{"id":28603,"date":"2025-11-11T01:20:46","date_gmt":"2025-11-11T01:20:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/familymedicine.uw.edu\/medex\/?p=28603"},"modified":"2025-11-11T20:36:35","modified_gmt":"2025-11-11T20:36:35","slug":"the-call-to-serve-by-nicholas-stanton","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/familymedicine.uw.edu\/medex\/magazine\/2025\/11\/11\/the-call-to-serve-by-nicholas-stanton\/","title":{"rendered":"The Call To Serve &#8211; By Nicholas Stanton"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"lead\"><em>In recognition of Veterans Day 2025, we asked Nicholas Stanton, a recent graduate of MEDEX Northwest Seattle Class 57 and a U.S. Air Force veteran, to share some thoughts on his work as chair of the Washington Academy of PAs (WAPA) Veteran\u2019s Committee.<\/em><\/p>\n<div class=\"text-center\"><div class=\"is-divider divider clearfix\" style=\"max-width:1000px;background-color:#191b1f;\"><\/div><\/div>\n\n\t<div id=\"gap-161271864\" class=\"gap-element clearfix\" style=\"display:block; height:auto;\">\n\t\t\n<style>\n#gap-161271864 {\n  padding-top: 30px;\n}\n<\/style>\n\t<\/div>\n\t\n\n<h2 class=\"uppercase\" style=\"text-align: center\"><strong>The Call to Serve<\/strong><\/h2>\n<h3 class=\"thin-font\" style=\"text-align: center\">By Nicholas Stanton<\/h3>\n\t<div id=\"gap-890465391\" class=\"gap-element clearfix\" style=\"display:block; height:auto;\">\n\t\t\n<style>\n#gap-890465391 {\n  padding-top: 15px;\n}\n<\/style>\n\t<\/div>\n\t\n\n<p>Walking into the colossal Capitol building in Washington, D.C. to meet with senators and representatives was an entirely new experience for me, especially considering that the previous decade of my life revolved around responding to natural disasters and jumping out of helicopters in war zones around the world. I had traded in my camouflage for a new suit and a new mission\u2014that of a newly graduated physician assistant (PA) from UW, working to make an impact on a different scale. No longer armed with a rifle and a med kit, but instead a list of bills and laws we wanted passed for the benefit of other Americans.<\/p>\n<p>I joined the Air Force in 2013 to become a Pararescueman, capable of saving lives anywhere or anytime. The legacy of Pararescue spans almost a century. It has recorded thousands of saves around the world and even sacrificed some of its own so that others may live. Its history began in the crucible of war, not long before the PA profession, and both with similar backgrounds. Wanting to continue the path I started over a decade ago, I recently attended and completed the MEDEX Northwest PA program in Seattle. After serving as the student representative to the Washington Academy of PAs (WAPA), I became the chair of the WAPA Veteran\u2019s committee, which I\u2019m currently working to build back up. I was also awarded a trip to attend the American Academy of PAs (AAPA) September 2025 Leadership and Advocacy Summit in Washington, D.C., funded by donations from generous WAPA members.<\/p>\n<p>While there, I learned from lobbyists and high-ranking leaders of government programs about how best to engage with lawmakers for their backing on our bills. Our goal was twofold: advocating for patients to receive more access to medical care and unifying as one group for one cause. In a way, it felt warmly familiar\u2014like being back in the military. I came to understand more that the same spirit of wanting to aid others exists in the PA community\u2014just as within Pararescue\u2014and that the American spirit is about wanting to help others in the pursuit of happiness and healing, no matter their political beliefs. I came away from D.C. asking myself, in the spirit of JFK, what can I do for my country?<\/p>\n<div id=\"amw_galleria_slideshow_1\" class=\"amw-galleria-slideshow\"><\/div>\n<script type=\"text\/javascript\">jQuery(document).ready(function(){ jQuery(\"#amw_galleria_slideshow_1\").galleria({\"dataSource\":[{\"image\":\"https:\\\/\\\/familymedicine.uw.edu\\\/medex\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/3\\\/2025\\\/11\\\/Stanton-Pararescue-1-1024x679.jpg\",\"big\":\"https:\\\/\\\/familymedicine.uw.edu\\\/medex\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/3\\\/2025\\\/11\\\/Stanton-Pararescue-1-1024x679.jpg\",\"thumb\":\"https:\\\/\\\/familymedicine.uw.edu\\\/medex\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/3\\\/2025\\\/11\\\/Stanton-Pararescue-1-150x150.jpg\",\"title\":\"\",\"description\":\"Pararescueman (PJ) Stanton\",\"altTag\":\"pararescueman in a field with helicopters\"},{\"image\":\"https:\\\/\\\/familymedicine.uw.edu\\\/medex\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/3\\\/2025\\\/11\\\/Stanton-with-colleagues-in-DC-1024x768.jpg\",\"big\":\"https:\\\/\\\/familymedicine.uw.edu\\\/medex\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/3\\\/2025\\\/11\\\/Stanton-with-colleagues-in-DC-1024x768.jpg\",\"thumb\":\"https:\\\/\\\/familymedicine.uw.edu\\\/medex\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/3\\\/2025\\\/11\\\/Stanton-with-colleagues-in-DC-150x150.jpg\",\"title\":\"\",\"description\":\"Stanton with colleagues outside Sen. Patty Murray&#8217;s office in Washington, D.C.\",\"altTag\":\"A group of colleagues smiling outside of Sen. Patty Murray's office in Washington, D.C.\"},{\"image\":\"https:\\\/\\\/familymedicine.uw.edu\\\/medex\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/3\\\/2025\\\/11\\\/Stanton-with-family-in-DC-768x1024.jpg\",\"big\":\"https:\\\/\\\/familymedicine.uw.edu\\\/medex\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/3\\\/2025\\\/11\\\/Stanton-with-family-in-DC-768x1024.jpg\",\"thumb\":\"https:\\\/\\\/familymedicine.uw.edu\\\/medex\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/3\\\/2025\\\/11\\\/Stanton-with-family-in-DC-150x150.jpg\",\"title\":\"\",\"description\":\"The Stanton family in Washington, D.C.\",\"altTag\":\"couple smiling with baby in front of U.S. Capitol building\"},{\"image\":\"https:\\\/\\\/familymedicine.uw.edu\\\/medex\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/3\\\/2025\\\/11\\\/Stanton-with-MEDEX-faculty-and-fellow-students-1024x569.jpg\",\"big\":\"https:\\\/\\\/familymedicine.uw.edu\\\/medex\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/3\\\/2025\\\/11\\\/Stanton-with-MEDEX-faculty-and-fellow-students-1024x569.jpg\",\"thumb\":\"https:\\\/\\\/familymedicine.uw.edu\\\/medex\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/3\\\/2025\\\/11\\\/Stanton-with-MEDEX-faculty-and-fellow-students-150x150.jpg\",\"title\":\"\",\"description\":\"Stanton (L, standing) with MEDEX faculty and fellow students at WAPA\\\/OSPA Joint Spring Conference\",\"altTag\":\"Group photo near MEDEX display table at a conference\"},{\"image\":\"https:\\\/\\\/familymedicine.uw.edu\\\/medex\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/3\\\/2025\\\/11\\\/Stanton-in-the-OR-1024x768.jpg\",\"big\":\"https:\\\/\\\/familymedicine.uw.edu\\\/medex\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/3\\\/2025\\\/11\\\/Stanton-in-the-OR-1024x768.jpg\",\"thumb\":\"https:\\\/\\\/familymedicine.uw.edu\\\/medex\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/3\\\/2025\\\/11\\\/Stanton-in-the-OR-150x150.jpg\",\"title\":\"\",\"description\":\"Stanton in the OR\",\"altTag\":\"PA in surgical attire in operating room\"},{\"image\":\"https:\\\/\\\/familymedicine.uw.edu\\\/medex\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/3\\\/2025\\\/11\\\/Stanton-at-Husky-Stadium-796x1024.jpg\",\"big\":\"https:\\\/\\\/familymedicine.uw.edu\\\/medex\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/3\\\/2025\\\/11\\\/Stanton-at-Husky-Stadium-796x1024.jpg\",\"thumb\":\"https:\\\/\\\/familymedicine.uw.edu\\\/medex\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/3\\\/2025\\\/11\\\/Stanton-at-Husky-Stadium-150x150.jpg\",\"title\":\"\",\"description\":\"Stanton in front of Husky Stadium\",\"altTag\":\"smiling PA with white coat next to husky statue in front of Husky Stadium\"}],\"width\":\"auto\",\"height\":0.76,\"autoplay\":false,\"transition\":\"slide\",\"initialTransition\":\"fade\",\"transitionSpeed\":0,\"_delayTime\":4000,\"_hideControls\":false,\"_thumbnailMode\":\"grid\",\"_captionMode\":\"on_expand\"}); });<\/script>\n\n\t<div id=\"gap-609703312\" class=\"gap-element clearfix\" style=\"display:block; height:auto;\">\n\t\t\n<style>\n#gap-609703312 {\n  padding-top: 15px;\n}\n<\/style>\n\t<\/div>\n\t\n\n<p>Building a community of PA Veterans with WAPA was the answer. We\u2019re creating a hub for PA Veterans to connect and come together for a variety of reasons ranging from mentoring the newest generation of PA Vets to lobbying for expanded patient care, such as during the upcoming PA Day on the Hill in Olympia on February 13th, 2026. Already, I\u2019ve realized that while graduation may be over, if we want to continue making a difference, the work continues.<\/p>\n<p>So, for me, Veterans Day isn\u2019t only a time to reflect on past service, it\u2019s a reminder that service doesn\u2019t end when the uniform gets hung up. I\u2019ve been welcomed into a new community with the same spirit as Pararescue\u2014one exemplifying that no matter the uniform we wear or the political party we support, we are all united by a belief in a better tomorrow and the willingness to work together for that goal. It is what makes us uniquely American.<\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019re a PA Veteran or know someone who is, please reach out to get involved and help build our legacy. Contact me, Nicholas Stanton, at stantonpj28@gmail.com<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In recognition of Veterans Day 2025, Nicholas Stanton, a recent graduate of MEDEX Northwest Seattle Class 57 and a U.S. Air Force veteran, shares thoughts on his work as chair of the Washington Academy of PAs (WAPA) Veteran\u2019s Committee.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":265,"featured_media":28635,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20,22],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28603","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-medex-stories","category-veterans"],"cp_meta_data":{"_edit_lock":["1772745635:1"],"_thumbnail_id":["28635"],"_edit_last":["265"]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/familymedicine.uw.edu\/medex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28603","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/familymedicine.uw.edu\/medex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/familymedicine.uw.edu\/medex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/familymedicine.uw.edu\/medex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/265"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/familymedicine.uw.edu\/medex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28603"}],"version-history":[{"count":21,"href":"https:\/\/familymedicine.uw.edu\/medex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28603\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28634,"href":"https:\/\/familymedicine.uw.edu\/medex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28603\/revisions\/28634"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/familymedicine.uw.edu\/medex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28635"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/familymedicine.uw.edu\/medex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28603"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/familymedicine.uw.edu\/medex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28603"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/familymedicine.uw.edu\/medex\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28603"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}