PA and Genetics News
NCCPA has announced that beginning in 2023, PAs will have two options for their recertification assessment. The traditional PANRE that is administered at Pearson VUE test centers will remain as one option, and NCCPA will also launch an official alternative longitudinal, take-at-home process.
Please see the full article on the NCCPA website here.
Officially from the AAPA:
The AAPA House of Delegates (HOD) today passed a resolution affirming “physician associate” as the official title for the PA profession by a majority vote of 198 to 68. The vote followed several hours of deliberation by HOD members and several years of study by an international marketing and communications firm.
The AAPA Board of Directors will now begin discussions to implement the HOD policy. As the Board moves forward with implementation, each constituent organization will conduct its own deliberations about a title change to physician associate. It is inappropriate for PAs to hold themselves out as “physician associates” at this time until legislative and regulatory changes are made to incorporate the new title.
AAPA will work to provide the same excellent member services and the robust work that is so essential to support the growth and advancement of the PA profession. The organization will continue to empower our members to advance their careers and ultimately enhance patient health.
For questions about title change, contact TCIinfo@aapa.org.
Happy Medical Genetics Awareness Week! The goal of this week is to raise awareness of the invaluable contributions that medical genetics healthcare professionals make in the diagnosis, management and prevention of genetic diseases! Each day we will feature an amazing PA who works in the field of medical genetics!
Day 4/4: Meet Candace Muss, PA-C. Candace is a genetics PA at Nemours Dupont Pediatrics Hospital for Children.
Why genetics?
Genetics has always drawn my interest. It is a field that is always evolving in testing technology and our understanding of genetic interactions and consequences. This forces one to continue to learn new information, and I feel this is an exciting challenge.
What does your typical day entail?
No two days are the same. I work in a general genetics pediatric clinic as well as part of the research team in the skeletal dysplasia clinic. I have clinic visits, inpatient consults, and research families that are spaced out throughout the week. I have the support of a number of medical geneticists for whom I can turn for questions and our team reviews all patients seen by our department as a group on a weekly basis. However, on a day to day, I work solo in both clinic and during research appointments. Inpatient consultations require varying degrees of teamwork. My days are typically full of the same things that take up a GC and geneticist’s time: clinic appointments, patient calls, provider calls, and paperwork.
What is your favorite part of being a genetics PA?
Honestly, my favorite thing about being a PA in genetics is the families. In genetics, I get the luxury of spending time getting to know families and seeing them grow over the years. While the mystery of finding a genetic diagnosis is always exciting, it is truly the families that keep me going through the rough days.
Day 3/4: Meet Melanie Rasnic, PA-C. Melanie is a genetics PA at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) Health System in the Department of Human and Molecular Genetics.
I started my career here in September 2019, and I am the first PA in this particular specialty at VCU so this has been a great opportunity to collaborate with the geneticists and genetic counselors on carving out my role and responsibilities. I chose medical genetics for a number of reasons, one being this is a topic that has always interested me, especially after finishing my pre-reqs for PA school which included courses in General Genetics, Cell Biology, Biochemistry, and Pharmacology among others that touched on the topic. I have close friends who live with genetic disorders such as Marfan syndrome and others who have lost children to conditions such as MCADD and Apert Syndrome.
I work Monday-Friday, seeing patients 3-4 days a week at two outpatient clinics. Most days I see 2-4 patients (new and follow-up), and I see both adults and children. The patient populations I see the most are children with autism spectrum disorder and/or significant delays, connective tissue evaluations, and follow-up on patients with an established diagnosis of Trisomy 21.
What is your favorite thing about being a genetics PA?
My favorite part of being a Genetics PA is being a member of a brilliant team that works tirelessly to advocate for our patients, whether that is for additional therapies, specialist referrals, genetic testing, resources for support, and everything that has to happen behind the scenes to pull that off; all with a view to providing answers and management to the best of our abilities. I am so proud to have the opportunity to be a part of this department and this health system, and look forward to the exciting advancements in the field that will enable us to provide even more help and support to our patients.
Day 2/4: Meet Khareem Burkli, PA-C. Khareem is a genetics PA at Baptist Health of South Florida.
I had an amazing Radiation Oncologist Attending who was passionate about breast cancer and its association with hereditary predisposition cancer syndromes. He introduced me to the field of cancer genetics. When he announced his retirement, it just happened that the Division of Clinical Genetics at the Miami Cancer Institute was being restructured, and there was an opportunity for me to transfer there and become a part of the world of Genetics. It was the best decision of my life. I absolutely love it!
I feel like I am acting as a private investigator who is trying to find a missing piece of a puzzle. I enjoy looking for answers to questions such as: Why do certain people develop cancer? How can we help them and their families to prevent cancer, or if it occurs, catch it at an early stage? Also, I love being part of a multicultural team with different backgrounds. In addition, I very much enjoy the Miami Cancer Institute’s multidisciplinary approach to fighting cancer.
Once I transferred to Clinical Genetics, I had the opportunity of being trained by the geneticist, genetic counselors, and the nurse educator. In addition, I recently completed my training at City of Hope where I obtained my certification in Cancer Risk Assessment.
My role is constantly changing and evolving as I am becoming more proficient in cancer risk assessment. I see patients with the geneticist and/or genetic counselors and assist with risk assessment. The geneticist has a very full schedule. To see a greater number of patients, the plans are for me to soon start my own clinic.
I get a chance to interact with a multidisciplinary team, and keep learning all the time, but, most importantly, I feel that I can help patients by recommending treatments and risk-reducing procedures based on standardized clinical guidelines.
Day 1/4: Meet Margie Glissmeyer, PA-C! Margie is a genetics PA at Seattle Children’s Hospital.
I originally came to the world of genetics through my previous role in Surgical Oncology. I completed the City of Hope Intensive Course in 2016 to add access to genetic testing for our cancer patients. As my practice in cancer genetics grew, I fell in love with the field. I enjoyed genetics so much that I transitioned out of surgery and ultimately landed in Pediatric Genetics at Seattle Children’s Hospital. Being new to Pediatric Genetics has been a steep learning curve that I am enjoying every day!
I work in outpatient general pediatric genetics as part of a large regional group. I see clinic patients several days a week. My patients have a range of conditions from multiple patients with developmental delays or autism to extremely rare genetic conditions. In clinic, my day involves working with a paired genetic counselor who sees our patients first. I then complete the history and physical exam then we regroup and come up with a testing plan. Outside of clinic, my days are filled with follow-up including interpretation of test results and coordination with other specialties. I also participate in case conferences and have the opportunity to participate in educational activities with leading experts at the University of Washington weekly.
My favorite part of genetics is that it involves developing strong relationships with patients and their families that can lead to real changes in their management and provide answers to difficult questions. I also love that it is a fast changing field with new discoveries and advancements. It’s an exciting time to be working in genetics!
Precision medicine is an emerging approach to disease treatment and prevention that considers differences in people’s lifestyles, environments, and biological makeup, including genes.
In a recent AAPA article, Debra Ryan, MS, PA-C, and DeShana Collett, PhD, PA-C discuss precision medicine and how it can be utilized in patient care.
Without incorporating genomic data into care and treatment of patients, educator DeShana Collett, PhD, PA-C, says, “We’re not making true informed decisions. We’re basing our decisions and our treatment on race, ethnicity-based calculators or algorithms which can be detrimental. It can actually increase the risk of having health disparities.”
The full article can be found on the AAPA website here!
PA Nguyen Park is a passionate advocate for PAs to become involved in genomic medicine. Park, the founder and president of the Society of PAs in Genetics and Genomics and AAPA’s representative to the NIH/NHGRI’s Inter-Society Coordinating Committee for Practitioner Education in Genomics, recognizes the value of this growing field of medicine. “By working in genetics, PAs can make a huge difference for their patients by providing the high-quality care we’re known for and by increasing access to care,” says Park, who graduated from the PA program at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan, in 2003.
The full article can be found on the PA Foundation Website here!
Pictured: Nguyen Park, PA-C, SPAGG President
Day 5/5: Meet Laura Gardner, PA-C! Laura is a PA at the Greenwood Genetic Center. She is the Metabolic Advanced Practice Provider Fellow.
In all honesty, genetics chose me. As a PA, I knew I wanted to have an ongoing and meaningful relationship with my patients, and I wanted to work with a team of compassionate, friendly, motivated, and intellectually-curious healthcare professionals. I found all of this and more at the Greenwood Genetic Center in Greenville, SC. I knew this was the field for me when I applied to a fellowship for advanced practice providers, knowing admittedly very little about the field of genetics. I walked in the door of GGC and was greeted by a community—a community of individuals who truly care and go above and beyond for their patients, and a community who educates and fosters learning in a way unparalleled in the medical community at large. I knew then that the field of genetics was going to give me what I dreamed of, and I was going to be able to give that energy back to my patients tenfold.
Depending on whether I am working in general genetics clinic, metabolic/biochemical genetics clinic, or with our Lysosomal Storage Disorders (LSD) population that day, I may see 1-5 patients. Visits with my patients in the LSD community are detailed and lengthy, and can sometimes take several hours! Following up with our patients in the Metabolic Clinic requires a lot of behind the scenes work, especially when it comes to tracking infusions, working with insurance companies to get medications approved, and researching the most up-to-date guidelines for the best possible management and care of my patients. There can be emergent situations too, so my schedule remains fairly flexible to allow for such unforeseen circumstances.
When I am not seeing patients, I am following up on genetic testing, counseling families on results, and keeping track of orders, labs, and infusion records. I spend a lot of time preparing for my visits with patients on the front end too, ensuring that I am informed of the most recent research, data, and therapies available for my patients. As I see patients with very rare genetic disorders, sometimes that means collaborating with the most knowledgeable specialists in the field and creating individualized plans for a patient from scratch. I am extremely grateful to my patients on a daily basis for the hope, exuberance, and joy they bring to my life and to the lives of those around them.
What’s your favorite part of being a Genetics PA?
I think it is obvious that the best thing about working in the field of genetics is the patients I have the honor of meeting and treating. There is nothing like working with a patient to help end the diagnostic odyssey, catching a disease trait early and providing counseling for a growing family, or finding out that there is a new treatment, clinical trial, or genetic test available to a patient that was not available the year before. The rapid pace at which this field is developing is certainly another draw. We are seeing new clinical trials, therapies, and technologies come to light on a near-daily basis, and this is exciting and invigorating to me. I like to be challenged in my work, and have found that genetics is the perfect field for ongoing education, professional development, and personal growth. Having all that, on top of working with some of the best and brightest caregivers in the world, makes this profession the most fulfilling and meaningful I could imagine.
Day 4/5: Meet Brittany Hoyle, PA-C! Brittany is a PA in the genetics department at the Medical College of Wisconsin.
I am a biologist at heart and had always enjoyed the topic of genetics while in school. I had the privilege of rotating through genetics while in PA school, where I fell in love with the field. Genetics particularly appealed to me as it had the fun mystery solving aspect, while it also provided the opportunity to develop relationships with and follow patients over long periods of time and help them at different times in their life. So after graduation I jumped at the opportunity to move to a new state to accept a job in genetics. As a new PA in the field, there is definitely a steep learning curve, but this is a field that will always stimulate my curiosity and ask more questions than answers, and so I know I will always be a continual student while working in this field.
I work in an outpatient pediatric genetics clinic, seeing patients in clinic 3-4 days per week. I work in a general genetics, metabolic, and rasopathy clinic. In general clinic we see children with developmental delays, autism, or epilepsy to name a few common conditions. A typical work-up involves detailed review of systems, review of past specialist visits, family history, developmental history, and a physical which includes a dysmorphology examination. In metabolic clinic we see patients with inborn errors of metabolism such as phenylketonuria or fatty acid oxidation disorders. Metabolic clinic can be different, because it involves more treatment and detailed management of the disease. Finally, in rasopathy clinic we see patients with neurofibromatosis type 1 and related disorders, Noonan syndrome, or Tuberous Sclerosis. This clinic involves evaluating patients for a diagnosis or following patients long-term to ensure they are receiving all the guideline evaluations. The days I am not in clinic, I am prepping for future patients, going over results of past patients, or managing imaging and prescription orders.
Genetics is an exciting and fast-growing field to be in. Each year with advancements in technology, we are adding to the depth and accuracy of our genetic testing. Families come to us after years of trying to find answers, and it can be really satisfying to help them come to a diagnosis. Getting to be a part of clinical and research trials is exhilarating, because I can contribute to this fast-evolving field. I think it is particularly exciting to be an advanced practice provider in this field as I see the potential for lots of growth.
Please contact us at spagg@wildapricot.org with any questions or inquiries.
This website was designed and is maintained by the Society of Physician Assistants in Genetics and Genomics.
