the specialty for six years. While difficult at times, given the patient population, she finds the work rewarding and meaningful.

COVID-19 upended PA career paths, from furloughs to redeployment. It also caused PAs to reflect upon their current roles and future goals. The PA Career Coach shares six tips for PAs who find themselves needing or wanting a career pivot.

AAPA invited PAs Lauren Eisenbeis and Jo Rolls to host Huddle’s latest Ask Me session on transgender healthcare. Eisenbeis and Rolls used their expertise from years of experience to provide advice and resources for PAs to provide trans-affirming healthcare to patients.

Hayley Arceneaux, PA-C, practices at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, nearly two decades after undergoing treatment there for bone cancer. Now she has officially become the first PA to visit space. Arceneaux served as the medical officer on the world’s first all-civilian space mission, and shares what led to this extraordinary opportunity.

Pangela Dawson, PhD, MSPAS, PA-C, assistant dean at Morehouse School of Medicine, talks about her career journey and how COVID-19 has highlighted health disparities in Black patients. She also offers advice for bringing more visibility and leadership opportunities to minority women.

Lieutenant Junior Grade German S. Herrera, MPAS, PA-C, USPHS, had a love of science and a desire to help people. The United States Public Health Service – with its scholarship opportunities, benefits, and guaranteed job placement – was a perfect fit for him.

The rheumatology specialty faces personnel shortages that may worsen as the population ages while rheumatologists retire. That’s why AAPA is offering new Rheumatic Learning curriculum which delivers a patient-case based simulated experience.