Duke PA Program Leaves Its Mark at the 2025 PAEA Forum
This month, Duke alumni, faculty, and students played a leading role at the annual PAEA Education Forum, held in San Diego, California. Contributing all across the board, they led presentations and participated in panels and workshops that showcased their passion for the profession. Attendees had the opportunity to connect with others, hear from leading PA voices, and gain knowledge that builds toward professional growth.
The Forum also includes the kickoff and culmination for two cohorts of PAEA’s Future Educator Fellowship, where PA students are chosen to engage in a yearlong program, diving deeper into the foundations of teaching and growing their professional and leadership skills. This fellowship aims to provide students with the tools needed to be successful in PA education.
Faculty member Janelle Bludorn, MS, PA-C, serves as the chair of the Future Educator Development Steering Committee, which administers the fellowship. Class of 2025 graduates Nathan Thimas, MHS, PA-C, and Anita Samadabati, MHS, PA-C both proudly showcased their work during the Future Educator Fellows Symposium. Mari Gapcynski, MHS, PA-C was a fellow and delivered a recorded presentation for the Forum titled Finding Their Voice: Fostering Professional Identity Development in PA Education. Current second-year student Marisa Mattys, also attended as the new cohort of the fellowship.
Thimas, who presented on Optimizing LGBTQ Health Education Amidst Nationwide Dismantling of DEI Initiatives reflects:
“As a PAEA Future Educator Fellow, I spent the last year learning the soft and logistical skills of being an effective educator in PA education. While attending Forum this year, I got to interact with and learn from PA educators and faculty from across the country.
Presenting my topic at forum was nerve-racking, but using the skills I learned throughout the last year, I affirmed that I love education and teaching. I look forward to continuing my pursuit of higher education and training the next generation of competent and ambitious Physician Assistants.”
Faculty Presentations:
- April Stouder, EdD, MHS, PA-C – Mission: Faculty Retention – Strategies to Support PA Educators (panelist)
- Jacquetta Melvin, MPH, PA-C – Bridging the Gap: Translating Accommodations from Classroom to Clinic (presenter) and Path to Conference Presenting: Strategies for a Successful Submission (facilitator)
- Janelle Bludorn, MS, PA-C – Scanning for Guidelines: What PA Students Really Need to Learn about POCUS (presenter), Parenting and PA Education: Navigating Dual Roles with Success (panelist), and Mission: Faculty Retention – Strategies to Support PA Educators (moderator)
- Rachel Porter, Med, PhD – Arrested Development? Social Growth and Professionalism Gaps in PA Students (presenter) with co-authors Quincy Jones, DrPH, MSW, MHS, PA-C, Brittany Macon-Davis, DMSc, MHS, PA-C, and Jacquetta Melvin; Beyond Algorithms – Applying Health Humanities to Enhance Patient Care
- Melinda Blazar, EdD, MHS, PA-C – Behind the Blueprint: A Journey through the PAEA Exam Development Process and Beyond the Exam: Integrating the PAEA End of Curriculum Exam into Program Outcomes
- Betsy Melcher, MS, ATC, MHS, PA-C – From Feedback to Flourishing: Using Self-Assessment to Elevate Teaching
- Laura Okolie, DMSc, MBA, MHS, PA-C – Leveraging Admissions Tools to Meet ARC-PA Standards and Ongoing Assessment
We continued to wear our Duke Blue proudly and shine as Program Director and Division Chief, April Stouder, EdD, MHS, PA-C, received an award for the 2025 Article of the Year, titled “Burnout, Personal, and Occupational Factors as Predictors of Physician Assistant Faculty Intent to Leave after the COVID-19 Pandemic.”
We are beyond thrilled to see the impact made by our DPAP family this year and look forward to what’s next!