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MEDEX Magazine Categories
- Clinical Experience (42)
- Didactic Experience (9)
- MEDEX Historical (6)
- MEDEX Stories (49)
- Veterans (14)
MEDEX Stories
Between our founders, faculty, alumni and students, MEDEX Northwest has collectively contributed to hundreds of stories that define the role of the physician assistant profession in society. At nearly 50 years in existence it’s especially important to recognize the achievements of visionaries—individuals who helped forged the forward path for PAs. MEDEX Stories gives voice to these visionaries and their impact on community.
Meet some of the people that are affecting change in the world of healthcare delivery— each one focused and fiercely mission-driven.
MEDEX & the Military
MEDEX, the Military and Becoming a PA
MEDEX Northwest and the United States Armed Forces are tied at the hip historically, and it’s a relationship that continues to this day. In recognition of Veteran’s Day 2021, we invited students from among the current MEDEX classes, students who bring military experience with them into the classroom and clinical rotations, to share some thoughts on the connections between their military service and their decisions to become PAs and healthcare providers. This gathering of voices is one way to recognize and celebrate this essential ingredient of the MEDEX Northwest mix.
November 10, 2021 / MEDEX Stories Veterans
Mark Patterson, PA
MEDEX Remembers PA Mark Patterson
We remember Mark Alan Patterson (September 11, 1941-October 9, 2021), MEDEX Seattle Class 1 alumnus, pioneering PA, and longtime friend of the MEDEX family.
October 27, 2021 / MEDEX Stories Veterans
Sue Terran
“Every Day Is a Surprise!” MEDEX Graduate Marks 50th Anniversary of Working in Primary Care
They say it takes a village, but it surely helps when that village includes providers like Sue Terran, a PA, nurse and MEDEX graduate (Seattle Class 27), who is celebrating fifty years of bringing primary care to thousands of families in rural Oregon.
June 15, 2021 / MEDEX Stories
2021 Scholarship Winners
2021 MEDEX Northwest Student Scholarship Winners
We are pleased to announce the recipients of the 2021 MEDEX Student Scholarships. There are eight scholarship categories, each named after an individual of particular importance to the MEDEX Northwest PA program. Meet this impressive bunch of MEDEX students.
March 25, 2021 / MEDEX Stories
Steven Turnipseed, PA-C Veterans Award
Driven By Inspiration
Since 2016, the Steven Turnipseed, PA-C Veterans Award has been given to MEDEX graduates in recognition of their service to country, class and community. Two of this year’s recipients, Robin Morris of Anchorage Class 10 and Coty Holm of Spokane Class 22, speak about what (and who) motivated them to become PAs, their lives in the service, and what’s next for them as they begin their new journeys as full-fledged PAs.
November 11, 2020 / MEDEX Stories Veterans
2020 Graduations
MEDEX Northwest 2020 Graduations: The “Class of COVID-19” Shines
In early October 2020, MEDEX Northwest graduated 128 physician assistant students from across four of its campuses. After 27 months of study, these students were ready to take their place on stage, face their family and friends, and claim their degrees. Of course, the “Class of COVID-19” wound up facing computer screens instead and participating in virtual graduations far from public spaces. But if these ceremonies were diminished for some, the recognition of everything that these students achieved in the face of such adversity was anything but dimmed. For many, in fact, it only brightened the shine.
October 19, 2020 / MEDEX Stories
MEDEX 50th Anniversary
MEDEX at 50
It took fifty years to get here, but MEDEX Northwest held a grand celebration to mark its golden anniversary. Alumni traveled from across the state and the country to be a part of this benchmark occasion: 2,600 PAs that all started from a small class of fourteen in 1969 right here at the University of Washington. Here’s to the next 50 years!
October 16, 2019 / MEDEX Stories
MEDEX Champion Awards
The MEDEX Champion Awards
With the 50th Anniversary Celebration, MEDEX initiated a new recognition called the MEDEX Champion Award. Its recipients are notable for the important contributions they have brought to this organization. Their vitality, vision, and commitment have left MEDEX and the entire PA profession in a far better place.
October 16, 2019 / MEDEX Stories
MEDEX Graduations 2019
MEDEX Graduations 2019: Welcome To The Profession
In August of 2019, MEDEX Northwest graduated 125 physician assistant students across its four sites. After two years of study—one in the classroom, the last year in clinical settings across the WWAMI Region—the graduates took their place in front of friends and family to walk the stage and receive their certificates.
September 10, 2019 / MEDEX Stories
Grace Landel, M.Ed, PA-C
Grace Landel, M.Ed, PA-C: 2019 MEDEX Lifetime Achievement Award
A physician assistant since 1984, Grace Landel was faculty at MEDEX Northwest for 20 years. During that time, she shepherded some 1,300 students through the program. Most notable were her efforts to bring the MEDEX PA program to Sitka, Alaska, a model that was repeated at satellite campuses in Yakima and Spokane. Known nationwide for her impact on the PA profession, Grace is the Program Director for the joint PA/MPH program at Touro University in Vallejo, CA.
April 15, 2019 / MEDEX Stories
Tim Quigley, MPH, PA-C
Something I Felt Passionate About Since I was a Kid
Tim Quigley, MPH, PA-C has taught behavioral medicine to MEDEX physician assistant students since 2010. Since graduating from the inaugural class of Indiana University’s PA program in 1974, he’s witnessed great opportunities for PAs in behavioral health. But his passion for this area of medicine goes deep, back to first employment as a nursing home orderly at the age of 16.
February 6, 2019 / MEDEX Stories
Iryna Kylyukh
Passing The Torch– Mother to Daughter, Feldsher to Physician Assistant
When Iryna Kylyukh crossed the stage on the University of Washington campus to receive her Master of Clinical Health Services degree as a PA, she completed a path that started in high school. But a closer look into Iryna’s family history reveals that this really began decades earlier. Her mother, Lyudmila Kylyukh, worked in Ukraine for 30 years as a feldsher, the model for the present-day physician assistant.
November 20, 2018 / MEDEX Stories
MEDEX 2018 Graduations
MEDEX 2018 Graduations: Having A Full Day
Each year MEDEX Northwest graduates around 125 physician assistants who largely stay on to practice in the five-state WWAMI Region of Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and Idaho. These graduations are joyous occasions, the culmination of over two years of intense study on the part of the students.
September 25, 2018 / MEDEX Stories
Don Coerver, PA-C: MEDEX Lifetime Achievement Award 2018
This 9-minute film covers the career of Don Coerver, PA-C, Ph.D., who devoted 20 years of his life to PA education and was central to the development of the MEDEX Eastern Washington Yakima and Spokane sites. Having touched the lives of over 500 PA students during his distinguished career, Don is recipient of the 2018 MEDEX Lifetime Achievement Award.
April 18, 2018 / MEDEX Stories
2018 MEDEX Award Winners
Honoring PA Achievements
This April 28th, MEDEX Northwest will host our annual Alumni Reception and Awards Ceremony at the SeaTac Doubletree Hotel. This year the theme is “Honoring PA Achievements”, and five of our best and brightest are spotlighted for their accomplishments in various areas. These are truly the role models for the physician assistant profession.
April 10, 2018 / MEDEX Stories
Tent City 3
Tent City 3 at the University of Washington: Learning from Lived Experience
Near the end of 2016, UW President Ana Mari Cauce welcomed the residents of the Tent City 3 encampment to a UW campus site for a 3-month period. One year later, Lois Thetford, PA-C examines our campus community’s collective response to this event, and engagement with our homeless neighbors.
January 3, 2018 / MEDEX Stories
Rich Wehling
A Reason Not Entirely Recognizable To Myself
During the months between his PA didactic and clinical years, Rich Wehling of MEDEX Anchorage Class 8 scaled Mount Everest to undertake a research study on the effects of caffeine in high altitude environments. Along the way, he found some answers to questions not originally considered.
October 10, 2017 / MEDEX Stories
Inter-Professional Education
The Orchestration of Care
Inter-Professional Education or IPE brings students from differing programs together to learn from one another and improve patient outcomes. In the case of the Free Dental Clinic, MEDEX Northwest students and UW Dentistry students work side-by-side to bring a more holistic and team-based approach to the healthcare needs of their patients in a primary care setting. This 6-minute video details the collaborative nature of this effort.
September 26, 2017 / MEDEX Stories
2017 MEDEX Graduations
We Learned One Helluva Lot of Medicine
In August of 2017, 113 students graduated from the MEDEX Northwest physician assistant training program at the University of Washington. We celebrate this occasion with a lively 7-minute video of the graduation proceedings plus over 330 photos from across the four MEDEX training sites in Anchorage, Spokane, Seattle and Tacoma.
September 12, 2017 / MEDEX Stories
Jace Meng
Kayaking As A Metaphor for Cancer Survival
Jace Meng of MEDEX Northwest Seattle Class 50 finds energy and inspiration from volunteering with young adult cancer survivors through First Descent, an adventure organization that takes participants out on kayaking expeditions. As survivors overcome the limitations and fears of their disease, Jace is learning firsthand about the disease and how to better integrate care into his future role as a healthcare provider.
July 13, 2017 / MEDEX Stories
Lois Thetford, PA-C
Lois Thetford, PA-C: Recipient of the 2017 UW Humanitarian Award
Lois Thetford, PA-C was recently awarded the prestigious UW Alumni Humanitarian Award for her work on behalf of the homeless. A longtime advocate for social change, Lois’ entry into healthcare and the PA profession focused her efforts in a new way. Now she’s teaching others to follow in her footsteps.
June 7, 2017 / MEDEX Stories
Chris Heim, PA-C
Chris Heim, PA-C: Better For Knowing Him
His skills always in demand during 23 years as a U.S. Army 18D Special Forces medic, Chris Heim, PA-C proved to be an anchor for his cohorts of MEDEX Seattle Class 41. With a promising civilian PA career in place, Chris died unexpectedly in 2015. He is now memorialized with the Christopher A. Heim Memorial Fund, with the inaugural award bestowed to an outstanding military veteran among the current MEDEX classes.
April 18, 2017 / MEDEX Stories
Henry Stoll, PA
Reasons to Appreciate Henry Stoll, PA
Henry Stoll has been a PA educator for 41 years. 38 of those years were spent at MEDEX Northwest where his influence throughout the community is felt wide and deep. This 9-minute tribute video takes a look at Henry’s contributions and career at the time of his retirement. Henry Stoll is winner of the 2017 MEDEX Lifetime Achievement Award.
April 12, 2017 / MEDEX Stories
Steven Meltzer, PA
A PA Pioneer’s Notes
From 2005 to 2016 Steven Meltzer, PA served as full-time lecturer to the MEDEX Northwest Spokane and Yakima sites. However, it is his commitment to rural healthcare access and rural communities that distinguishes him as a PA Pioneer. In this enlightening and sometimes humorous video, we learn of the depth of Steve’s contributions to the profession and local communities. Steven Meltzer, PA is recipient of the 2017 MEDEX Pioneer Award.
April 4, 2017 / MEDEX Stories
PA Leadership
PA Leadership
As the physician assistant profession marks its 50th birthday, opportunities have arisen for PAs to assume leadership roles within hospitals and other healthcare facilities. Three PA leaders—all MEDEX alumni—are profiled here. Together they exemplify a future where PAs can fill major roles in medical administration.
March 28, 2017 / MEDEX Stories
Richard A. Smith, MD, MPH
Richard A. Smith, MD, MPH:
1932 – 2017
Long recognized as a founding father of the PA profession, Dr. Richard A. Smith achieved numerous milestones in his 84 years. He served as a Peace Corps Medical Director, a Civil Rights leader assigned to desegregate US hospitals, and a Global Health innovator. Today over 100,000 US physician assistants follow in his model to “multiply my hands”.
March 15, 2017 / MEDEX Stories
Dr. Richard A. Smith
UW MEDEX Founder Dr. Richard A. Smith Honored by President Obama
On January 1st, 2017, President Barack Obama honored Richard A. Smith, MD, a founding father of the Physician Assistant profession, for his many contributions in the areas of PA education, racial desegregation and global health. Dr. Smith has devoted his lifetime to the cause of improving access to basic healthcare in urban, rural and underserved communities across the United States and around the world.
February 2, 2017 / MEDEX Stories
MEDEX Classnotes Winter 2017
We love hearing from our MEDEX Alumni, affirming the good they are doing out in the world. Here we present the firsthand accounts of nineteen MEDEX alumni, all involved in their communities. Whether based in Antarctica or the US Virgin Islands, MEDEX PAs are having an impact.
January 4, 2017 / MEDEX Stories
MEDEX Course "Homelessness in Seattle"
Approaching Homelessness With Passion
Homelessness is a pernicious problem in Seattle, exacerbated by an absence of affordable housing. The arrival of Tent City 3 on the campus of the University of Washington coincides with MEDEX 580, a first-ever course on “Homelessness in Seattle” for UW students in the health sciences. Training future healthcare providers to appropriately engage with homeless patients has positive outcomes for both parties.
December 29, 2016 / MEDEX Stories
MEDEX & the PANCE
MEDEX And The PANCE Exam: Seeing Results
In six years, MEDEX saw its students’ first-time pass rate for the national licensure exam go up from 79% to 93%. This took nothing less than a complete overhaul of the didactic and clinical curriculum to better fit how the profession defines competency. Over this period, MEDEX faculty and a prominent PA education researcher worked in concert to better understand and support the needs of struggling MEDEX PA students.
October 4, 2016 / MEDEX Stories
Spokane at Gonzaga
MEDEX Spokane Site Moves to Gonzaga with UW Medicine
After twenty years in Spokane, the MEDEX Spokane site has relocated to Gonzaga University as part of the University of Washington/Gonzaga University Regional Health Partnership. For the first time, Spokane PA students are housed in the same building with UW Medical Students. Spokane Class 20 launches with its own dedicated classroom, training 29 new PAs to expand their reach within the WWAMI region.
September 21, 2016 / MEDEX Stories
Kaye Kvam, PA
Influential PA Kaye Kvam Remembered
Over a career span of 36 years, Kaye Kvam occupied multiple roles as a physician assistant: clinician, teacher, mentor, politician, preceptor and advocate for PAs. From 1991 to 1997 she taught at MEDEX Northwest, delivering the didactic curriculum with humor and love. At this time of Kaye’s passing, we celebrate her significant contributions to the profession.
September 13, 2016 / MEDEX Stories
2016 Graduations
New MEDEX Graduates Celebrate End of Studies
Each year MEDEX Northwest educates over 100 physician assistants across four sites, and 2016 added new alumni to the ranks of over 2,200 prior graduates. With four graduation ceremonies taking place over two weeks, a summary review of the highlights reminds us what it takes to become a PA.
September 8, 2016 / MEDEX News MEDEX Stories
2016 Incoming PA Students
MEDEX Welcomes Incoming 2016 PA Students
Since the program’s founding by Dr. Richard Smith in 1967, MEDEX Northwest students have been known for their concerns about social justice. Day 1 for the 2016 incoming class is a strong brew wherein leadership lays out the path forward for the next two years. The students—all 133 of them—have sacrificed much to be here, and are about to join a fraternity of 98 graduating MEDEX classes that have gone before them.
July 26, 2016 / MEDEX Stories
Dental Health Aide Therapist
MEDEX/UW Hands-Off DHAT Program to Alaska Tribal College
Dental Health Aides serve much the same role in dentistry as physician assistants in medicine. For twelve years MEDEX Northwest provided a pathway to a UW certificate for the Native Alaskan students of the DENTEX DHAT program. Now, by mutual agreement with ANTHC, MEDEX hands over this responsibility to Alaska’s only Tribal College, Iḷisaġvik College, thereby allowing the dental health aide students the possibility of tuition support and an Associate’s degree.
July 5, 2016 / MEDEX Stories
Jennifer Carrol, MA, MMS, ATC, PA-C
MEDEX PA Provider To USA Diving Team
With a strong background as a certified athletic trainer, Jennifer Carrol taught sports medicine before becoming a physician assistant. While teaching part-time at MEDEX Northwest, Jen remains firmly rooted in sports medicine at UW. Recently, her unique skills set afforded her the opportunity to serve as medical staff for the USA Diving Team at the FINA/NVC World Series meet in Beijing and Dubai.
May 31, 2016 / MEDEX Stories
MEDEX Tacoma Foot Clinic
Building Trust Between The Homeless & The Medical Community
For three years the MEDEX Northwest Tacoma site has partnered with Urban Grace Church to offer a free monthly foot clinic to the underserved and homeless in the downtown Tacoma community. For some clients this is their only connection with medical providers—a chance to have their feet cared for by a physician assistant-in-training, and obtain a referral to address more serious health concerns.
May 17, 2016 / MEDEX Stories
Ruth Ballweg, MPA, PA
Affecting Change In Just The Right Places
After 29 years as program director of MEDEX Northwest, Ruth Ballweg stepped down from that role in 2015 and retired from the University of Washington in March of 2016. She is now Professor Emeritus in the Department of Family Medicine. Over the course of three decades, Ruth has had an indelible impact on the physician assistant profession. Here she talks about some of the challenges of that career, and what she sees ahead for herself and the profession.
May 11, 2016 / MEDEX Stories
MEDEX & Global Health
Physician Assistants Taking the Lead in Global Health & Education
At the start of their clinical year four MEDEX physician assistant students participated in a global health pilot project and traveled to the Southeast nation of Laos. There, under the sponsorship of the NGO Health Leadership International, they assisted in training their Laotian counterparts, PA students at the College of Health Sciences in Luang Prabang. Months later they reflect on what they gained from this experience, and their growing personal commitment to global health.
April 26, 2016 / MEDEX Stories
Group Health & MEDEX Northwest
Stronger Because Of It
Since 1970 Group Health Cooperative in Seattle has done more to promote the use of physician assistants in an urban setting than any other healthcare organization in the US. This short video examines the early history of the relationship between MEDEX Northwest and Group Health when 3 unproven “medex” from class 1 were brought into Group Health. This was not without controversy at the time. In the end the cooperative came to a consensus and brought the three students into Group Health as employees, paving the way for the over 135 PAs currently working in the Group Health system. 15:08 minutes, color, HD format.
April 19, 2016 / MEDEX Stories
Lois Thetford & Sherry Lipsky
MEDEX Health Educators Empower Salvadorian Volunteers
MEDEX alumni, physician assistants and activists Lois Thetford (Seattle Class 14) and Sherry Lipsky (Seattle Class 9) report on their efforts to provide health education training and community organizing skills to the small rural Salvadorian town of Las Delicias, population 3,000. What they found was a community eager to learn and better their situation.
April 12, 2016 / MEDEX Stories
Al Ellsworth, Pharm.D., PA-C
It’s What Gets You Up In The Morning
Renowned for his lively pharmacotherapy lectures at MEDEX since 1982, Professor Allan Ellsworth, Pharm.D., interrupted his career at the UW School of Pharmacy to enter the MEDEX physician assistant training program with Class 34 in 2000. With that, Al became the first joint Pharm.D./PA-C to come through the UW Medicine system. In this brief video profile, Al talks about the value of patient contact, the role of drugs in patient care, and the challenges presented by Big Pharma. 10:37 minutes, color, HD format.
April 6, 2016 / MEDEX Stories
Forest Hofer, PA
Giving Back What Was Given To Me
This video portrait of MEDEX alumni Forest Hofer, PA (Seattle Class 14, 1981) touches on his professional and personal passions—emergency medicine, music, powerlifting and dogs. More than anything we learn that Forest loves working with physician assistant students. To date, he’s precepted more than 60 MEDEX students, deeply influencing their careers. It’s Forest’s strong sense of integrity and willingness to pay it forward that makes him the clear choice for the 2016 MEDEX Lifetime Achievement Award. 13 minutes, color, HD format.
March 29, 2016 / MEDEX Stories
Louis Fiset, D.D.S.
Advocating For Dental Access Despite His Profession
After a 10-year hiatus from dentistry, Dr. Louis Fiset broke ranks with his fellow dentists to focus on growing the dental therapist profession in Native Alaskan communities. The DENTEX program has been a collaboration between the UW MEDEX program and the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium (ANTHC). Now, 10 years on, Louis reflects on his contributions to this movement, and the value of fighting to bring mid-level dental practitioners to underserved communities in the lower 48 states.
March 22, 2016 / MEDEX Stories
Dr. Linda Vorvick
A 12-Year Plan To Transform PA Education
Since 2004 Dr. Linda Vorvick has worked for MEDEX Northwest, largely under the title of Director of Academic Affairs. Now moving on to another full-time job for the University of Washington, Linda reflects back on her 12 years with MEDEX and her accomplishments collaborating with a team of faculty and staff.
March 8, 2016 / MEDEX Stories
Jeff Stubblefield, PA-C
You Do What You Have To Do
Jeff Stubblefield spent considerable time traveling and working around the world— 21 years with the Air Force as an Independent Duty Medical Officer. Now a PA neurological surgical first assist at the Alaska Native Medical Center in Anchorage, Jeff meets the challenges of delivering specialized medical care in a region challenged by geographical isolation and the elements.
February 16, 2016 / MEDEX Stories
June Betsch
Always Ask Why
A graduate of MEDEX class 20 (1988), and now retiring after 27 years of service as a physician assistant in the Pacific Northwest, June Betsch talks about various aspects of her career. Healer, activist, educator and politician, June sets her sights on the future, including contributing to early childhood development. June Betsch is honored with the MEDEX Lifetime Achievement Award for 2015. Running time: 5:29 minutes.
April 16, 2015 / MEDEX Stories
The Othello Pioneers
In 1969 MEDEX graduated it’s first class. Among the 14 graduates were John Betz and Paul Snyder, former military corpsmen. Together, Betz and Snyder moved to rural Othello, Washington— population 4,000— to work under Richard Bunch and Kenneth Pershall, two rural doctors struggling to keep up with their patient load. This was the beginning of the physician assistant profession, told firsthand by Betz, Snyder and Dr. Bunch. All three are recipients of a special MEDEX PA Pioneer award for 2015. Running time: 9 minutes.
April 16, 2015 / MEDEX Stories
John Betz, PA-C
A Little Bit Bigger Fish
In 1967, John Betz was a recruited by Dick Smith to train for a new category of mid-level practitioners at MEDEX Northwest. During his preceptorship phase, Betz was assigned to rural clinic in Othello, WA where he remained in practice for 44 years. This digital story captures Betz’s life and career in words, photos and video.
November 3, 2014 / MEDEX Stories