05/21/2008

Recognition of Physician Assistants at UVMC

RECOGNITION OF PHYSICIAN ASSISTANTS AT UVMC

Submitted by Daniel Goodrich, PA-C, OAPA President

I have been a PA for many years - twenty-six years to be exact. I can say that I have enjoyed about 99% of my clinical and political career as a Physician Assistant.

That being said, it has not been perfect, as many of you would agree. Maybe the pay is not quite what you thought it should be, the hours too long, the specialty you work in is not what you had imagined. But the biggest, and I think the most important, concern a Physician Assistant may have, is not feeling appreciated or respected as a person and a professional.

That is why I would like to make this brief comment about Dr. Barbara Evert, MD, Vice President/CMO of Upper Valley Medical Center in Troy Ohio and UVMC itself.
I had the opportunity to meet Dr. Evert when I had my interview for privileges to work in the Emergency Department two years ago. I will always remember that during that meeting Dr. Evert expressed to me that the administration would not tolerate any inappropriate behavior by any of the staff and that included Doctors, PAs, nurses and administration. Everyone was to be treated with respect and professionalism and if I observed or was treated in an inappropriate manner to call her. She then gave me her cell phone number.

Since that time my experience at UVMC has been exceptional. My interaction with staff and all employees at UVMC has always been excellent. I always feel appreciated and valued as a person and as a professional.

As even another example of this philosophy, a couple of days ago I received the UVMC, AT A Glance newsletter. In the letter two groups were recognized, Miami County Surgeons and Digestive Specialty Care Inc. It is not unusual to see write ups about Doctors or a new medical practice in town, but what was unusual was to see that the PAs working in each of these groups were also recognized. Melinda Duff, PA-C, and Amie Rinaldi, PA-C with Miami County Surgeons and Jason Tippie, PA-C with Digestive Specialty Care.

I talked with Dr. Evert and thanked her for including the PAs in the article. Her comment was that it was only appropriate to include them since they are such a vital part of the team of professionals at Upper Valley. I told her how refreshing it was to see this kind of recognition and that I planned on having this information placed in our newsletter.

I hope other PAs in the state appreciate this gesture of acknowledgement as much as I did and again I thank Dr. Evert for whom I feel sets the tone for all staff at UVMC.