{"id":12239,"date":"2018-07-18T10:47:52","date_gmt":"2018-07-18T17:47:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/medex\/?p=12239"},"modified":"2022-03-18T23:10:40","modified_gmt":"2022-03-18T23:10:40","slug":"something-we-live-and-breathe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/familymedicine.uw.edu\/test\/something-we-live-and-breathe\/","title":{"rendered":"Something We Live and Breathe"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<span class=\"dropcap\">E<\/span><strong><span style=\"font-size: 18pt\">ach summer, MEDEX Northwest welcomes&nbsp;<\/span><\/strong>its incoming class to the physician assistant education program. Students from all four sites\u2014Seattle, Spokane, Tacoma and Anchorage\u2014converge on the University of Washington campus in Seattle for six weeks of instruction and bonding before they go to their separate sites for the remainder of the year.\n\nOf course, they all had been working their online Anatomy &amp; Physiology course since March, but July 2<sup>nd<\/sup> 2018 was the first time the 135 students came together under one roof. There is a rush of excitement as the individuals collected their information packets and changed into their purple MEDEX t-shirts, then took their seats in the auditorium for Day 1 Orientation.\n\nFounded fifty years ago by an African American MD, Dr. Richard A. Smith, MEDEX Northwest has a long history of recruiting a diverse set of student candidates to its program. But this year is a new milestone. Fully 31.9% of the 2018 incoming students are racial minorities.\n\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"MEDEX Northwest Day One 2018\" width=\"1020\" height=\"574\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/lvKECRN2yxQ?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n\nMEDEX Program Director Terry Scott, MPA, PA-C, DFAAPA, believes this is critical for the future of healthcare delivery in the U.S.\n\n\u201cAs our nation becomes more diverse, it&#8217;s important for us to have providers who look like and are from the communities in which they serve,\u201d he says. \u201cMy hope that this is just the beginning, because I think that we should continue to recruit a diverse set of candidates to our program.\u201d\n\nWhat\u2019s so impressive is that MEDEX achieved this without any federal or state funds.\n\n\u201cWe did this in an environment prohibiting the use of race and other characteristics in the admissions process,\u201d adds Scott. \u201cInstitutions receive millions of dollars in grants with the agreement to pursue diversity initiatives, and they don\u2019t get these results.\u201d\n\nScott contends that diversity should be a cause.\n\n\u201cIn reality, we should be doing this because it\u2019s the right thing to do,\u201d he adds. \u201cIt\u2019s our commitment to diversity and inclusion that has resulted in these numbers. We actually have it as a value.\u201d\n\nHe\u2019s also quick to add that these numbers didn\u2019t happen overnight.\n\n\u201cI think it\u2019s something that candidates to our program recognize, seek out and appreciate. Individuals find us because we have visibility in these areas. We\u2019re not just giving lip service. This is something we live and breathe.\u201d\n<div>[smartslider3 slider=171]<\/div>\nTo begin, Terry Scott is one of the few African American PA program directors in the country, as well as one of the few African American program directors within the UW School of Medicine. He\u2019s quick to attribute responsibility elsewhere, too.\n\n\u201cThe attempts by our Admissions Team to reach out into communities and identify strategic areas of focus are key. Our website demonstrates the diversity of our faculty. MEDEX Magazine and our videos tell the unique stories of our students. All this took several years to bear fruit.\u201d\n\nFrom the start, MEDEX was founded as a way to bring medically trained military veterans into public sector healthcare jobs. And today, veterans play an important part in MEDEX\u2014faculty, staff and students. 19 percent of the 2018 incoming students are military.\n\n\u201cThis is another important piece for us because our veterans deserve an opportunity to come back and have a better-than-living-wage job opportunity,\u201d says Scott. \u201cThat&#8217;s what this program and the PA profession affords.\u201d\n\nTerry Scott wants those who are considering PA education to sit back and ask, \u201cWhat kind of program do I want to apply to? Do I want one with values similar to my own? Can I see people that look like me? Do they have stories that I can relate to?\u201d\n\n\u201cWhen that happens, it\u2019s a beautiful thing to observe,\u201d he says.\n<div>[smartslider3 slider=172]<\/div>\n&nbsp;\n\nWe\u2019d like to share some of the unique personal stories from a handful of students comprising the incoming MEDEX Class of 2018.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-size: 18pt\"><strong>Lauren Trew<\/strong> \u2013 Spokane Class 22<\/span>\n\n<a href=\"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/Lauren-Trew-Spok-22.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-12246 size-thumbnail\" src=\"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/Lauren-Trew-Spok-22-167x250.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"167\" height=\"250\"><\/a>Lauren Trew admits that her path to medicine is a convoluted one.\n\nShe received her undergraduate and master\u2019s degrees in music, and worked initially as a music educator for the Seattle Symphony, and then as a music librarian for the Alabama Symphony in Birmingham, AL. She also plays woodwinds and sings.\n\n\u201cWhen I worked in music full time, I realized it took some of the joy out of music,\u201d she tells us. \u201cI didn&#8217;t feel like I was doing anything extraordinary or unique.\u201d\n\nAnd so, Lauren came back to hometown Seattle, and looked at what other options were out there. She learned about medical assisting and dipped her toes in the water. \u201cI got my medical assisting certificate and tried that out, and then learned more about other roles in medicine.\u201d\n\n<figure id=\"attachment_12264\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-12264\" style=\"width: 188px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/Foghorns.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12264 size-thumbnail\" src=\"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/Foghorns-188x250.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"188\" height=\"250\"><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-12264\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Lauren playing bass clarinet with the band The Foghorns.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\nAs an MA at the University of Washington Medical Center, Lauren worked with PAs and nurse practitioners, and decided to become a medical provider in that same capacity. From there it was a matter of pursuing the necessary prerequisites, and applying to MEDEX.\n\nInitially a candidate for the MEDEX Seattle cohort, Lauren finally placed with Spokane Class 22. \u201cI&#8217;m not dead set on coming back to Seattle necessarily, but I love the area,\u201d she tells us. \u201cI&#8217;ve had some amazing experiences working with the LGBT community, especially with transgender patients. I&#8217;ve had the opportunity to work with some primary care providers who are really addressing the concerns of that community at a higher level. And it&#8217;s good to see the progress there. I think I&#8217;d like to be a part of that and help out those folks because they do have different needs than your average patient.\u201d\n\nAs a musician and trained singer, we wonder if Lauren can be counted on to lead her class in show tunes.\n\n\u201cOh, dear. Is that a test that we have? Because I&#8217;ll definitely ace that one.\u201d\n\n<figure id=\"attachment_12263\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-12263\" style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/Fleming.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12263 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/Fleming.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\"><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-12263\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Lauren belts out a song as Miss Fleming in a local production of &#8220;Heathers the Musical&#8221;.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-size: 18pt\"><strong>Hiep Nguyen<\/strong> \u2013 Seattle Class 52<\/span>\n\n<a href=\"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/Hiep-Nguyen-Sea-52.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-12243\" src=\"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/Hiep-Nguyen-Sea-52-167x250.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"167\" height=\"250\"><\/a>\u201cOn this, my first day, my impression is \u2026 I\u2019m loving it,\u201d say Hiep Nguyen. Looking around the crowd of 135 new incoming PA students, he\u2019s positively gushing. \u201cEverybody here feels like they want to be here. They&#8217;re happy, smiling and excited. It makes me excited too. It&#8217;s not just about the program, it&#8217;s about the people that are going to be my family for the next two years.\u201d\n\nIt\u2019s clear that Hiep is destined to become something of a cheerleader for his class. He\u2019s brimming with enthusiasm and positive energy.\n\n\u201cYeah, I have a big heart even though I\u2019m a small guy. I love working with the homeless community. I actually just came back from a mission trip to LA. It&#8217;s the densest area for homelessness. There are tons of organizations that help them, but not necessarily enough hands to work with the homeless community down there. So, I went down there, took a bunch of high school kids with me, and we just served in whatever way was needed.\u201d\n\n<figure id=\"attachment_12262\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-12262\" style=\"width: 450px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/Hiep-Nguyen-working-with-the-homeless-in-LA.JPG.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12262 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/Hiep-Nguyen-working-with-the-homeless-in-LA.JPG-450x600.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"450\" height=\"600\"><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-12262\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Hiep Nguyen (center) working with the homeless community in Los Angeles.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\nHiep took the youth into the streets, talked to people, gave them their time and food. \u201cWe served 3,000 meals,\u201d he says. \u201cWe talked and smiled, telling them that they matter and are important. Even though there was some negativity, a smile goes a long way. It was really fun.\u201d\n\nPrior to entering the MEDEX program, Hiep did five years of clinical research right here at the University of Washington with a focus on prostate and bladder cancer research.\n\n\u201cI work with the patients across the different departments that are involved in new therapies, like ophthalmology and radiology,\u201d he explains. \u201cI&#8217;m the center of the spider web making sure that patients get treated not only for their cancer, but are involved with the research too.\u201d\n\nHiep splits his time between the Prostate Oncology Clinic over at the UWMC surgery pavilion and the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance. \u201cThat&#8217;s where we see most of our patients,\u201d he explains. His five years of medical experiences have had him working in clinical settings with patients and following around doctors, PAs and nurses.\n\nWe wonder if his future as a physician assistant lies in oncology.\n\n\u201cWell, I do have a bias towards oncology because I know the terminologies,\u201d he says. \u201cI know what these patients are like. But I kind of want to expand my horizon a little bit. Maybe one day I&#8217;ll return to oncology. I&#8217;m just really open about all the possibilities out there and I&#8217;m really excited to learn a lot.\u201d\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-size: 18pt\"><strong>Kusuma Ayithepalli<\/strong> \u2013 Tacoma Class 6<\/span>\n\n<a href=\"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/Kusuma-Ayithepalli-Tac-6.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-thumbnail wp-image-12245\" src=\"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/Kusuma-Ayithepalli-Tac-6-167x250.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"167\" height=\"250\"><\/a>Entering into a career in the US healthcare system is challenging enough for someone who is native born. It\u2019s much more so for someone educated in a system outside this country. For International Medical Graduates (IMGs), there is the USMLE, or US Medical Licensing Examination, in order to determine equivalency and the educational path forward. The process is complicated, which is why some IMGs turn to the accelerated pathway of PA education.\n\nKusuma Ayithepalli started her post-graduate education as a junior resident in India, wishing to become OB\/GYN physician in her native India. But she got married and followed her husband to the US for his work.\n\n\u201cI came over here, and it was very new,\u201d she tells us. \u201cI hadn\u2019t planned on coming here before. It took me a year to become acquainted with the US system and to plan my career.\u201d\n\nTwo children soon followed.\n\nKusuma started preparing for the USMLE and Medical Boards. She took on a residency rotation for the experience and to learn how the United States healthcare system works. Halfway through that rotation she met a physician assistant on duty.\n\n\u201cIn India there are no PA programs. So, I was really interested and started exploring more about the PA program. I decided that this would be a better fit for me to achieve my dream.\u201d\n\nAt that point, Kusuma began focusing on what to do next. Her educational counselor at Edmonds Community College directed her toward the necessary prerequisites, and she attended a MEDEX information session.\n\nIn order to gain the requisite patient hours for admission to a PA program, Kusuma went ahead and received several medical certifications\u2014as a lab assistant, in phlebotomy, a nursing assistant and an EKG technician.&nbsp; \u201cI did all that is needed for the PA program, and then I started applying for the programs.\u201d\n\nWhile in the process of completing her US Equivalency Boards, she realized that most of the opportunities for IMGs were focused on the East Coast of the United States. \u201cThere is some kind of percentage for acceptance\u201d she tells us. \u201cThere are more opportunities and programs there compared to Washington State. I couldn\u2019t go to the East Coast leaving my two kids and family here.\u201d\n\nNow a part of the Tacoma 6 cohort, Kusuma can look ahead past her graduation in August of 2020.\n\n\u201cI imagine myself practicing in primary care,\u201d she says. \u201cI like interacting and being an advocate for people, and the PA program offers a good scope of practice and flexibility. I really like the program. I might go into like GI or cardiology later on. Those are my two areas of interest.\u201d\n\nBut not back to OBGYN, we ask?\n\n\u201cOBGYN, no,\u201d she replies. \u201cIt\u2019s been a tough journey, but I made it.\u201d\n\n<a href=\"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/FamilyPic_Kusuma-Ayithepalli.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-12272\" src=\"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/FamilyPic_Kusuma-Ayithepalli.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1200\" height=\"900\"><\/a>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-size: 18pt\"><strong>Mikayla DeSoto<\/strong> \u2013 Anchorage Class 10<\/span>\n\n<a href=\"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/Mikayla-DeSoto-Anch-10.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-12248\" src=\"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/Mikayla-DeSoto-Anch-10-167x250.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"167\" height=\"250\"><\/a>A native of Naknek, Mikayla DeSoto may come from the smallest community among her entire Alaskan cohort. \u201cWikipedia puts the population at about a thousand,\u201d she says. \u201cPersonally, I feel it\u2019s less.\u201d She\u2019s also well aware of the healthcare challenges posed to people in the remote areas of Alaska.\n\n\u201cMany are afraid to go to clinic because they\u2019ve had bad experiences,\u201d she says. In a land of itinerant healthcare workers, Mikayla feels like it\u2019s difficult to build long term relationships with providers. Sometimes people will avoid care altogether because they think they\u2019re not sick enough or are incurable.\n\n<figure id=\"attachment_12361\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-12361\" style=\"width: 250px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/Mykela1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12361 size-thumbnail\" src=\"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/Mykela1-250x250.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"250\" height=\"250\"><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-12361\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mikayla traveled to the Xunantunich Mayan ruin in Belize for a tropical biology class.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\nBut Mikayla is optimistic. Her home is Naknek, and her family members reside there as well. She understands how important it is to build trust through relationships in a small community, and expects to practice as a PA in rural Alaskan villages. \u201cI would love to work for a long period of time in my community, to kind of give back for what they&#8217;ve done for me,\u201d she says. \u201cOnce that relationship is bonded, it grows and things will get better.\u201d\n\nPrior to MEDEX, Mikayla worked as a medical assistant at <em>Camai Community Health Center<\/em> in Naknek. Originally focused on the nursing pathway, she found it highly competitive. \u201cIf you didn\u2019t get 100 on your tests or 4.0, you were unlikely to get in. I didn\u2019t have a bad GPA. But here at MEDEX, they want to know who you are and if you can rise to the occasion. I\u2019m very excited for the things to come.\u201d\n<div>[smartslider3 slider=173]<\/div>\n<span style=\"font-size: 18pt\"><strong>Gavin Dawson<\/strong> \u2013 Spokane Class 22<\/span>\n\n<a href=\"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/Gavin-Dawson-Spok-22.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-thumbnail wp-image-12242\" src=\"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/Gavin-Dawson-Spok-22-167x250.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"167\" height=\"250\"><\/a>Following his graduation from the University of Colorado, 22-year old Gavin Dawson was first exposed to physician assistants while working for <em>Wilderness Medical Associates<\/em>, a wilderness medicine training organization in SE Asia. He worked with a team of medical professionals to train individuals or companies practicing in remote and austere environments.\n\n\u201cIf something goes awry, and you&#8217;re away from the hospital,\u201d he explains, \u201cwhat can you do? Can you keep this person with a traumatic injury alive in the field, or do they need to get out now? We gave those trainings all over Southeast Asia.\u201d Wilderness Medical Associates teaches on all seven continents, in fact.\n\nSome of the most influential instructors Gavin worked with, and some of his best friends, were PAs. \u201cThey liked me because I had an integrative physiology and neuroscience background, along with the wilderness EMT component,\u201d he says.\n\nOver the course of five years at <em>Wilderness Medical Associates,<\/em> Gavin learned how to teach wilderness and emergency medicine, and make this information accessible to a variety of different populations. \u201cOur hub was based in Thailand, but we&#8217;d go to, Laos, Belize, Finland, the United States, all over, really, to train different clients.\u201d\n\n<a href=\"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/Gavin-Dawson5-copy.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-12261 size-thumbnail\" src=\"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/Gavin-Dawson5-copy-188x250.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"188\" height=\"250\"><\/a>All of this left Gavin with a deep passion for different cultures. \u201cWith traveling, one of things I\u2019ve noticed is that there are some very impoverished places throughout the world,\u201d he says. \u201cBut there are also some very impoverished places within this country as well. I feel strongly about working with that group of people and making a difference.\u201d\n\nThis all started very young. Gavin\u2019s mother was a Rolfer, a deep tissue physical therapist. \u201cI grew up in an environment where I was always exposed to healthcare,\u201d he says. \u201cHer office was in our house so, growing up, there were always people coming in and out and doing movement therapy. That seed was planted very early on.\u201d\n\nGrowing up in Colorado, the outdoors played a large part in Gavin\u2019s development. \u201cI was always going outside hiking, climbing, biking and skiing.\u201d In college, a wilderness EMT intensive course and clinical rotations in Wyoming allowed him to finally marry his passions for the outdoors and medicine.\n\nBack at University of Colorado Boulder, Gavin started working for CU Sports Medicine with a focus on student emergency medical services. Upon graduation, he moved to SE Asia to work for <em>Wilderness Medical Associates<\/em>.\n\n\u201cWilderness medicine occupied eight or nine months of the year, but winter is my happy place,\u201d Gavin tells us. \u201cUsually, I\u2019d get out of the heat and humidity, come back to Colorado in the winter and work on an ambulance, and ski.\u201d\n\nLooking ahead beyond MEDEX, Gavin imagines himself working in a low resource environment. \u201cPerhaps that\u2019s a rural town. I\u2019m still trying to figure that out.\u201d\n\nFor the moment, he\u2019s excited about his Spokane cohort.\n\n\u201cAlready, we\u2019re a really tight class,\u201d he says. \u201cWe&#8217;ve gone to a baseball game together and are studying together. I&#8217;m excited for the teamwork aspect of this. At the end of the day, medicine is a team effort.\u201d\n\n<a href=\"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/Gavin-Dawson4-copy.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-12260\" src=\"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/Gavin-Dawson4-copy.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\"><\/a>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-size: 18pt\"><strong>Penny Pukall<\/strong> \u2013 Seattle Class 52<\/span>\n\n<a href=\"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/Penny-Pukall-Sea-52.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-12249\" src=\"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/Penny-Pukall-Sea-52-167x250.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"167\" height=\"250\"><\/a>Penny Pukall was an <em>AMR<\/em> paramedic on the scene of the October 1<sup>st<\/sup> 2017 mass shooting on the Las Vegas Strip. Between 10:05 and 10:15 pm, a single gunman fired at the <em>Route 91 Harvest Music Festival<\/em>, resulting in 58 fatalities and 851 injuries.\n\n\u201cIt was chaotic,\u201d Penny says. \u201cBut it was amazing at the same time, because EMS, fire, and the hospitals\u2014we all worked together. The teamwork that night was insane. So many people came in on their day off, just came in. We literally took every single ambulance that we had at <em>AMR<\/em>, even the out-of-service ones where, say, the AC didn&#8217;t work.\u201d\n\nPenny noticed that inter-departments that usually scuffle between one another\u2014like fire and police\u2014set aside differences to work together. \u201cEven those people who weren&#8217;t EMS, they went in to help. It was crazy. <em>Uber<\/em> drivers were on standby, even though they were at the greatest risk.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s just crazy to look back at it. No one was fighting. Everyone was there to help and that was cool. It made me a better person.\u201d\n\nAt age 19, Penny moved to Las Vegas from her home in Wisconsin. \u201cI thought, where is there no snow? Which is kind of funny because my favorite thing to do in the world is snowboarding. I just didn\u2019t want to live in it.\u201d\n\n<figure id=\"attachment_12267\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-12267\" style=\"width: 250px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/Penny-Pukall-with-her-Samoyed-Molly.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-12267\" src=\"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/Penny-Pukall-with-her-Samoyed-Molly-250x167.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"250\" height=\"167\"><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-12267\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Penny Pukall with her Samoyed, Molly.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\nIn Las Vegas she discovered EMS through some friends and started working as an EMT and then a paramedic. She put in seven years with <em>AMR<\/em>. Early on, Penny discovered the limitations of her job.\n\n\u201cOn my ambulance, I have 10 things I can do,\u201d she says. \u201cIt\u2019s literally a guessing game. I can hear lung sounds and like, \u2018Okay, well, it sounds like rales, so I&#8217;m going to treat it with this,\u2019 or, \u2018You have a history of asthma? We&#8217;re going to go with this.\u2019 Still, I only have about 10 things in my ambulance to treat that patient. There&#8217;re so many more other options out there that, if I had different skills, I could do so much more.\u201d\n\nClearly, paramedic training wasn\u2019t enough for Penny. Right after paramedic school, she started working on her bachelor\u2019s degree and pre-requisites in order to qualify for PA school.\n\nPenny went to her MEDEX admissions interview two weeks after the October 1<sup>st<\/sup> Las Vegas shooting.\n\nNow in Seattle as part of Class 52, Penny is freezing. \u201cIt\u2019s so cold here,\u201d she exclaims. \u201cLas Vegas was 110 degrees when I left. Here it\u2019s 62, and I was like, \u2018Where\u2019s my jacket? Do I even <em>own<\/em> a jacket?\u2019\u201d\n\nIn order to make the move, Penny sold everything. \u201cI have a mattress and about six boxes that I fit in this tiny little <em>U-Haul<\/em>. And my Jeep, I love off-roading. I take my Jeep everywhere, and I have a dog named Molly. She&#8217;s a 90-pound big fluffy white Samoyed.\u201d\n\nLooking ahead to the future, Penny is open to whatever comes her way. \u201cIf I get a cool clinical rotation up in Alaska, I&#8217;m all for staying. I am so open right now. Vegas is cool. I have a lot of friends there and can always go visit. But if I get a really cool clinical somewhere and I fall in love, I\u2019ve sold everything so that I can go anywhere.\u201d\n\n<a href=\"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/AMR-on-the-Vegas-Strip.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-12268\" src=\"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/AMR-on-the-Vegas-Strip.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\"><\/a>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-size: 18pt\"><strong>Scott Peckenpaugh<\/strong> \u2013 Tacoma Class 6<\/span>\n\n<a href=\"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/Scott-Peckenpaugh-Tac-6.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-thumbnail wp-image-12250\" src=\"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/Scott-Peckenpaugh-Tac-6-167x250.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"167\" height=\"250\"><\/a>With almost eight years as an ER tech, and a total of 12 years in emergency medicine, Scott Peckenpaugh comes to MEDEX Northwest with well above the requisite 2,000 hours of hands-on patient contact. He started young.\n\n\u201cBy the age of 18, I got my Emergency Medical Technician certification,\u201d Scott tells us. \u201cI was affiliated with the fire department for a little while, doing EMS in the Silverdale area of Central Kitsap County.\u201d\n\nIn time he moved away from seeking a career in the fire service and started working for a private ambulance service. \u201cI was digging through patient charts, doing these inter-facility transports and really gained a deep appreciation for the puzzle that is medicine.\u201d\n\nDuring this period Scott noticed the way that PAs developed connections with their patients. \u201cThey treat their patients as a person rather than just a sprained ankle in Room 12, and I found that very unique. So, I began to self study a bit and worked myself up to the point where I realized after working as an ER tech that the PA route was the way I wanted to go. And here I am today.\u201d\n\nScott has a vision of bringing primary care to everyone, which is one reason the MEDEX Northwest program resonated with him.\n\n<figure id=\"attachment_12319\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-12319\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/Scott-Peckenpaugh4.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12319 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/Scott-Peckenpaugh4-600x450.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\"><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-12319\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Scott Penckenpaugh caring for a co-worker\u2019s child.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\u201cI was born and raised in Washington State,\u201d he says. \u201cI&#8217;m so proud that MEDEX is from my home state. I researched a lot of different PA programs, and MEDEX just aligns so closely with the idea of patient-centered care. That&#8217;s one of the reasons why I am proud to be here.\u201d\n\nScott volunteered at <em>West Sound Free Clinic<\/em> in Bremerton, WA. One of the things he noticed was that the patients were coming from the Bremerton proximity and no further. \u201cEvery day the line was 20 to 30 deep just to be seen for basic medical services that could be taken care of with preventative medicine and follow-up primary care.\u201d\n\nSo Scott began to ponder, why not take this out to the wider community, make it mobile, go where it&#8217;s needed? \u201cWe could gather information from different communities on what&#8217;s needed, coordinate the right amount of care, and network with local establishments to figure out what charitable care we can offer so that everybody can have access.\u201d\n\nClearly, Scott is a person of vision. He\u2019s even aware of the <em>MEDEX Tacoma Foot Project<\/em>, a monthly didactic student outreach project providing basic foot care and important medical referrals to the homeless community.\n\n\u201cI plan to take part in that,\u201d he says with a smile.\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-size: 18pt\"><strong>Yanet Medina Chinas<\/strong> \u2013 Anchorage Class 10<\/span>\n\n<a href=\"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/Yanet-Medina-Chinas-Anch10.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-12253\" src=\"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/Yanet-Medina-Chinas-Anch10-167x250.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"167\" height=\"250\"><\/a>A medical doctor in her native Mexico, Yanet Medina Chinas fled to the United States in 2013 due to domestic violence. After 18 months in the US, she officially received asylum. The only place she could go was Anchorage. \u201cIt\u2019s a long way, but my brother was living there.\u201d\n\nFrom 2009 to 2013 Yanet had practiced as a public medicine physician in Mexico. However, gaining the medical equivalency in the US proved difficult.\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s is a big challenge when you come to this country,\u201d she tells us. \u201cI failed at obtaining some of the equivalent credentials. I decided to quit medicine and started working as a janitor and maid.\u201d\n\nNow able to legally work, she started cleaning buildings in Anchorage. In a situation where many would have felt crushed or defeated, Yanet kept a positive mind set. &#8220;Whatever you do, you have to do it right. It didn\u2019t matter if I had to clean buildings. I set my goals to clean them better, faster, and just stay positive about what I was doing.\u201d\n\nBut as years started passed, Yanet started missing medicine.\n\n<figure id=\"attachment_12271\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-12271\" style=\"width: 450px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/Yanet-with-her-brother-and-nephew.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-12271\" src=\"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/Yanet-with-her-brother-and-nephew-450x600.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"450\" height=\"600\"><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-12271\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Yanet with her brother and nephew.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\nShe looked into the Nursing Assistant program at UAA\u2014the University of Alaska Anchorage. She thought, \u201cWell, maybe I can get a scholarship and be a nurse assistant and take blood pressure.\u201d When Yanet\u2019s advisors learned of her extensive medical background, they redirected her to the MEDEX physician assistant program.\n\nShe started reading about MEDEX and the PA profession that same afternoon.\n\n\u201cI realized this is what I want to do,\u201d she says. \u201cMEDEX was committed to public health and diversity. There were many International Medical Graduates too, and people from different backgrounds. I like this.\u201d\n\nNow a part of MEDEX Anchorage Class 10, Yanet doesn\u2019t expect the next two years to be an easy ride just because she\u2019s an International Medical Graduate (IMG). \u201cThere\u2019s still a bit of a language barrier,\u201d she says. \u201cI still have an accent, I still have to learn many words. When I express myself, I have to remember the things that I learned as a doctor in foreign country, and to learn them again in English. Of course, medical vocabulary is mostly the same, but still, I find it challenging.\u201d\n\nLike many, Yanet is distressed by the recent negative focus on immigrants to the US.\n\n\u201cI would like to say that United States is a place where immigrants can contribute, too. We come here, we work hard, we do our best. I started here as a janitor and a maid. We&#8217;re not taking opportunities from anybody. We come to contribute to this country. And I love this country.\u201d\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-size: 18pt\"><strong>Manpreet Kaur<\/strong> \u2013 Spokane Class 22<\/span>\n\n<a href=\"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/Manpreet-Kaur-Spok-22.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-thumbnail wp-image-12247\" src=\"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/Manpreet-Kaur-Spok-22-167x250.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"167\" height=\"250\"><\/a>Born in the North Indian State of Punjab, Manpreet Kaur moved to United States with her mother at age five. She grew up in the Hillyard neighborhood of Spokane, WA, working at a gas station alongside her parents.\n\n\u201cI stocked in the back and helped out with random chores around the business,\u201d she says.\n\nMost of all, she observed her father helping people, and she knew that a helping profession was in her future. \u201cI didn&#8217;t really want to work there, necessarily. I would say business isn&#8217;t the right field for me.\u201d\n\nAnother key component of Manpreet\u2019s background turned on her being sick a lot as a child.\n\n\u201cWe didn&#8217;t have any health insurance. My dad would take me to a doctor. She would help us, give us free medications, and try to figure out ways to make it cheaper for us.\u201d\n\nManpreet thought, \u201cI want to be like her.&#8221; Looking at her ID card, the \u201cdoctor\u201d turned out to be a PA. With a title to the profession, Manpreet knew the path forward. &#8220;That&#8217;s it! That&#8217;s what I want to do!&#8221;\n\n<figure id=\"attachment_12265\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-12265\" style=\"width: 250px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/Manpreet2.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12265 size-thumbnail\" src=\"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/Manpreet2-250x250.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"250\" height=\"250\"><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-12265\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Manpreet on a recent trip to India at the Golden Temple in Amritsar Punjab.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\nThere was a long way to go for Manpreet before arriving at her first day at MEDEX Northwest. Not quite understanding the path forward, she signed up for pre-med before her research led her to realize that physician assistant was an accelerated medical program. \u201cOh, this is interesting. Two years versus four years to become a provider.\u201d\n\nEven her pathway to becoming an ER Tech was unconventional. Manpreet started volunteering to learn more about medical careers. She was volunteering at the medical tent for Spokane\u2019s annual Hoopfest through Holy Family Hospital when a manager pulled her aside.\n\n\u201cI sat down to talk with her, telling her of my desire to work in the medical field,\u201d Manpreet says. \u201cThe whole time this manager is writing things down, asking me questions.\u201d\n\n\u201cWait, am I being interviewed?\u201d\n\nTurns out she was. Providence Holy Family Emergency Room hired Manpreet as an ER Tech and trained her for the job.\n\n\u201cStuff just worked out,\u201d she says with a smile.\n\nMission-driven and focused on providing care to the underserved\u2013a population she once considered herself a part of\u2013Manpreet envisions a primary care practice for herself in a rural setting.\n\n\u201cI also want to go back to India do some volunteer work in my village and the villages around there. In my lifetime I\u2019ve been back there three times now for a couple of months.\u201d\n\n<figure id=\"attachment_12266\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-12266\" style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/Manpreet3.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12266 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/Manpreet3.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\"><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-12266\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Manpreet with her father at the gas station in the Hillyard neighborhood of Spokane.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-size: 18pt\"><strong>Eric King<\/strong> \u2013 Seattle Class 52<\/span>\n\n<a href=\"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/Eric-King-Sea-52.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-12241\" src=\"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/Eric-King-Sea-52-167x250.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"167\" height=\"250\"><\/a>At age 12, Eric King watched his father become chronically ill. As a high schooler, Eric began managing his father\u2019s medications. It was at that early age that Eric knew he wanted to do something in healthcare later on in life.\n\nHe learned that pharmacy technician was something he could do right out of high school. \u201cIt came from this roundabout way of having personal experiences with my dad and later, my mom,\u201d he says. \u201cAnd I was okay at science.\u201d\n\nA pharmacist that Eric worked with held the dual credentials of PharmD and PA-C. \u201cWe were talking about what I wanted for my future, and that what I wanted wasn\u2019t necessarily found with pharmacy.\u201d Eric decided to start shadowing local physician assistants. Some of these PAs had come out of MEDEX and were working with HIV positive communities in Seattle. He decided to switch from outpatient pharmacy to inpatient, where he could see more PAs and really observe the breadth of experience and the diversity of jobs that the profession fulfills.\n\n&#8220;Wow, they&#8217;re everywhere,\u201d Eric recalls thinking, \u201cand there&#8217;s nothing they can&#8217;t do.\u201d Following these shadowing experiences, Eric knew he wanted to become a PA.\n\n<figure id=\"attachment_12257\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-12257\" style=\"width: 400px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/Eric-King2.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12257 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/Eric-King2-400x600.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"600\"><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-12257\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Eric with Senator Maria Cantwell in DC.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\nAfter seven years of working as a pharmacy tech, Eric decided to go back to school to become a PA. He started taking classes at a community college and began undergraduate research in the department of Neurological Surgery at the UWMC. When he transferred to the UW he had plans of continuing his neuro-oncology research projects and obtaining a bachelor\u2019s degree in neurobiology.\n\nA change of direction came after Eric\u2019s first quarter as a UW student.\n\n\u201cI took a medical anthropology class and was introduced to public health,\u201d he tells us. Eric switched from biology to become a public health major and received his undergraduate degree at the UW. \u201cAt that point I considered applying to PA school and then decided to continue with public health to get my master&#8217;s degree.\u201d It was the logical next step.\n\n\u201cWe look at illness and always say, \u2018Go see a doctor,\u2019 when really there are lots of upstream things we could do with public health to prevent it.\u201d\n\n<figure id=\"attachment_12256\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-12256\" style=\"width: 400px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/Eric-King1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-12256\" src=\"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/Eric-King1-400x600.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"600\"><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-12256\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">While at UW Eric studied abroad in London where he learned about their single-payer health system and discussed issues of racism and health inequity.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\nIn 2016 Eric was selected as the graduate student representative for the UW Population Health Initiative Executive Leadership Counsel, where he has helped shape the vision of this project. He believes his public health education and experiences with the Population Health Initiative will make him a better clinician. He received his MPH from the UW in June 2018.\n\nAs Eric looks ahead to his graduation from MEDEX in August of 2020, he has clear sights on the kind of work he wants to do as a PA.\n\n\u201cYou know my heart is with the LGBTQ community,\u201d he says. \u201cI really want to work with that population. That&#8217;s how I identify. I have a strong connection and passion to HIV care through my personal and professional experiences as well as my public health education. I&#8217;ve worked with the transgender community. I really see a lot of different aspects of value and opportunities for improvement, whether it be in primary care, providing cross-sex hormones, or working with youth. I love children so that might be something to explore. But I\u2019m definitely focused on the LGBTQ community, and using the skills obtained from my public health degrees for program evaluation\/implementation or the development of health policy. I don\u2019t see myself only doing clinical work.\u201d\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-size: 18pt\"><strong>Whitney Miller<\/strong> \u2013 Anchorage Class 10<\/span>\n\n<a href=\"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/Whitney-Miller-Anch-10.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-thumbnail wp-image-12252\" src=\"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/Whitney-Miller-Anch-10-167x250.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"167\" height=\"250\"><\/a>Apart from her college years in North Dakota, Whitney Miller has spent her entire life in Anchorage, Alaska. \u201cMy mom is from North Carolina. She was a military brat who followed my maternal grandfather to Joint Base Elmendorf\u2013Richardson. My dad is from Canada and got a full-ride scholarship to University of Alaska Anchorage.\u201d\n\nPAs were always a part of Whitney\u2019s life in Alaska. \u201cGrowing up, everyone I saw for my personal healthcare was a PA,\u201d she says. And a lot of them were graduates of the MEDEX Northwest program. \u201cI rarely saw a physician.\u201d Turns out this had a big impact on her decision to pursue PA as a career path for herself.\n\nFor the past three and a half years, Whitney has worked as a medical assistant at <em>Interventional Pain Clinic<\/em>, a non-opiate prescribing pain management facility. \u201cWe did a lot of the steroid injections and other alternatives to get our patients better, allowing them to keep up their normal lives.\u201d\n\nAnd then there\u2019s been her volunteer work with the <em>No One Dies Alone Program<\/em> at <em>Providence Health and Services<\/em>. This unique program is dedicated to providing caring, bedside companionship for dying patients who are alone at the end of life.\n\nTo determine her future career direction, Whitney began shadowing both PAs and physicians.\n\n\u201cHonestly, the PAs were really enjoying their time and their lives. And every time I shadowed a physician they would look at me and ask, \u2018Why are you becoming an MD? You should be a PA.\u2019 I started to look into it and realized I can do whatever I want to do as a PA, versus an MD. I don\u2019t need a title.\u201d\n\nNow at the start of her PA education, Whitney can look ahead and imagine working anywhere within the State of Alaska. \u201cIt just depends on what openings there are and what great opportunities there may be for me,\u201d she says.\n\n\u201cI definitely see the needs in those smaller communities.\u201d Whitney is referring to remote areas that are stressed by the lack of medical providers and services on hand. \u201cI&#8217;m interested in rotating through there, and seeing what life is like and where my career will take me.\u201d\n<div>[smartslider3 slider=174]<\/div>\n<span style=\"font-size: 18pt\"><strong>Tingrit Desta<\/strong> \u2013 Seattle Class 52<\/span>\n\n<a href=\"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/Tingrit-Desta-Sea-52.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-12251\" src=\"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/Tingrit-Desta-Sea-52-167x250.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"167\" height=\"250\"><\/a>Prior to moving to the United States in 2010, Tingrit Desta worked as a Health Officer (HO) in her native Ethiopia. Equivalent to a PA, the HO profession was developed decades ago by the Ethiopian government as an accelerated medicine program designed to meet the increasing medical needs of the population.\n\n\u201cI worked as a Health Officer for two and a half years, treating patients with HIV\/AIDS and TB,\u201d Tingrit tells us. Initially, HO training was available at a few universities within Ethiopia. \u201cToday the program is offered all over the country because MDs are leaving for Europe and the US. Ethiopia is so poor and they cannot pay well. So, the government invests in more training of Health Officers to treat primary care diseases like malaria.\u201d\n\nOnce in the United States, Tingrit got her certification as a Certified Nurse Assistant (CNA). During her CNA training at Seattle Community College, her advisor pushed her in the direction of PA education. \u201cI also considered MD, but since the PA program is close to what I was doing in Ethiopia, I got more interested in that. So I started taking prerequisite classes.\u201c\n\nTingrit worked for five years as a CNA at different retirement homes between New York State and Washington State. \u201cIn Ethiopia, I was working with an underserved population\u2014people with a lot of problems like HIV and economic issues,\u201d she tells us. \u201cI really enjoy helping people in need. I think that expresses me. That&#8217;s what I really enjoy doing, helping people who really need help.\u201d\n\nHer husband, Yirgalem, was a physician in Ethiopia, and their move to the States required him to study for the US Medical Licensing Examination here. He successfully passed, received his licensure and finished his residency in New York. Eventually, Tingrit and her husband moved west to Port Angeles, WA, where Yirgalem now works at a local hospital as an MD.\n\nTingrit has now relocated to Seattle to attend MEDEX. Her situation is further complicated by the fact that she and her husband have a 6-month-old child. And how do they manage this?\n\n\u201cWell, Yirgalem works every other week, so he comes to Seattle and spends time with us, then goes back to Port Angeles,\u201d Tingrit explains.\n\nAnd who\u2019s taking care of her child while she\u2019s in PA education?\n\n\u201cI have a babysitter,\u201d she says with some melancholy in her voice. \u201cThe MEDEX Orientation day was my first time away from him in six months. It was hard for me. I didn&#8217;t know it would be hard like this. But at the same time, it was a bittersweet moment because I was really excited to join the program.\u201d\n\nUltimately, Tingrit is focused on the endgame.\n\n\u201cI see myself eventually working in primary care, probably in a smaller city where I can raise my family. That\u2019s my plan.\u201d\n\n<figure id=\"attachment_12269\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-12269\" style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/Tingrit-Desta-her-husband-Yirgalem-and-their-child.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12269\" src=\"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/Tingrit-Desta-her-husband-Yirgalem-and-their-child.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1200\" height=\"800\"><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-12269\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tingrit Desta, her husband Yirgalem and their child.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n&nbsp;\n\n<span style=\"font-size: 18pt\"><strong>Brittany Miner<\/strong> \u2013 Spokane Class 22<\/span>\n\n<a href=\"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/Brittany-Miner-Spok-22.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-thumbnail wp-image-12240\" src=\"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/Brittany-Miner-Spok-22-167x250.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"167\" height=\"250\"><\/a>Brittany Miner talks about her earliest investigations into a career in the sciences. \u201cBack in elementary school, I thought I wanted to be a marine biologist and work with whales,\u201d she says. \u201cI discovered during marine camp that I didn&#8217;t like to touch dead fish very much, but I would love to work with them someday as a side hobby!\u201d\n\nPerhaps switching gears to medicine would prove more fruitful. At a medical camp at the University of Vermont, Brittany had the chance to learn from medical students and to shadow various medical professionals such as physical therapists, nurses, and doctors. \u201cI went into it thinking that physical therapy would suit me well, but I didn\u2019t get the spark that I thought I would during my shadowing time.\u201d\n\nThe only standouts were the physician assistants. \u201cThey seemed very calm and very passionate about what they were doing. The autonomy was wonderful. It seemed like a great work-life balance with a lot of options.\u201d\n\nAll of this took place before Brittany completed her sophomore year at a Vermont high school. While most people her age are concerned with their social standing in high school, Brittany was planning her future career. We wondered what was behind her drive.\n\n<figure id=\"attachment_12254\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-12254\" style=\"width: 400px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/Brittany-Scott-Miner.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-12254\" src=\"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/Brittany-Scott-Miner-400x600.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"600\"><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-12254\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Brittany &amp; Scott Miner<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\u201cFor a variety of reasons, I was forced to grow up quickly,\u201d she tells us. Working towards a prosperous career would have to come from her own motives. \u201cThe way I saw it, I had two options. I could head down a dark road, or I could put my blinders on and go full-speed ahead towards what I want. What I wanted was to truly make something of myself, so that\u2019s what I decided to do.\u201d\n\nFollowing high school, she worked as a Licensed Nurse Assistant (LNA) at various Vermont residential homes while being enrolled in school. One of her tasks was running the medication cart distributing various medications, narcotics, insulin injections, catheter and colostomy care. \u201cIt was wonderful way to start my patient care experience.\u201d\n\nAfter working at residential homes for a couple of years, Brittany felt she had stopped learning.\n\n\u201cI wanted to be more in the field,\u201d she tells us. \u201cSo, I applied as an EMT at a local ambulance service in Brattleboro, Vermont, quickly took an Advanced EMT course, and I worked there for over four years,\u201d she said. \u201cYou truly never stop learning.\u201d She also became an ER tech to assist the PAs, NPs, MDs and DOs with a wide array of task-based procedures.\n\nAll the while, Brittany was plugging away at her prerequisites for PA school and co-teaching EMT courses. She ended up getting her bachelor\u2019s degree from Southern New Hampshire University, and began the application process to PA schools.\n\n<figure id=\"attachment_12255\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-12255\" style=\"width: 479px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/Brittany-Miner-Kelsey-Kinsman.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-12255\" src=\"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/medex\/wp-content\/uploads\/Brittany-Miner-Kelsey-Kinsman-479x600.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"479\" height=\"600\"><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-12255\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Brittany Miner with friend Kelsey Kinsman.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\nShe started applying to East Coast PA programs, but the initial responses were not promising. \u201cI had several friends who were more than qualified to get into PA school, who found out their rejection was largely due to their older age and, surprisingly, their extensive patient care experience,\u201d she said, \u201cI didn\u2019t want to be a part of something that didn\u2019t emphasize the importance of diversity.\u201d\n\nFollowing her admission to MEDEX, Brittany and her husband, Scott, relocated from Vermont to Spokane for the duration of her PA education with MEDEX Spokane Class 22.&nbsp; \u201cI truly couldn&#8217;t be happier to be here,\u201d she says. \u201cEveryone I\u2019ve met has been so wonderful.\u201d Brittany explains how thankful she is for her husband, a paramedic, who has been fully supportive of her throughout this whole process.\n\nWhen Brittany starts talking about her future career as a physician assistant, her passion is contagious.\n\n\u201cI see myself going into emergency medicine as a PA,\u201d she says, \u201cbut I love the freedom of knowing that I can change gears at any point down the road. I have the freedom to develop and change my skills as a provider as my life changes. I just couldn\u2019t allow myself not to have this option!\u201d\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On July 2nd, 2018, MEDEX Northwest welcomed 135 new students to the UW Medicine PA Education Program. Fully 32 percent were racial minorities, an important achievement for the school and the future of healthcare. In this increasingly diverse country, it\u2019s important that providers reflect the patient population.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16251,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12239","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-didactic-experience"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/familymedicine.uw.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12239","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/familymedicine.uw.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/familymedicine.uw.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/familymedicine.uw.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/familymedicine.uw.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12239"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/familymedicine.uw.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12239\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16252,"href":"https:\/\/familymedicine.uw.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12239\/revisions\/16252"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/familymedicine.uw.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16251"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/familymedicine.uw.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12239"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/familymedicine.uw.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12239"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/familymedicine.uw.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12239"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}