Vinh Dang earned his undergraduate degree from Hamline University, Masters of Physician Assistant Sciences (MPAS) degree from St. Francis University in Pennsylvania and completed a surgical residency program with Yale University and Norwalk Hospital in Connecticut. He began his orthopaedic career in 2002 with Sports & Orthopaedic Specialists. He provides sub-specialized continuity of care for shoulder, elbow and sports-related disorders. Currently, he assists in surgery and sees consults and established patients in clinic. He is a mentor to undergraduate and PA students while also serving as an adjunct professor and preceptor for local PA programs. Furthermore, Mr. Dang has published peer-review articles for the PA profession and provided many lecture presentations at local, regional, and national conferences. In 2017, Vinh was accepted as a Distinguished Fellow of the American Academy of Physician Assistants (DFAAPA). To date, less than 1% of actively practicing PAs have achieved this honor. To be considered a Distinguished fellow, a PA must be in practice for at least 12 years and demonstrate distinction in medical practice, education, research or healthcare management, leadership in medicine and healthcare, professional involvement, commitment to lifelong learning and community service.

Vinh opened up his address by reminding students to thank those that helped them along the way. He noted that commencement is a day well deserved of family and friends since they’ve supported students through their journey. Vinh requested that students be grateful for their staff always. “Thank your staff before the day starts AND after the day ends. You are not possible without them. Help out – clean rooms, clean instruments, empty sharps bins. Various little things. We are not above anyone else.”

He then urged students to remember the emotional quotient component in addition to the science. Building rapport with patients is looking at their faces instead of hiding behind a computer screen. Vinh says, “You will instantly receive a smile from that patient,” if you remember something from their life the last time they were in. Patients will share their story and PAs need to listen. By being honest with a patient that you may not know something, it demonstrates to them that you are human. If you respond that you are unsure, but you’ll look into it and get back to them, then the patient knows they are being heard. As a career progresses, graduates will learn how to marry the science with the art of treating patients.

Vinh encouraged graduates to provide for those who have too little and think beyond a financial contribution. “Think about being a mentor, return to Augsburg and teach a class, adopt a pet, adopt a child, volunteer.” As a PA, the graduates possess wisdom and intelligence worth sharing with the next generation. Pay it forward in the same way that “you would not be here today without the volunteers, professors, mentors who have paved the way before you. No one can do this alone.”

Elected by his peers, Nathan Kleppe gave the student address. Nathan remarked that “time is a funny thing.” Just getting into PA school requires dedication and time spent building patient care hours, enrolling in prerequisites and then focusing on the application. Once admitted into the 2019 cohort, a whole new set of challenges arrived. Countless hours would be spent in lecture and lab preparing them for a year of clinical rotations. He recounted one of the first days of class: “When we were all still in a daily controlled panic, Dr. Batten calmed us down and encouraged us by telling us to just enjoy the process. He reminded us that we have been given this amazing opportunity to be in school – and learn as much as possible – so that one day we can go help people.”

Now the transformation from student to a provider is official, but that does not mean that the learning ends. Since healthcare is ever-changing and each patient is unique, there is no room to become comfortable. The PA license alone requires 100 hours of continuing education every two years and recertification every ten years. Nathan called upon his peers to “continue to be a student of medicine who always strives to become better so that we can serve our patients.”

Another highlight of the ceremony is the presentation of the Clinical Preceptor of the Year Award. Graduates Amina Iman and Rachel Gratz both nominated Dr. Farhiyo Abdulle for her outstanding teaching, encouraging words and including them within the healthcare team. Dr. Abdulle is an OBGYN physician with Allina Health and has precepted several PA students on rotation. Upon receiving the award, she commented that the students have in their own way made her a better provider. It is her own personal health goal to be a good example and be a compassionate, hardworking provider.

Congratulations to the newest Augsburg PA alumni! We are proud to call you our colleagues.

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As a freshman at the University of Minnesota in Morris, Peter attended a Sports Medicine Club meeting that had invited a PA guest speaker. Until that point, he was unfamiliar with the PA profession. Peter was an EMT with an ambulance service during his undergraduate years and obtained his paramedic license following his undergraduate studies. His decision to apply to PA school was driven by a desire to have a bigger scope of practice, more stable hours, better compensation and more responsibility in patient care.

Peter worked in family medicine for five years and had a full scope practice, excluding obstetrics. It was a good chance to practice the full breadth of medicine from infants all the way to geriatrics. The practice ran the whole gamut from dermatology to orthopedics. When he first started, it was at the time of health maintenance organizations (HMO) so the practice had a set number of insures. As time went on, there came to be increasingly more time commitments but fewer hours in the clinical workday to complete those tasks. He began a per diem position in a level II trauma emergency department. He subsequently left family medicine to practice emergency medicine full time with Mille Lacs Health System. They had just started staffing the night shift with PAs so that physicians would have the opportunity to sleep and then attend to patients the next day. Peter remembers receiving one of the best compliments while at Mille Lacs. The Chief of Staff at the time noted that since implementing E.D. staffing with full-time PAs, the amount of complaints decreased while the overall quality of patient care increased. Mille Lacs decided to permanently staff its emergency department 24/7 with PAs.

In the years since Peter graduated, there is significantly more access to information. He says that many students are not aware of how quickly, almost immediately, information can be available. Students should proactively be reading and staying up to date on the latest in technology and medicine.

Peter advises soon to be graduates to not sell yourself short! The nature of your clinical education is to give you a well-rounded experience. These rotations are an opportunity for both yourself and the health system to “kick the tires” and see if this might be a good fit. Often connections made during a rotation, or a preceptorship, can lead to a job, even if it is years down the road. For example, a mentor had called Peter to start up an emergency general surgery service at North Memorial 17 years after he had completed an elective rotation at North Memorial in Trauma and Surgical Critical Care.

The nature of healthcare is quickly changing. In the coming years, health systems will be grappling with the aging baby boomer population as well as a physician shortage, among other healthcare factors. Due to these pressing issues, the PA role may further evolve and develop. Peter notes that it is still up to PAs to recognize and understand their limitations while employers demand more autonomy of PAs. The practicing PA needs to be confident yet humble enough to ask for help when necessary. He would encourage PAs to develop expertise in a specific area and be the “go-to person” in their practice for questions in that area. This is value added to the health care team and benefits the patient. Pete says “we can’t lose focus of patient care. While patient satisfaction is the buzzword, we need to be evidence-based and measure outcomes all the while providing quality, cost-effective care.”

Healthcare is a team-based profession and there are various avenues to realize a career in this field. It is detrimental to the team to speak ill of another profession. When we recognize the value and merit of each health profession, the team succeeds and so does the overall care of the patient.

The post Alumni Anniversary Series: 22 Years in Practice appeared first on Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies.

Why did you decide to pursue family medicine?

I chose family medicine because I thrive on patient and disease variety, and understanding human development holistically. I see a lot of different signs and symptoms playing out in various and sometimes, very complex rhythms. In clinic, there is not always the classic presentation of a case. I also get to work with an amazing range of patient personalities. You also get to establish amazing relationships. The lessons I’ve learned, especially from older patients, can be life-changing. Your patients are just as much of your teachers as you educate them about their health. Being a PA means lifelong learning that happens every day.

My advice for pursuing family medicine is to know that it is constant and never ends. There will always be something needs to be addressed. After the patient leaves, they should feel assured their concern has been addressed and there is a plan in place.

What was the biggest transition between PA school to your first job?

It was scary having a 3-month break between school and starting my job. You feel like you are forgetting what you learned and that can cause some anxiety. However, once you start, the knowledge comes back fast and you eventually find your stride! At HealthPartners, I ramped up to a full schedule within about five months.

What was a major challenge in your first year?

Staying on time is still my biggest challenge. There is a whole separate world of “electronic patient care” that is closely intertwined, yet also very independent from face-to-face care. You always need to keep a handle on your EMR in-basket because you can really get behind; there’s always a million labs, patients, and forms to address.

Coming up on your first-year anniversary, what are areas you feel more comfortable in now compared to when you started?

Procedures! I’ve gotten to do quite a few, and learned some new ones, too. They tend to come in waves, and there are always opportunities to learn more.

I also love managing certain conditions. Hypertension is one of my absolute favorites!  It is chronic, multifaceted and can sometimes be tricky to diagnose. There are so many moving parts to hypertension including various treatment options and still, it can be very difficult to manage.  It also requires a lot of patient cooperation.

What tips do you have for students on applying and interviewing for their first job?

Use your networks from school and rotations to advise you on jobs and contract negotiation. If you have multiple eyes look at your contract, you have that many more ideas on what type of compensation package makes sense for you.

While you should apply broadly, be sure you are applying to practice areas you enjoy.

Now that you have more spare time, what activities do you enjoy?

I’ve been doing some traveling and going to different national parks around the country.  I was in Death Valley, California over the New Year and that was really spectacular. I also really loved Zion in Utah. I joined the Twin Cities Gay Men’s Chorus last September and our next show is this weekend. I also love doing CME stuff. My next conference is in Santa Fe, NM on wilderness medicine. In general, I think it is important to have a professional advancement goal to work towards.

On a side note, you can catch Omar singing in action at Unbreakable showing March 29th and 30th at the Ted Mann Concert Hall on the University of Minnesota West Bank campus! Purchase tickets to attend the show.

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