AAPA’s Distinguished Fellows: Meet the Elite PAs

These Dedicated Professionals are the Foundation of the Profession’s Future

December 9, 2020

AAPA’s Distinguished Fellows program recognizes PAs who go above and beyond. These elite PAs are passionate about their work, dedicated to their patients and future PAs, and are working every day to advance both healthcare and the PA profession.

But each Distinguished Fellow’s path looks different. They work across the country, in every specialty, and serve in different positions. Their personal passions are different – some want to help students as they establish their professional footprint, some are dedicated to mental health, or nutrition, or ultrasound.

Meet these elite PAs, learn more about their individual journeys and interests, and consider adding your name to their ranks today.

Apply to be a Distinguished Fellow

What Makes a Good PA Professor? These 7 Ps

Kristopher R. Maday, MS, PA-C, DFAAPA, is a committed and passionate PA educator. He shares what his own favorite professors have in common, and how he strives to make PA school educational and fun for his own students.

What PA Students Can Learn From Bruce Lee – Seriously!

As a child of the ‘80s, Kristopher Maday, MS, PA-C, DFAAPA, grew up loving martial arts movies. Now, as a PA program director, the words of one of martial arts’ best teachers, Bruce Lee, resonate differently. Maday shares his favorite Lee quotes, and how they impact his own teaching philosophy.

Learn How Implicit and Overt Bias Impact How You Practice

Health disparities around COVID-19 and greater focus on racial justice have highlighted the need for PAs to talk about how bias can impact healthcare. Deanna Bridge Najera, PA-C, and Josanne K. Pagel MDiv., MPAS, PA-C, DFAAPA, discuss how biases may impact PA practice.

Strategies to Manage Cognitive Load in PA School

In the second part of a series on memory and learning, PA educator Kristopher Maday, MS, PA-C, DFAAPA, discusses cognition and cognitive load, and the important part they play in how you recall information from your long-term memory.
PAs Embrace Telemedicine After COVID-19 Jumpstart
Although most PAs did not use telemedicine in their practices before COVID-19, AAPA’s Research Department reports in a recent data brief that PAs are now embracing telemedicine to provide remote, high-quality care to their patients. Several comment on how their jobs have changed.

PA Educator Shares the Science Behind Memory

PA school is all about memory. So what is the science behind memory, and why do some memory strategies work better than others? Kristopher Maday, MS, PA-C, DFAAPA, shares a three-tiered, information processing model to memory, and how PA students can use it to their benefit.

Four Experts Offer Career Advice During Pandemic

In July, AAPA hosted a Huddle “Ask Me” session that featured four experts advising PAs on various career scenarios during COVID-19. Read advice from Jennifer Hohman, PA Career Coach; Folusho Ogunfiditimi, DM, MPH, PA-C DFAAPA; Melinda Gottschalk, MPAS, PA-C, DFAAPA; and Andrea Lowe, MHA, PA-C.

How to Stay on Track in PA School During a Global Pandemic

Kristopher Maday, MS, PA-C, DFAAPA, a PA program director in Tennessee, addresses some difficult truths that PA students should consider in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. He shares his tips for both current and prospective students, as well as his own faculty perspective.

AAPA Congratulates JAAPA’s New Editor-in-Chief Rick Dehn

The Journal of the American Academy of Physician Assistants (JAAPA) has appointed Richard W. Dehn, MPA, PA-C, DFAAPA, as Editor-in-Chief. A nationally recognized PA scholar and educator, Dehn stepped into his new role on July 1.

Advocating for Health Equity: PA Focuses Work on HIV and LGBT Health

Tonia Poteat, Tonia Poteat, PhD, MPH, PA-C, DFAAPA, has always had a goal: to provide care to people living with HIV. Find out more about Poteat’s path to her current role at UNC Chapel Hill, and how she’s using her work to fight health disparities.

Five Things You Should Know From an Addiction Medicine PA

James Anderson, PA-C, MPAS, DFAAPA, shared his key insights about opioid-use disorder in a Huddle “Ask Me” session on AAPA’s members-only community.

Getting Ahead of Burnout: Experts Share Tips for Provider Well-Being

Huddle’s latest Ask Me session on burnout and clinician wellness enlisted experts Eric Tetzlaff, PA-C, DFAAPA, and Susan Kopynec, MPAS, PA-C Emeritus, DFAAPA, to offer up-to-date information and tips for providers to maintain their well-being and avoid burnout.

Giving Back and Lifelong Learning: A Distinguished Fellow’s Perspective

Heather Asher Prince, CCRP, MPA, PA-C, DFAAPA, works in clinical research and education at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and was awarded the Distinguished Fellow distinction in 2018. Here, she shares her thoughts on community service and lifelong learning.

How to Find Your Voice at the Leadership Table

Looking for ways to ensure that your voice is heard at the leadership table? Alisha T. DeTroye, MMS, PA-C, DFAAPA, director of PA Services at Wake Forest Baptist Health and president-elect of North Carolina Academy of PAs, shares her tips.

Long-Time PA Leader Josanne Pagel Shares Motivations and Career Journey

Josanne Pagel, MPAS, PA-C, DFAAPA, AAPA past president, recently shared her thoughts about her career journey with AAPA’s Andrea Lowe, MHA, PA-C. Pagel reflects on everything from her days in the Peace Corps to her current role at the Cleveland Clinic.

Maureen Regan: From Clinical Provider to Healthcare Exec

PA and Distinguished Fellow Maureen Regan’s career path from clinical provider to healthcare executive might be summed up in seven words: “I was never afraid to change gears.” After taking her first position as a surgical PA, Regan moved on to positions in academic medicine, hospital operations, and ambulatory surgery, all while raising five children.

PA Krisi Gindlesperger’s Path to Leadership

How a PA climbed the leadership ladder, learned the business of medicine, and became a major player in the industry – Krisi Gindlesperger, PA-C, DFAAPA, shares her inspiring PA career path.

PA Susann Galloway: Determined, Devoted, and Distinguished

Susann Galloway, PA-C, DFAAPA, has been advancing the PA profession since she graduated from PA school in 1994. A career educator, PA advocate, and healthcare professional, she recently became an AAPA Distinguished Fellow.

Phyllis Peterson Contributes to Clinical Support for Serious Mental Illness

As awareness of the need to support patients with serious mental illness (SMI) has increased, so has AAPA’s participation in initiatives to help address the issue. Phyllis R. Peterson, MPAS, PA-C, DFAAPA represents AAPA on the advisory board of SMI Adviser.

Point-of-Care Ultrasound Diagnostic Tool Use on the Rise

In 2005, while serving in Afghanistan, Jonathan Monti, DSc, PA-C, RDMS, DFAAPA, used a point-of-care ultrasound to conduct a survey on a semi-conscious soldier. Monti saw blood gathered around the soldier’s heart and shrapnel in his chest. The soldier received appropriate medical treatment, and Monti’s outlook on ultrasound forever changed.

Sixtus Atabong, PA-C, Leads Others to Help Underserved Communities Around the World

Growing up in a remote area of Cameroon in West Africa and raised by parents who were humble cocoa farmers, Sixtus Atabong, PA-C, DFAAPA, knew achieving his goals of someday practicing medicine would be extremely difficult.

Take Time for Your Patients and Yourself

Jay Somers, MA, PA-C, DFAAPA, is an accomplished PA leader and owner of an outpatient psychiatric practice in Las Vegas. He recently sat down to host a Huddle Ask Me Session on mental health and answered questions about this important medical field.

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You’ve Got This: Become a Distinguished Fellow
Distinguished Fellow Program
How to Apply for AAPA’s Distinguished Fellow Designation

 

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