Multiply My Hands: The Life of Dr. Richard Smith

A MEDEX Magazine Series

Chapter Six: The MEDEX Idea

The clink of coffee cups and the buzz of murmured conversations filled the executive dining room of the Public Health Service in Washington D.C. as Richard Smith sat deep in thought, sketching ideas on a napkin. The word “MEDEX” emerged from among his notes, a term he had coined recently to capture a concept he had been refining for years.

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Featured Stories

African American leaders march down Jefferson Street at the head of a group of 3,000 demonstrators April 19, 1960, and head toward City Hall on the day of the Z. Alexander Looby bombing. In the first row are the Rev. C.T. Vivian, left, Diane Nash of Fisk University, and Bernard Lafayette of American Baptist Seminary. In the second row are Kenneth Frazier and Curtis Murphy of Tennessee A&I, and Rodney Powell of Meharry. In the third row is the Rev. James Lawson, one of the advisors to the students. Jack Corn / File / The Tennessean
MLK Day: Honoring Richard Smith and Rodney Powell’s Healthcare Legacy

“Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?'” When Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. posed this challenge in Montgomery, Alabama in 1957, he called for dedicated service to humanity. This spirit of [...]

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Carrie Beebout and young children and women in front of a tank in Iraq
You Have to Be All In – An Interview with Dr. Carrie Beebout

In anticipation of Veterans Day 2024, we sat down with new MEDEX Kona faculty member and Distant Campus Coordinator, Carrie Beebout, PsyD, MPAS, PA-C, to learn about and glean some wisdom from her multifaceted life as an [...]

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Remembering Dr. Tim Evans: MEDEX Colleague and Friend

We’re taking time here at MEDEX Northwest to remember with fondness and gratitude our longtime colleague and friend Tim Evans, MD, Ph.D., FACP, who passed away in Seattle on September 3, 2024 at the age of 77.

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Didactic Experience

PA Week 2023 at MEDEX Northwest

The idea behind National PA Week, which is held every year from Oct. 6 – 12, is to recognize the PA profession and its contributions to the team sport that is U.S. healthcare. By all accounts, this year’s 2023 edition held by the five [...]

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Volunteerism at MEDEX Northwest

For a good number of MEDEX Northwest students, volunteerism proved to be the best way to acknowledge PA Week 2022 (October 6-12) and to celebrate the profession they are focused on joining. Here are some photos and reports on their efforts to make a [...]

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You Are Crushing It.

When the first case of COVID-19 case was discovered at the University of Washington, MEDEX moved all courses to remote learning on March 30, 2020. The MEDEX didactic faculty was able to respond immediately with their reimagined plan for PA education, utilizing recorded lectures, [...]

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Clinical Experience

A Challenging Year to be a PA Student

Joesie Bowdish of MEDEX Seattle Class 52 saw her clinical year begin near the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, there was a disruption in the school year as MEDEX Northwest and all PA programs worked to develop [...]

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Providing Joy in Medicine

Emily Storesund believes there’s far too little joy in medicine. Her years working as a nursing assistant in various healthcare settings have led her to this conclusion. Now in her clinical year as a member of MEDEX Seattle Class 52, [...]

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Finding Your Place as Part of a Team

A former researcher in late stage cancer for Seattle Cancer Care Alliance, Hiep Nguyen has embarked on his second year in PA education at MEDEX. He’s building on a strong foundation of patient care and social activism to hone his [...]

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Historical

Photo of people marching with signs urging hospitals to desegregate.
Dr. Richard Smith and the Call to Desegregate the Nation’s Hospitals

In recognition of Black History Month 2025, this excerpt from The People Collector: The Life of Dr. Richard A. Smith, the first complete telling of his life and times, follows Smith as he takes on the challenge of desegregating the [...]

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African American leaders march down Jefferson Street at the head of a group of 3,000 demonstrators April 19, 1960, and head toward City Hall on the day of the Z. Alexander Looby bombing. In the first row are the Rev. C.T. Vivian, left, Diane Nash of Fisk University, and Bernard Lafayette of American Baptist Seminary. In the second row are Kenneth Frazier and Curtis Murphy of Tennessee A&I, and Rodney Powell of Meharry. In the third row is the Rev. James Lawson, one of the advisors to the students. Jack Corn / File / The Tennessean
MLK Day: Honoring Richard Smith and Rodney Powell’s Healthcare Legacy

“Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?'” When Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. posed this challenge in Montgomery, Alabama in 1957, he called for dedicated service to humanity. This spirit of service would find [...]

Read More
Photo of a chocolate dessert
Celebrating Dr. Richard Smith’s Birthday: A Sweet Legacy of Health Care Innovation and Chocolate Mousse

October 13 marks MEDEX Northwest founder Dr. Richard Smith’s birthday. If given the choice, we’re certain he’d skip the birthday cake and dive right into a rich, velvety mousse au chocolat.

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Veterans

Remembering MEDEX Tacoma Class 6 Graduate Sarah Clark, PA-C

Word has only just reached us that First Lieutenant Sarah Clark, PA-C, a 2020 graduate of MEDEX Northwest’s Tacoma Class 6, passed away unexpectedly on April 17, 2025.

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Kelly Willett – Veterans Caucus Scholar

MEDEX is pleased to announce that during the American Academy of Physician Associates (AAPA) annual conference on Monday, May 19th, Kelly Willett of Anchorage Class 16 was awarded the 2025 Veterans Caucus Society of Air Force Physician Assistants Scholarship during the [...]

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Carrie Beebout and young children and women in front of a tank in Iraq
You Have to Be All In – An Interview with Dr. Carrie Beebout

In anticipation of Veterans Day 2024, we sat down with new MEDEX Kona faculty member and Distant Campus Coordinator, Carrie Beebout, PsyD, MPAS, PA-C, to learn about and glean some wisdom from her multifaceted life as an experienced PA educator and [...]

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