January 26, 2026 • 31 mins
What if medicine chooses you before you choose it?
In this episode of Shadow Me Next, I sit down with Roberts Essex, a seasoned physician assistant who chose to speak under a pen name so he could tell his story honestly. He is a veteran PA with decades across emergency medicine, hospital medicine, and public health, to unpack a life shaped by faith, service, and the quiet power of human connection. Writing under a pen name to protect sensitive details, he shares the personal journey behind his memoir, Chance Beginnings, and the lessons he wants the next generation to carry forward.
We discuss the moments that form a clinician’s core: learning to listen like a detective, making contact in a world that forgot how to touch during COVID, and finding purpose when the system feels indifferent. Roberts traces the evolution of the PA role from “scut work” to frontline leadership, explains where resistance still shows up (from pharmacy boards to professional associations) and makes a case for partnership over rivalry with physician colleagues. His take on burnout is both candid and compassionate: reflect, pray, keep going one patient at a time, or step back if you must; wisdom is knowing which season you are in.
The conversation also tackles the controversial PA title change and why words can either open doors or trigger unnecessary fights. Roberts urges us to be known by outcomes, trust, and presence, not branding alone. We close with practical steps for students and clinicians: answer the “quality question” about your past with insight instead of denial, get involved in policy where it affects patient access, and use storytelling to sharpen empathy and teach what can’t be scripted.
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Roberts Exxes book Chance Beginnings is available on Amazon.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Ashley Love (00:00):
Hello and welcome to Shadow Me Next, a podcast
where I take you into and behindthe scenes of the medical world
to provide you with a deeperunderstanding of the human side
of medicine.
I'm Ashley, a physicianassistant, medical editor,
clinical preceptor, and thecreator of Shadow Me Next.
It is my pleasure to introduceyou to incredible members of the
(00:22):
healthcare field and uncovertheir unique stories, the joys
and challenges they face, andwhat drives them in their
careers.
It's access you want andstories you need.
Whether you're a pre-healthstudent or simply curious about
the healthcare field, I inviteyou to join me as we take a
conversational and personal lookinto the lives and minds of
(00:43):
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So make sure that you subscribeto this podcast, which will
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And follow us on Instagram andFacebook at Shadow Me Next,
where we will review highlightsfrom this conversation and where
I'll give you sneak previews ofour upcoming guests.
(01:03):
Today's conversation is areminder that medicine is not
just a career choice, it's acalling that unfolds over time.
In this episode, I sit downwith Roberts Essex, a physician
assistant with decades ofexperience across emergency
medicine, hospital medicine, andpublic health, and the author
(01:25):
of the memoir Chance Beginnings.
Roberts Essex is a pen name,and the true identity of this PA
will remain intentionallyhidden to protect the depth of
the topics discussed and topreserve the integrity of his
story.
We talk about what it means tofeel pulled towards medicine
before you fully understand it,how personal hardship and faith
(01:47):
can shape the kind of clinicianyou become, and why human
connection still matters even inthe most high-pressure clinical
settings.
We also reflect onstorytelling, teaching, and the
responsibility we carry to passwisdom forward.
Please keep in mind that thecontent of this podcast is
intended for informational andentertainment purposes only and
(02:09):
should not be considered asprofessional medical advice.
The views and opinionsexpressed in this podcast are
those of the host and guests anddo not necessarily reflect the
official policy or position ofany other agency, organization,
employer, or company.
This is Shadow Me Next withRobert's Essex.
Mr.
Essex, thank you so much forjoining us on Shadow Me Next
(02:32):
today.
As we mentioned in your bio,you have this incredible memoir
called Chance Beginnings thatyou have written for everyone to
enjoy.
Why is storytelling, especiallyin the medical field, why is
storytelling so important?
Roberts Essex (02:49):
It helps people to get a different aspect of
life.
Sometimes to have the abilityto see someone else in a
different light, it helps youmake decisions that you might
not be able to do on your own.
In my case, this is a storyabout a young man that needs to
be told, about faith, about howhe gets into medicine, which is
(03:11):
um a calling, apparently, andhas worked well for him.
But during the process, he wentthrough not only lots of
turbulent times, but um but agreat deal of uh tragedy that he
had to overcome.
Ashley Love (03:25):
Absolutely.
It's an incredible story.
And you mentioned medicine as acalling, Mr.
Essex.
Can you describe to some of ourpre-health students who think,
well, I'm just looking at it asa job, or I'm just looking at
it, you know, to to pay thebills.
Describe to them what medicineas a calling really means.
Roberts Essex (03:41):
Sometimes we don't make our own choices,
sometimes things are destined,but sometimes we have to give in
to what God has still made forus to do.
And in this case, both myselfand the character had that same
uh had that same calling.
Sometimes it's far beyond andfar outside of what we think
we're going to do.
(04:02):
But like I said, God has waysof bringing people around to
doing things that He wants us todo.
Now, when that happens, thatcalling means that you have
something inside of you that hewants to share with other
people.
He wants you to share whatother people are feeling.
In my case, and in Chance'scase, it's the compassion and
it's the desire to help and tolearn internally and teach.
Ashley Love (04:26):
That's beautiful.
You know, it's so it's sointeresting because you have
worked as a PA for a number ofyears, over two decades,
probably approaching on threedecades now.
Roberts Essex (04:35):
That's right.
Ashley Love (04:38):
Being able to create this character chance and
describe his story, which whichparallels your story, the
reflective nature of that, Iassume was very eye-opening for
you.
Did you learn anything aboutyour life specifically in
medicine that you maybe did notrealize while you were writing
Chance Beginnings?
Roberts Essex (04:57):
Yeah, this uh this is this reflection has been
cathartic because uh there weresome things that bothered me
about my life's journey that Ifelt like needed to be shared
about his life's journey.
But overall, I guess what makesyou do this long term and stay
with this is the satisfaction ofaccomplishment to bring other
(05:21):
people's health back in line andlearn how to deal with their
medical problems that maybe theydidn't take another look at,
another way to look at things.
I see a lot of patients thatare not getting that actual time
that as PAs we can devote.
And our physician colleaguesmay not be able to, because they
have to see so many morepatients nowadays, to make the
(05:41):
same money they did before.
We can still afford to takethat time, even in an emergency
setting.
Um we still get requests to seethe APP because we sit down
with the patient.
A long time ago, I learned froma physician colleague you
haven't seen the patient or youhaven't done anything with the
patient until you've madephysical contact.
(06:02):
So every patient, get touchevery patient, even to put your
hand on their shoulder for a fewmoments or their knee or
whatever, you made a physicalconnection.
Ashley Love (06:10):
I'm really glad you mentioned that.
I was thinking about the otherday.
I was thinking about that.
In terms of COVID, which wereyou practicing, were you
practicing clinically duringCOVID?
Roberts Essex (06:19):
Absolutely.
Ashley Love (06:20):
Yeah, okay.
So you remember it was you wedidn't touch anybody.
I mean, we didn't in ouroffice.
And um I remember thinking howentirely disconnected I felt
from our patients.
Um at least we did we did.
We touched our patients, but itwas there was no there was no
touch that wasn't medicallynecessary, right?
(06:41):
So, you know, if you needed tofeel their lymph nodes, you felt
their lymph nodes, but shakingtheir hand, giving them a hug,
placing your hand on their knee,that was we didn't do that.
And the disconnection that Ithink we all felt was immense.
And I feel like we do, wepractice better medicine when we
when we make that one-on-oneconnection.
Mr.
Essex, you mentioned the factthat your your history was not
(07:03):
always desirable and you hadchallenges and struggles leading
up to your career in medicine.
And then perhaps in your careerin medicine, there were there
were different struggles.
But what would you tell theperson listening who might be
thinking, you know, this fieldof medicine is not for me?
I have been through, you know,too much that has really ruined
(07:24):
this field for me.
I can't emit with other peoplebecause of the trauma of my
past, etc.
What would you, what would youtell that person?
On Chatter Me Next, we includea segment called quality
questions.
These are not about right orwrong answers.
They are the kinds of questionsthat reveal how you think, how
you reflect, and how youunderstand yourself in relation
(07:45):
to medicine.
You might see these questionsappear on a job interview or
even an interview forprofessional school.
In this episode, our guestchose to speak under a pen name.
Robert's Essex is not his realname, and that anonymity was
intentional.
It allowed him to talk openlyabout trauma, fate, doubt, and
(08:06):
the emotional weight of a longcareer in medicine, all while
protecting the integrity of hisstory in chance beginnings.
The quality question for thisepisode is this Will the trauma
of your past prevent you fromrealizing your future in
medicine?
This question is not askingwhether you have experienced
(08:27):
hardship.
Many people have, includingRobert's Essex.
It's asking whether you havereflected on it or not.
If you understand how it shapesyou, your empathy, your
boundaries, and the way that youwill ultimately show up for
your patients.
A strong answer does not denytrauma or glorify it.
(08:49):
It shows insight.
It explains what you learned,how you grew, and how that
experience informs the kind ofphysician or clinician you hope
to become.
Keep in mind that there's moreinterview prep, such as mock
interviews and personalstatement review, over on
ShadowmeNext.com.
There you'll find amazingresources to help you as you
(09:10):
prepare to answer your ownquality questions.
Roberts Essex (09:21):
If that feeling is there because of what we went
through during COVID, um I cancertainly understand that.
It was uh incredibly traumaticto all of us.
But you have to, again, for me,as displayed in the character,
(09:43):
this is a walk of faith.
And my faith tells me tocontinue on until I have reached
that challenge that I'msupposed to meet.
If you know what I'm talkingabout, or if our listeners know
what I'm talking about, those ofus who have a calling, continue
until we have reached thechallenge that he has for us.
In other words, there's apatient there someplace I
(10:06):
haven't touched yet.
When I've reached that goal,it'll be time for me to say
that's it.
But so if you're if you'refeeling like you're frustrated
with the profession, justreflect inwardly.
Have I have I touched that oneperson yet?
If you don't feel like youhave, if you don't feel that
warmth inside that you'resatisfied with you've reached
(10:26):
your objectives, just continueon if you can.
One day at a time, one patientat a time.
If it becomes unbearable, it'sokay.
Walk away.
But uh better for you to walkaway than to get so caught up in
the ill emotion of it if you'refeeling that that something
happens untoward.
But just continue to reflectinwardly and it'll tell you.
You'll be your guide.
(10:46):
Pray about it.
Ashley Love (10:49):
The purpose, the purpose is what's so important,
I think, like you mentioned,knowing your why, you know,
keeping that at the center ofall things makes those hard days
a bit easier and and keeps youmotivated, I think, to to facing
facing the next day.
Roberts Essex (11:03):
It's a purpose-driven profession,
absolutely.
It has to be.
Ashley Love (11:06):
Thank goodness.
Thank goodness, right.
You're right.
It does have to be because ofthe because of the nature of the
profession, right?
I mean, what we're what we'redealing with, it's humans, human
emotions, um, and and all ofthat complicated by a physical
illness, right?
Roberts Essex (11:20):
If you're thinking about doing this for
the money, forget it.
It's got to be a calling.
You've got to have uh, you havegot to have a drive that you
want to change someone's life,either by helping them to learn
how to take care of themselvesbetter, or in lots of cases that
I find in emergency medicine,it's asking the right questions.
(11:41):
Because history is everythingin medicine.
So you need to know how to be alittle bit of a detective when
you're practicing medicine.
It's these are all things,these are talents that you get
to have.
And so if you don't have that,if you're just thinking about
this because you didn't decidenot to go into architecture or
um you didn't want to dounderwater basket weaving or
(12:02):
whatever, and medicine seemedlike the thing to do at the
time, you're not the rightcandidate for that.
You this is something thatstarts early.
Ashley Love (12:09):
This is a fantastic segue into something that I'm
very interested in hearingabout.
So let's think way back whenyou were at when you're in
Jacksonville and you met yourfirst PA.
This was probably in thebeginning, really, of the
profession, or at least it wasrather new.
PAs have not been around aslong as nurses or physicians.
(12:29):
When you've met your first PA,what about that person made you
say this field of medicine, thisis for me?
Roberts Essex (12:38):
Well, I understand that I went from
paramedics in private life intothe military in Jacksonville.
At that time, I'm a Navycorpsman who has been in the
military for about three years.
I'm at a master jet field,Cecil Field, which is the second
largest runway in the country.
It's the uh alternate runwayfor the space shuttle.
(12:58):
Two PAs in my clinic have beenin the military for over 20
years.
They're both uh petty, I mean,excuse me, um, warrant officers.
And one of them is specializesin dermatology and gynecology,
and the other one specializes ininternal medicine.
And all of the young flightsurgeons are going to either one
of these PAs for theirexpertise and to help them with
(13:20):
clinical matters that come up.
And these are physicians whoare commanders and uh lieutenant
commanders in the Navy.
And I was so sorely impressedby that.
When I got out of the military,uh, I could not recoup the
paramedic information withoutstarting all over again.
So I said, okay, it's time togo back to college and follow
(13:42):
that goal.
These guys were so impressive,and that was an absolute
incentive.
And the Lord gave me enoughinformation that that was part
of his plan that uh that wassuccessful.
To get into the PA professionlike I did in rural medicine in
Georgia, uh, there were only acouple of opportunities.
In the medical college ofGeorgia, there were 32 seats.
(14:03):
Uh, and we had four seatsavailable through an allied
health education program in thestate.
I don't know how, only by thegrace of God was I able to go
back to college and besuccessful with that and get
accepted on the first time upinto the program for four seats.
Otherwise, we were allcompeting with over 3,500
applicants for 32 seats.
(14:24):
Yeah.
Oh my goodness.
This that's what I say.
This is destiny for me.
And I've tried to live it outevery day.
Ashley Love (14:31):
It's amazing.
And you know, I mean, almostthree decades later, the the
statistics are even moredaunting.
And, you know, to the personlistening, it's possible,
obviously.
I mean, even the odds then werechallenging and the odds now
are still challenging, but mygoodness, is it worth it?
Um, and you've worked in so thespecialties you've worked in as
a PA, internal medicine,hospital medicine, emergency
(14:53):
medicine.
You've been doing this fordecades.
How have you seen, how have youseen medicine progress?
And and this might be a littlebit of a teaser for some of the
more challenging subjects thatwe're going to talk about in a
second.
Say perhaps it has notprogressed always positively,
but what are some things thatyou could remark on that um that
you've seen change in medicineover the last number of years?
Roberts Essex (15:13):
Very early on, we were sometimes regarded as
little more than medicalassistance.
Um, a lot of scut work.
Scut work, I mean, here go andfollow my orders, or describing
what the physician wanted you toput in the track in the record.
That's evolved greatly over theyears.
I remember my first emergencyuh emergency in rural health.
(15:34):
I went from Arizona where I wasin a level three trauma center,
to an environment where therewere four beds in my emergency
room in the middle of nowhereand uh four doctors that were on
standby, and most of the timethey were playing golf
someplace.
When you would transfer apatient, the doctor on the other
end wanted to talk to theattending who was 80 miles away.
(15:55):
That was a great challengebecause many times those
transfers, although they had touh follow through due to Mtella,
the law that says you have toaccept a patient.
Our listeners might not knowthat.
There was a great deal ofpushback.
That is not the case anymore.
We were holding down positionsnow in facilities where young
physicians just don't want topractice.
(16:16):
It's a money issue.
Yet at the same time, furtherchallenges that we still have
the existing with us is apushback from pharmacists to
help us be able to write certaindrugs that patients need, even
on a short-term basis, and apushback by certain medical
associations around the countrythat see us as competing now.
We're not competing with theirphysician colleagues, we are
(16:39):
their right hand.
So I've seen this thing evolvegreatly in hospital medicine.
Sometimes we are the first lineuh for our physicians.
Sometimes we have 12 doctorsthat are covering patients
throughout large medicalfacilities, like the medical
center in Macon, and the PA istaking all of the intake uh and
(17:03):
writing orders on patients everyday.
You PA may have 30 patients,the physicians may have 12
apiece.
That's a huge difference from30 years ago.
So in every one of these cases,there's been a great evolution
of the profession.
We still have ways to go.
I think we've just seensomething happen, though, in the
last couple of years that'sgoing to cause us some issues,
(17:26):
and that is the change of thename, professional change of the
name, which I think was goingto get a lot of pushback.
But we can all work on ittogether.
New young PAs in the professionor nurse practitioners in their
profession need to get involvedin the politics of the
profession to help advancefurther the efforts that you and
(17:47):
I have started.
Ashley Love (17:48):
I'm really glad you mentioned politics.
Actually, I'm not glad youmentioned politics.
You're absolutely correct aboutour involvement in politics and
even, you know, even thestudents coming up behind us.
Tell me, so you've you workedin politics for a number of
years at uh both state andnational level.
What, number one, what does arole, a PA's role in politics
even look like?
(18:08):
And then two, why?
Why does it matter?
Why do we need to be involved?
Roberts Essex (18:12):
Well, of course, you have to have something
you're particularly interestedin changing.
And then that motivation thenmoves you to get involved on a
state or national level in aparticular board or committee of
one of those organizations thatis working on a project that
you have in mind.
For instance, if you want tochange, if you want to get
involved in uh being able towrite opioids on a limited basis
(18:36):
for patients who are seen in uhrural or critical access
hospitals, you need to getinvolved with a uh legislative
and governmental affairscommittee to make that happen.
And to do so, most of the time,all you have to do is express
interest.
And uh, if there's an openingand you uh qualify and you've
never had any issues withanything else, you're going to
(18:56):
get appointed to that committee.
Once you get into a committeelike that and you find that
that's uh another calling foryou, and you are good at it, and
you help provide informationand write legislation that is
moved on off the line, you'llsee that perhaps your additional
goal should be to further yourinvolvement in that chapter and
(19:17):
move for something that can leadthe chapter into uh better
developmental affairs for theprofession in your state.
That's how you get involved inthat.
Whether or not you stayinvolved in it or not depends on
how much you enjoy that,because there's some problems
that come along with that.
You have it takes time, ittakes time out of your practice.
Again, you have to bepersonally motivated for that
(19:38):
sort of thing.
I've seen I've been involvedwith many, many uh opportunities
to change, many facets inemergency medicine, what we do,
uh types of tests that we take,how we test each other,
privileges for hospitalmedicine, PAs, and how we're
interacting with physicians andspecialists in internal
medicine.
So once you start, it kind ofopens.
(19:59):
opens up a a a doorway tocontinuing that path if you'd
like or you can just do it asingle time.
Like you say, there have beenmany issues that I've been
involved in with but that's my OC D.
That's my O C D.
That's right.
When you get opinionatedthough, it's kind of hard
because uh because there we weall take this very seriously
(20:21):
when we're working in those typeof uh environments.
And uh we watch politics on TVuh in general and you know
that's that can be a a veryenjoyable thing and very
frustrating.
Ashley Love (20:32):
Exactly.
And that's you know I thinkthat's why we all not we all I
can't loop everybody into thatbut I think that's why for some
of us who politics just seemslike you know a very steep hill
to climb or even perhaps a sourexperience.
I like the way you described ifyou feel like you need to go
into politics it's because ofsomething you're particularly
(20:53):
interested in changing.
And I never quite thought of itthat way.
You know I always thought thatpeople in politics just went in
to be warriors for warriors forhealthcare and it they are but a
lot of them do have a specificbattle that they're that they're
fighting, that they're tryingto win.
You mentioned something Mr.
Essex that I don't want to letslip away and that is the fact
(21:16):
that when you are doing theseextracurriculars, perhaps we'll
call them for example your rolein politics, it does take away
from your practice.
And as PAs that's what that'sreally what we are meant to do.
And what we want to do is treatpatients and and heal patients
and work with patients and walkwith them on their journeys to
good health care.
This will lead into the nextquestion.
(21:38):
And that is you have donebeyond politics you have been
involved in a number ofdifferent things just to name a
few a steering committee for theCDC you served as a test item
writer for the National Board ofMedicine, multiple
publications.
You've served on boards with anumber of different societies
and this is this will be a twopart question, but how do you
(22:00):
balance the desire to really getinvolved with a lot of these
things with perhaps losing alittle bit of that direct
patient care that one-on-onewith patients I have no idea
yeah I uh I heard back from frommy publicist the other day he
said I have no idea how you dothis at 68 how you balance all
(22:21):
of this I I don't know franklybut it is a drive it's a
continued drive so when I wasdoing the publications I was
doing case presentations frompatients that I had done and as
I did one each one of those itwas a continued learning
experience for me.
Roberts Essex (22:37):
So the next time I came across anything that was
in that presentation I was ableto utilize that for additional
patient care or additionalimprovement of patient care.
So it's a um as I as I maketime for these kinds of things I
work a schedule of 10 to 14 12hour shifts sometimes 24 hour
(22:59):
shifts in critical accesshospitals where we may see 14 to
20 patients uh in that periodbut there's time to devote to
something maybe I'm working onthe internet or uh or something
I need to make note of to dowhen I'm off during the off days
(23:20):
I have a place in my home whereI devote to whatever work I'm
doing.
This is a small list of thingsthat I have done.
I've right now I'm multitaskingon about eight different
projects at the same time.
As we speak I have a couplestill still turning I have uh
two other books that I want towrite about the COVID issue.
(23:41):
I have picture coffee tablebooks I want to put together um
I'm still writing casepresentations I do legal I saw
that you do I do legal medicallegal work i i have two uh
attorneys firms that I work withon cases that's a little sticky
wicked you know you don't wantto you don't want to work
against a colleague but at thesame time there's sometimes we
(24:03):
all make mistakes and there'ssometimes something else may
have been on our mind we shouldhave been devoting to a patient
and things happen.
So I don't the answer to thatis the question overall is exact
exactly as I started.
I have no idea.
But the little angel sitting onmy shoulder that tells us
clinically you need to get thistest uh you need to do this for
(24:23):
that patient is the same onethat sits on my shoulder and
says hey maybe you need to takethis approach to this maybe you
need to do this or take time forthat.
It's a life well lived uhenjoyable I do see my wife
occasionally we pass in the hallsometimes but uh we've been
together 35 years now so she'suh she's my business person.
Ashley Love (24:45):
Mr.
Essex before we wrap up hereyou have mentioned a couple of
subjects in medicine that mightbe viewed as controversial
perhaps a little sticky butdefinitely in my opinion
discussion worthy questionsright these are things that for
the person listening if you havean upcoming interview in
medicine if you're going to beyou know interrogated by any
(25:08):
branch of any field in medicineyou might actually hear about
some of these and I'd like toI'd like to bring back a couple
that you have mentioned one isthe name change from physician
assistant to physician associateand for clarification when
we're recording this thisconversation right now it's the
end of 2025.
(25:29):
So this is not a new idea thishas been um this has been
decades long journey I meanyou've probably experienced a
couple of considerations of namechanges um but it's again it
has just it's just resurfacedrecently and um I would love to
hear especially as as a veteranin this profession I would love
to hear your take on notchanging our name as PAs well
(25:52):
first of all we all we all knowand most of the physicians we
work with know we're notanyone's assistant.
Roberts Essex (25:59):
And the name physician assistant is not is
not a possessive noun.
Right.
It's not physician's assistant.
The doctor that founded thisprofession just could not come
up with another title that hefelt was more appropriate at the
time than physician assistantuh because because he couldn't
(26:19):
find a way to appropriatelyplace us into that black and
white descriptive process but heknew he had to take all of
these well qualified fieldsurgical veterans and do
something with them for theunderserved and rural patients
throughout the country that'swhere we started.
So physician assistant was amisnomer but it was a title that
(26:42):
worked and it's worked for usnow for 80 years about 80 years.
My problem with uh change ofname is in change of name as it
applies to anything that hasgovernmental funding or
governmental legislation.
When you've been through 70 to80 years of legislation to make
sure that a profession continuesto advance you don't suddenly
(27:05):
decide what color the hood ofthe car is uh just because you
don't like the shade.
So we have we have not seen thepushback that's coming yet from
the AMA and I'm sure theAmerican College of Surgeons and
the American Board of EmergencyMedicine and others it's coming
it's coming because that movemay be signaling to our
(27:29):
physician colleagues that we'reseeking to become an independent
provider.
And what has brought us so faris the fact we've been a
dependent colleague to thesephysicians.
That's a politics from thephysicians and and it is very
strong.
We have no numbers compared sowe need young blood we need
motivated blood that'll helpfoster uh or continue to promote
(27:54):
that relationship.
In Georgia for instance manyyears ago we started off with
the ability to writeprescriptions based on our
physician's license numberpushback from the pharmacy board
was you can't use yourphysician's number for that.
For a while we were delayed inour ability to write
prescriptions until we'verealized we need to make sure
these guys understand we'rethere as a helping hand and not
(28:16):
as an adversary.
When that happened doors openedfor us so we need we need fresh
take on this now what isconcerning to me is the new
generation of students and thenew generation of potential PAs
seemed to be a little lesspatient.
And part of the reason for thechange in the name for them was
(28:40):
they didn't want to be thoughtof in any essence as being an
assistant to anyone and they dowant to make a drive towards
independence.
Stop that and just be happywith what you are you knew what
the profession's name was whenyou got into it leave it alone I
don't want to be I don't wantto be called an optician
anymore.
I want to be called aneyeglassmaker stop it.
(29:02):
Remember patient care is whatyou get into this for and it
doesn't matter what your name isbe recognized by what you can
do.
No I don't care what they callme.
Nobody calls me assistant whatthey call you you got a white
coat on everybody's called docbecause you take care of them
that is someone endear it's aterm of endearment it is by our
patients that they place onsomeone they trust with their
(29:25):
care and who has made them feelbetter in some way.
Ashley Love (29:29):
Enjoy that that's if you don't want to do this for
that you're you're not for thisoh my goodness and and I think
that is one of the reasons why Iam so grateful for you and the
other healthcare professionalsjoining me on this podcast is so
that students do see it is notjust a title and physician
(29:50):
assistant physician associate PAet cetera nurse nurse
practitioner at the end of theday it is what do you want to
do?
How do you want to treatpatients and what do you want
your lifestyle to look likeright?
And that's why I am so gratefulfor you all sharing your
stories, explaining some of thechallenges that you've seen, the
struggles so that students canput themselves in these roles
(30:12):
and say, is this going to suitme?
Is this what I'm being calledto do and ideally they can step
into their role in medicine withjust a little bit more
confidence in their decision.
So I am just I'm so gratefulfor you, Mr.
Essex thank you so much forjoining us today on Shadow Me
Next.
Guys please please check outhis book Chance Beginnings it is
(30:36):
available on Amazon and thelink is in the show notes below.
Roberts Essex (30:39):
Thank you very much.
Ashley Love (30:40):
It's been a pleasure thank you so very much
for listening to this episode ofShadow Me Next.
If you liked this episode or ifyou think it could be useful
for a friend please subscribeand invite them to join us next
Monday.
As always if you have anyquestions let me know on
Facebook or Instagram.
Access you want, stories youneed, you're always invited to
Shadow Me Next
Hello and welcome to Shadow Me Next, a podcast
where I take you into and behindthe scenes of the medical world
to provide you with a deeperunderstanding of the human side
of medicine.
I'm Ashley, a physicianassistant, medical editor,
clinical preceptor, and thecreator of Shadow Me Next.
It is my pleasure to introduceyou to incredible members of the
(00:22):
healthcare field and uncovertheir unique stories, the joys
and challenges they face, andwhat drives them in their
careers.
It's access you want andstories you need.
Whether you're a pre-healthstudent or simply curious about
the healthcare field, I inviteyou to join me as we take a
conversational and personal lookinto the lives and minds of
(00:43):
leaders in medicine.
I don't want you to miss asingle one of these
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So make sure that you subscribeto this podcast, which will
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And follow us on Instagram andFacebook at Shadow Me Next,
where we will review highlightsfrom this conversation and where
I'll give you sneak previews ofour upcoming guests.
(01:03):
Today's conversation is areminder that medicine is not
just a career choice, it's acalling that unfolds over time.
In this episode, I sit downwith Roberts Essex, a physician
assistant with decades ofexperience across emergency
medicine, hospital medicine, andpublic health, and the author
(01:25):
of the memoir Chance Beginnings.
Roberts Essex is a pen name,and the true identity of this PA
will remain intentionallyhidden to protect the depth of
the topics discussed and topreserve the integrity of his
story.
We talk about what it means tofeel pulled towards medicine
before you fully understand it,how personal hardship and faith
(01:47):
can shape the kind of clinicianyou become, and why human
connection still matters even inthe most high-pressure clinical
settings.
We also reflect onstorytelling, teaching, and the
responsibility we carry to passwisdom forward.
Please keep in mind that thecontent of this podcast is
intended for informational andentertainment purposes only and
(02:09):
should not be considered asprofessional medical advice.
The views and opinionsexpressed in this podcast are
those of the host and guests anddo not necessarily reflect the
official policy or position ofany other agency, organization,
employer, or company.
This is Shadow Me Next withRobert's Essex.
Mr.
Essex, thank you so much forjoining us on Shadow Me Next
(02:32):
today.
As we mentioned in your bio,you have this incredible memoir
called Chance Beginnings thatyou have written for everyone to
enjoy.
Why is storytelling, especiallyin the medical field, why is
storytelling so important?
Roberts Essex (02:49):
It helps people to get a different aspect of
life.
Sometimes to have the abilityto see someone else in a
different light, it helps youmake decisions that you might
not be able to do on your own.
In my case, this is a storyabout a young man that needs to
be told, about faith, about howhe gets into medicine, which is
(03:11):
um a calling, apparently, andhas worked well for him.
But during the process, he wentthrough not only lots of
turbulent times, but um but agreat deal of uh tragedy that he
had to overcome.
Ashley Love (03:25):
Absolutely.
It's an incredible story.
And you mentioned medicine as acalling, Mr.
Essex.
Can you describe to some of ourpre-health students who think,
well, I'm just looking at it asa job, or I'm just looking at
it, you know, to to pay thebills.
Describe to them what medicineas a calling really means.
Roberts Essex (03:41):
Sometimes we don't make our own choices,
sometimes things are destined,but sometimes we have to give in
to what God has still made forus to do.
And in this case, both myselfand the character had that same
uh had that same calling.
Sometimes it's far beyond andfar outside of what we think
we're going to do.
(04:02):
But like I said, God has waysof bringing people around to
doing things that He wants us todo.
Now, when that happens, thatcalling means that you have
something inside of you that hewants to share with other
people.
He wants you to share whatother people are feeling.
In my case, and in Chance'scase, it's the compassion and
it's the desire to help and tolearn internally and teach.
Ashley Love (04:26):
That's beautiful.
You know, it's so it's sointeresting because you have
worked as a PA for a number ofyears, over two decades,
probably approaching on threedecades now.
Roberts Essex (04:35):
That's right.
Ashley Love (04:38):
Being able to create this character chance and
describe his story, which whichparallels your story, the
reflective nature of that, Iassume was very eye-opening for
you.
Did you learn anything aboutyour life specifically in
medicine that you maybe did notrealize while you were writing
Chance Beginnings?
Roberts Essex (04:57):
Yeah, this uh this is this reflection has been
cathartic because uh there weresome things that bothered me
about my life's journey that Ifelt like needed to be shared
about his life's journey.
But overall, I guess what makesyou do this long term and stay
with this is the satisfaction ofaccomplishment to bring other
(05:21):
people's health back in line andlearn how to deal with their
medical problems that maybe theydidn't take another look at,
another way to look at things.
I see a lot of patients thatare not getting that actual time
that as PAs we can devote.
And our physician colleaguesmay not be able to, because they
have to see so many morepatients nowadays, to make the
(05:41):
same money they did before.
We can still afford to takethat time, even in an emergency
setting.
Um we still get requests to seethe APP because we sit down
with the patient.
A long time ago, I learned froma physician colleague you
haven't seen the patient or youhaven't done anything with the
patient until you've madephysical contact.
(06:02):
So every patient, get touchevery patient, even to put your
hand on their shoulder for a fewmoments or their knee or
whatever, you made a physicalconnection.
Ashley Love (06:10):
I'm really glad you mentioned that.
I was thinking about the otherday.
I was thinking about that.
In terms of COVID, which wereyou practicing, were you
practicing clinically duringCOVID?
Roberts Essex (06:19):
Absolutely.
Ashley Love (06:20):
Yeah, okay.
So you remember it was you wedidn't touch anybody.
I mean, we didn't in ouroffice.
And um I remember thinking howentirely disconnected I felt
from our patients.
Um at least we did we did.
We touched our patients, but itwas there was no there was no
touch that wasn't medicallynecessary, right?
(06:41):
So, you know, if you needed tofeel their lymph nodes, you felt
their lymph nodes, but shakingtheir hand, giving them a hug,
placing your hand on their knee,that was we didn't do that.
And the disconnection that Ithink we all felt was immense.
And I feel like we do, wepractice better medicine when we
when we make that one-on-oneconnection.
Mr.
Essex, you mentioned the factthat your your history was not
(07:03):
always desirable and you hadchallenges and struggles leading
up to your career in medicine.
And then perhaps in your careerin medicine, there were there
were different struggles.
But what would you tell theperson listening who might be
thinking, you know, this fieldof medicine is not for me?
I have been through, you know,too much that has really ruined
(07:24):
this field for me.
I can't emit with other peoplebecause of the trauma of my
past, etc.
What would you, what would youtell that person?
On Chatter Me Next, we includea segment called quality
questions.
These are not about right orwrong answers.
They are the kinds of questionsthat reveal how you think, how
you reflect, and how youunderstand yourself in relation
(07:45):
to medicine.
You might see these questionsappear on a job interview or
even an interview forprofessional school.
In this episode, our guestchose to speak under a pen name.
Robert's Essex is not his realname, and that anonymity was
intentional.
It allowed him to talk openlyabout trauma, fate, doubt, and
(08:06):
the emotional weight of a longcareer in medicine, all while
protecting the integrity of hisstory in chance beginnings.
The quality question for thisepisode is this Will the trauma
of your past prevent you fromrealizing your future in
medicine?
This question is not askingwhether you have experienced
(08:27):
hardship.
Many people have, includingRobert's Essex.
It's asking whether you havereflected on it or not.
If you understand how it shapesyou, your empathy, your
boundaries, and the way that youwill ultimately show up for
your patients.
A strong answer does not denytrauma or glorify it.
(08:49):
It shows insight.
It explains what you learned,how you grew, and how that
experience informs the kind ofphysician or clinician you hope
to become.
Keep in mind that there's moreinterview prep, such as mock
interviews and personalstatement review, over on
ShadowmeNext.com.
There you'll find amazingresources to help you as you
(09:10):
prepare to answer your ownquality questions.
Roberts Essex (09:21):
If that feeling is there because of what we went
through during COVID, um I cancertainly understand that.
It was uh incredibly traumaticto all of us.
But you have to, again, for me,as displayed in the character,
(09:43):
this is a walk of faith.
And my faith tells me tocontinue on until I have reached
that challenge that I'msupposed to meet.
If you know what I'm talkingabout, or if our listeners know
what I'm talking about, those ofus who have a calling, continue
until we have reached thechallenge that he has for us.
In other words, there's apatient there someplace I
(10:06):
haven't touched yet.
When I've reached that goal,it'll be time for me to say
that's it.
But so if you're if you'refeeling like you're frustrated
with the profession, justreflect inwardly.
Have I have I touched that oneperson yet?
If you don't feel like youhave, if you don't feel that
warmth inside that you'resatisfied with you've reached
(10:26):
your objectives, just continueon if you can.
One day at a time, one patientat a time.
If it becomes unbearable, it'sokay.
Walk away.
But uh better for you to walkaway than to get so caught up in
the ill emotion of it if you'refeeling that that something
happens untoward.
But just continue to reflectinwardly and it'll tell you.
You'll be your guide.
(10:46):
Pray about it.
Ashley Love (10:49):
The purpose, the purpose is what's so important,
I think, like you mentioned,knowing your why, you know,
keeping that at the center ofall things makes those hard days
a bit easier and and keeps youmotivated, I think, to to facing
facing the next day.
Roberts Essex (11:03):
It's a purpose-driven profession,
absolutely.
It has to be.
Ashley Love (11:06):
Thank goodness.
Thank goodness, right.
You're right.
It does have to be because ofthe because of the nature of the
profession, right?
I mean, what we're what we'redealing with, it's humans, human
emotions, um, and and all ofthat complicated by a physical
illness, right?
Roberts Essex (11:20):
If you're thinking about doing this for
the money, forget it.
It's got to be a calling.
You've got to have uh, you havegot to have a drive that you
want to change someone's life,either by helping them to learn
how to take care of themselvesbetter, or in lots of cases that
I find in emergency medicine,it's asking the right questions.
(11:41):
Because history is everythingin medicine.
So you need to know how to be alittle bit of a detective when
you're practicing medicine.
It's these are all things,these are talents that you get
to have.
And so if you don't have that,if you're just thinking about
this because you didn't decidenot to go into architecture or
um you didn't want to dounderwater basket weaving or
(12:02):
whatever, and medicine seemedlike the thing to do at the
time, you're not the rightcandidate for that.
You this is something thatstarts early.
Ashley Love (12:09):
This is a fantastic segue into something that I'm
very interested in hearingabout.
So let's think way back whenyou were at when you're in
Jacksonville and you met yourfirst PA.
This was probably in thebeginning, really, of the
profession, or at least it wasrather new.
PAs have not been around aslong as nurses or physicians.
(12:29):
When you've met your first PA,what about that person made you
say this field of medicine, thisis for me?
Roberts Essex (12:38):
Well, I understand that I went from
paramedics in private life intothe military in Jacksonville.
At that time, I'm a Navycorpsman who has been in the
military for about three years.
I'm at a master jet field,Cecil Field, which is the second
largest runway in the country.
It's the uh alternate runwayfor the space shuttle.
(12:58):
Two PAs in my clinic have beenin the military for over 20
years.
They're both uh petty, I mean,excuse me, um, warrant officers.
And one of them is specializesin dermatology and gynecology,
and the other one specializes ininternal medicine.
And all of the young flightsurgeons are going to either one
of these PAs for theirexpertise and to help them with
(13:20):
clinical matters that come up.
And these are physicians whoare commanders and uh lieutenant
commanders in the Navy.
And I was so sorely impressedby that.
When I got out of the military,uh, I could not recoup the
paramedic information withoutstarting all over again.
So I said, okay, it's time togo back to college and follow
(13:42):
that goal.
These guys were so impressive,and that was an absolute
incentive.
And the Lord gave me enoughinformation that that was part
of his plan that uh that wassuccessful.
To get into the PA professionlike I did in rural medicine in
Georgia, uh, there were only acouple of opportunities.
In the medical college ofGeorgia, there were 32 seats.
(14:03):
Uh, and we had four seatsavailable through an allied
health education program in thestate.
I don't know how, only by thegrace of God was I able to go
back to college and besuccessful with that and get
accepted on the first time upinto the program for four seats.
Otherwise, we were allcompeting with over 3,500
applicants for 32 seats.
(14:24):
Yeah.
Oh my goodness.
This that's what I say.
This is destiny for me.
And I've tried to live it outevery day.
Ashley Love (14:31):
It's amazing.
And you know, I mean, almostthree decades later, the the
statistics are even moredaunting.
And, you know, to the personlistening, it's possible,
obviously.
I mean, even the odds then werechallenging and the odds now
are still challenging, but mygoodness, is it worth it?
Um, and you've worked in so thespecialties you've worked in as
a PA, internal medicine,hospital medicine, emergency
(14:53):
medicine.
You've been doing this fordecades.
How have you seen, how have youseen medicine progress?
And and this might be a littlebit of a teaser for some of the
more challenging subjects thatwe're going to talk about in a
second.
Say perhaps it has notprogressed always positively,
but what are some things thatyou could remark on that um that
you've seen change in medicineover the last number of years?
Roberts Essex (15:13):
Very early on, we were sometimes regarded as
little more than medicalassistance.
Um, a lot of scut work.
Scut work, I mean, here go andfollow my orders, or describing
what the physician wanted you toput in the track in the record.
That's evolved greatly over theyears.
I remember my first emergencyuh emergency in rural health.
(15:34):
I went from Arizona where I wasin a level three trauma center,
to an environment where therewere four beds in my emergency
room in the middle of nowhereand uh four doctors that were on
standby, and most of the timethey were playing golf
someplace.
When you would transfer apatient, the doctor on the other
end wanted to talk to theattending who was 80 miles away.
(15:55):
That was a great challengebecause many times those
transfers, although they had touh follow through due to Mtella,
the law that says you have toaccept a patient.
Our listeners might not knowthat.
There was a great deal ofpushback.
That is not the case anymore.
We were holding down positionsnow in facilities where young
physicians just don't want topractice.
(16:16):
It's a money issue.
Yet at the same time, furtherchallenges that we still have
the existing with us is apushback from pharmacists to
help us be able to write certaindrugs that patients need, even
on a short-term basis, and apushback by certain medical
associations around the countrythat see us as competing now.
We're not competing with theirphysician colleagues, we are
(16:39):
their right hand.
So I've seen this thing evolvegreatly in hospital medicine.
Sometimes we are the first lineuh for our physicians.
Sometimes we have 12 doctorsthat are covering patients
throughout large medicalfacilities, like the medical
center in Macon, and the PA istaking all of the intake uh and
(17:03):
writing orders on patients everyday.
You PA may have 30 patients,the physicians may have 12
apiece.
That's a huge difference from30 years ago.
So in every one of these cases,there's been a great evolution
of the profession.
We still have ways to go.
I think we've just seensomething happen, though, in the
last couple of years that'sgoing to cause us some issues,
(17:26):
and that is the change of thename, professional change of the
name, which I think was goingto get a lot of pushback.
But we can all work on ittogether.
New young PAs in the professionor nurse practitioners in their
profession need to get involvedin the politics of the
profession to help advancefurther the efforts that you and
(17:47):
I have started.
Ashley Love (17:48):
I'm really glad you mentioned politics.
Actually, I'm not glad youmentioned politics.
You're absolutely correct aboutour involvement in politics and
even, you know, even thestudents coming up behind us.
Tell me, so you've you workedin politics for a number of
years at uh both state andnational level.
What, number one, what does arole, a PA's role in politics
even look like?
(18:08):
And then two, why?
Why does it matter?
Why do we need to be involved?
Roberts Essex (18:12):
Well, of course, you have to have something
you're particularly interestedin changing.
And then that motivation thenmoves you to get involved on a
state or national level in aparticular board or committee of
one of those organizations thatis working on a project that
you have in mind.
For instance, if you want tochange, if you want to get
involved in uh being able towrite opioids on a limited basis
(18:36):
for patients who are seen in uhrural or critical access
hospitals, you need to getinvolved with a uh legislative
and governmental affairscommittee to make that happen.
And to do so, most of the time,all you have to do is express
interest.
And uh, if there's an openingand you uh qualify and you've
never had any issues withanything else, you're going to
(18:56):
get appointed to that committee.
Once you get into a committeelike that and you find that
that's uh another calling foryou, and you are good at it, and
you help provide informationand write legislation that is
moved on off the line, you'llsee that perhaps your additional
goal should be to further yourinvolvement in that chapter and
(19:17):
move for something that can leadthe chapter into uh better
developmental affairs for theprofession in your state.
That's how you get involved inthat.
Whether or not you stayinvolved in it or not depends on
how much you enjoy that,because there's some problems
that come along with that.
You have it takes time, ittakes time out of your practice.
Again, you have to bepersonally motivated for that
(19:38):
sort of thing.
I've seen I've been involvedwith many, many uh opportunities
to change, many facets inemergency medicine, what we do,
uh types of tests that we take,how we test each other,
privileges for hospitalmedicine, PAs, and how we're
interacting with physicians andspecialists in internal
medicine.
So once you start, it kind ofopens.
(19:59):
opens up a a a doorway tocontinuing that path if you'd
like or you can just do it asingle time.
Like you say, there have beenmany issues that I've been
involved in with but that's my OC D.
That's my O C D.
That's right.
When you get opinionatedthough, it's kind of hard
because uh because there we weall take this very seriously
(20:21):
when we're working in those typeof uh environments.
And uh we watch politics on TVuh in general and you know
that's that can be a a veryenjoyable thing and very
frustrating.
Ashley Love (20:32):
Exactly.
And that's you know I thinkthat's why we all not we all I
can't loop everybody into thatbut I think that's why for some
of us who politics just seemslike you know a very steep hill
to climb or even perhaps a sourexperience.
I like the way you described ifyou feel like you need to go
into politics it's because ofsomething you're particularly
(20:53):
interested in changing.
And I never quite thought of itthat way.
You know I always thought thatpeople in politics just went in
to be warriors for warriors forhealthcare and it they are but a
lot of them do have a specificbattle that they're that they're
fighting, that they're tryingto win.
You mentioned something Mr.
Essex that I don't want to letslip away and that is the fact
(21:16):
that when you are doing theseextracurriculars, perhaps we'll
call them for example your rolein politics, it does take away
from your practice.
And as PAs that's what that'sreally what we are meant to do.
And what we want to do is treatpatients and and heal patients
and work with patients and walkwith them on their journeys to
good health care.
This will lead into the nextquestion.
(21:38):
And that is you have donebeyond politics you have been
involved in a number ofdifferent things just to name a
few a steering committee for theCDC you served as a test item
writer for the National Board ofMedicine, multiple
publications.
You've served on boards with anumber of different societies
and this is this will be a twopart question, but how do you
(22:00):
balance the desire to really getinvolved with a lot of these
things with perhaps losing alittle bit of that direct
patient care that one-on-onewith patients I have no idea
yeah I uh I heard back from frommy publicist the other day he
said I have no idea how you dothis at 68 how you balance all
(22:21):
of this I I don't know franklybut it is a drive it's a
continued drive so when I wasdoing the publications I was
doing case presentations frompatients that I had done and as
I did one each one of those itwas a continued learning
experience for me.
Roberts Essex (22:37):
So the next time I came across anything that was
in that presentation I was ableto utilize that for additional
patient care or additionalimprovement of patient care.
So it's a um as I as I maketime for these kinds of things I
work a schedule of 10 to 14 12hour shifts sometimes 24 hour
(22:59):
shifts in critical accesshospitals where we may see 14 to
20 patients uh in that periodbut there's time to devote to
something maybe I'm working onthe internet or uh or something
I need to make note of to dowhen I'm off during the off days
(23:20):
I have a place in my home whereI devote to whatever work I'm
doing.
This is a small list of thingsthat I have done.
I've right now I'm multitaskingon about eight different
projects at the same time.
As we speak I have a couplestill still turning I have uh
two other books that I want towrite about the COVID issue.
(23:41):
I have picture coffee tablebooks I want to put together um
I'm still writing casepresentations I do legal I saw
that you do I do legal medicallegal work i i have two uh
attorneys firms that I work withon cases that's a little sticky
wicked you know you don't wantto you don't want to work
against a colleague but at thesame time there's sometimes we
(24:03):
all make mistakes and there'ssometimes something else may
have been on our mind we shouldhave been devoting to a patient
and things happen.
So I don't the answer to thatis the question overall is exact
exactly as I started.
I have no idea.
But the little angel sitting onmy shoulder that tells us
clinically you need to get thistest uh you need to do this for
(24:23):
that patient is the same onethat sits on my shoulder and
says hey maybe you need to takethis approach to this maybe you
need to do this or take time forthat.
It's a life well lived uhenjoyable I do see my wife
occasionally we pass in the hallsometimes but uh we've been
together 35 years now so she'suh she's my business person.
Ashley Love (24:45):
Mr.
Essex before we wrap up hereyou have mentioned a couple of
subjects in medicine that mightbe viewed as controversial
perhaps a little sticky butdefinitely in my opinion
discussion worthy questionsright these are things that for
the person listening if you havean upcoming interview in
medicine if you're going to beyou know interrogated by any
(25:08):
branch of any field in medicineyou might actually hear about
some of these and I'd like toI'd like to bring back a couple
that you have mentioned one isthe name change from physician
assistant to physician associateand for clarification when
we're recording this thisconversation right now it's the
end of 2025.
(25:29):
So this is not a new idea thishas been um this has been
decades long journey I meanyou've probably experienced a
couple of considerations of namechanges um but it's again it
has just it's just resurfacedrecently and um I would love to
hear especially as as a veteranin this profession I would love
to hear your take on notchanging our name as PAs well
(25:52):
first of all we all we all knowand most of the physicians we
work with know we're notanyone's assistant.
Roberts Essex (25:59):
And the name physician assistant is not is
not a possessive noun.
Right.
It's not physician's assistant.
The doctor that founded thisprofession just could not come
up with another title that hefelt was more appropriate at the
time than physician assistantuh because because he couldn't
(26:19):
find a way to appropriatelyplace us into that black and
white descriptive process but heknew he had to take all of
these well qualified fieldsurgical veterans and do
something with them for theunderserved and rural patients
throughout the country that'swhere we started.
So physician assistant was amisnomer but it was a title that
(26:42):
worked and it's worked for usnow for 80 years about 80 years.
My problem with uh change ofname is in change of name as it
applies to anything that hasgovernmental funding or
governmental legislation.
When you've been through 70 to80 years of legislation to make
sure that a profession continuesto advance you don't suddenly
(27:05):
decide what color the hood ofthe car is uh just because you
don't like the shade.
So we have we have not seen thepushback that's coming yet from
the AMA and I'm sure theAmerican College of Surgeons and
the American Board of EmergencyMedicine and others it's coming
it's coming because that movemay be signaling to our
(27:29):
physician colleagues that we'reseeking to become an independent
provider.
And what has brought us so faris the fact we've been a
dependent colleague to thesephysicians.
That's a politics from thephysicians and and it is very
strong.
We have no numbers compared sowe need young blood we need
motivated blood that'll helpfoster uh or continue to promote
(27:54):
that relationship.
In Georgia for instance manyyears ago we started off with
the ability to writeprescriptions based on our
physician's license numberpushback from the pharmacy board
was you can't use yourphysician's number for that.
For a while we were delayed inour ability to write
prescriptions until we'verealized we need to make sure
these guys understand we'rethere as a helping hand and not
(28:16):
as an adversary.
When that happened doors openedfor us so we need we need fresh
take on this now what isconcerning to me is the new
generation of students and thenew generation of potential PAs
seemed to be a little lesspatient.
And part of the reason for thechange in the name for them was
(28:40):
they didn't want to be thoughtof in any essence as being an
assistant to anyone and they dowant to make a drive towards
independence.
Stop that and just be happywith what you are you knew what
the profession's name was whenyou got into it leave it alone I
don't want to be I don't wantto be called an optician
anymore.
I want to be called aneyeglassmaker stop it.
(29:02):
Remember patient care is whatyou get into this for and it
doesn't matter what your name isbe recognized by what you can
do.
No I don't care what they callme.
Nobody calls me assistant whatthey call you you got a white
coat on everybody's called docbecause you take care of them
that is someone endear it's aterm of endearment it is by our
patients that they place onsomeone they trust with their
(29:25):
care and who has made them feelbetter in some way.
Ashley Love (29:29):
Enjoy that that's if you don't want to do this for
that you're you're not for thisoh my goodness and and I think
that is one of the reasons why Iam so grateful for you and the
other healthcare professionalsjoining me on this podcast is so
that students do see it is notjust a title and physician
(29:50):
assistant physician associate PAet cetera nurse nurse
practitioner at the end of theday it is what do you want to
do?
How do you want to treatpatients and what do you want
your lifestyle to look likeright?
And that's why I am so gratefulfor you all sharing your
stories, explaining some of thechallenges that you've seen, the
struggles so that students canput themselves in these roles
(30:12):
and say, is this going to suitme?
Is this what I'm being calledto do and ideally they can step
into their role in medicine withjust a little bit more
confidence in their decision.
So I am just I'm so gratefulfor you, Mr.
Essex thank you so much forjoining us today on Shadow Me
Next.
Guys please please check outhis book Chance Beginnings it is
(30:36):
available on Amazon and thelink is in the show notes below.
Roberts Essex (30:39):
Thank you very much.
Ashley Love (30:40):
It's been a pleasure thank you so very much
for listening to this episode ofShadow Me Next.
If you liked this episode or ifyou think it could be useful
for a friend please subscribeand invite them to join us next
Monday.
As always if you have anyquestions let me know on
Facebook or Instagram.
Access you want, stories youneed, you're always invited to
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