Over the course of nearly five decades in medicine, Nadya Dimitrov, DPM, PA-C, DFAAPA, has helped shape how physician assistants/physician associates care for patients facing serious and life-limiting illness. Her career has not followed a straight line, but rather a purposeful evolution, one that reflects both the growth of the PA profession itself and her own commitment to whole-person care. From her early days helping build surgical PA training programs in New York City hospitals to her later leadership in hospice and palliative medicine, Dimitrov has consistently been at the forefront of innovation. As an educator, author, and national leader, she has played a key role in integrating palliative care and serious illness patient management into PA education, ensuring that future clinicians are not only clinically skilled but also prepared to navigate the ethical and human dimensions of illness.
Dimitrov’s path into medicine began with a broad curiosity about people and the human experience. She earned her undergraduate degree at the University of Colorado Boulder, studying psychology, philosophy, and art, disciplines that would later influence her approach to patient care. Rather than entering medicine through a traditional route, she was drawn to the emerging PA profession in the early 1970s, a field that emphasized collaboration, adaptability, and direct patient care. She enrolled in the physician associate program at SUNY Stony Brook, graduating in 1975 at a time when the profession was still defining itself. Her decision reflected both a practical desire to work closely with patients and a deeper interest in understanding the human side of illness. Years later, she expanded her clinical training by earning a Doctor of Podiatric Medicine degree, adding another layer of expertise to her already diverse background.
Her early career was marked by energy, initiative, and a willingness to step into new roles. As a PA in the department of surgery at Beth Israel Medical Center, she and Emanuel Mkrtichian, MFA, BS, PA-C, developed one of the first inpatient surgical training programs; this was alongside William Toler, PA, who was involved in the department of medicine’s first combined inpatient and outpatient methadone treatment program. This combined vision of the hospital’s president, Robert Newman, MD, helped to establish model systems that would support future generations of PA clinicians. Dimitrov went on to work in obstetrics and gynecology at Montefiore Hospital alongside Clara Vanderbilt, RPA, in surgery, and later became chief PA for surgical services at Manhattan Health Plan, the first private HMO in the region. In each of these roles, she was not simply practicing medicine, she was defining her leadership role as a pioneer PA in complex clinical environments. Her work required adaptability and collaboration with physicians across specialties, while maintaining focus on patient-centered care. These formative years laid the groundwork for a career that would increasingly move toward holistic and interdisciplinary approaches to healthcare. She was one of the founding members of the New York State Society of PAs (NYSSPA) and continues to this day to project the same pioneering spirit of innovation and healthcare with the formation of the special interest group (SIG) PAs Treating Serious Illness Patients.
As her career progressed, Dimitrov graduated from the NY College of Podiatric Medicine with a clinical doctorate and built a successful private practice. At this time, she was also serving as residency program faculty, attending podiatrist, and consultant in multiple hospital and specialty settings – including diabetes, wound care, dialysis and hospice. Her clinical work brought her into contact with patients in multiple settings such as home care, inpatient hospice, and outpatient clinical arenas. These experiences involved management of advanced and complex medical and surgical conditions through the coordination of interdisciplinary teams, and this would ultimately shape her transition into hospice and palliative care. She became more deeply interested in the spiritual impact of disease while working closely with chaplains and social workers. This helped other clinicians communicate with patients facing serious illness, inform how teams collaborate across disciplines, and how care can better reflect the values and goals of patients and care partners, including families. This shift in focus is a defining theme of her later work.
At her alma mater, Stony Brook University, Dimitrov found a platform to translate her clinical experience into education and mentorship. As a faculty member she took on the role of assistant director of the Physician Assistant Post-Professional Master’s Program. She was able to convert the program to an online one for the clinically practicing PA, and she helped design curricula that emphasized not only clinical knowledge but also ethics, leadership training, and clinical and policy aspects of palliative care, among others. She mentored PAs and other healthcare professional students through their academic and clinical training, often encouraging them to think beyond diagnoses and procedures to consider the broader context of each patient’s life. Her teaching incorporated innovative approaches at the university where she received an award for teaching excellence; she used a hybrid (Hyflex) classroom model which used interactive learning techniques to advance skills such as telehealth.
Beyond the classroom, Dimitrov’s influence has extended to the University Ethics Committee and consult team, and beyond this to the national and international stage. She has presented at national and international conferences in the field. She is one of the founding members of Physician Associates in Hospice and Palliative Medicine (PAHPM), serving as secretary and executive director. She helped grow the organization into a recognized voice within the AAPA and its constituent organizations, as well as a specialty interest group of the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine (AAHPM). Her work with the New York State Medical Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (MOLST) Implementation Team has placed her at the center of efforts to improve advance care planning and end-of-life decision-making. This has been recently enhanced with national grant support to incorporate AI advances into the ACP process. She has also contributed to the development of certification standards in palliative medicine and hospice care through her work with the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA). In each of these roles, she focused on equipping clinicians with the tools and confidence to have difficult conversations and to provide care that their patients’ values.
Dimitrov’s scholarly work reflects the same themes that have guided her clinical and educational efforts. She has authored, co-authored and edited numerous publications, including a widely used textbook on palliative and serious illness management for PAs. With the publication of a specialty review book of test questions, the writing bridges the gap between theory and practice by offering practical guidance grounded in real-world experience and anticipating situations where PAs in all locations (specialty, geography, facility) can benefit—even if they are not studying for an examination. Whether discussing ethics, communication skills, or clinical care, her work emphasizes the importance of seeing patients as whole individuals rather than a collection of symptoms or diagnoses.
Dimitrov’s contributions have been recognized through many honors, including designation as a Distinguished Fellow of the American Academy of Physician Associates. Those who have worked with her often point not only to her achievements, but also to her dedication as a mentor and her ability to connect with both students and colleagues. She has incorporated meditation skills for student test taking and reflective writing for narrative medicine, as well as demonstrating how music and art therapy are part of a healthcare professional’s career (creating legacy cards for her mother’s art). She has remained actively involved in community service, medical missions, and interdisciplinary initiatives, reinforcing her belief that healthcare extends beyond the walls of any single institution. ‘You need to embody the change in order to affect the course of healthcare,’ she stated.
Today, Nadya Dimitrov continues to contribute to the advancement of palliative care and serious illness patient management through education, advocacy and practice. Her work remains focused on preparing healthcare professionals and patients to meet the complex challenges of modern healthcare. This has taken the form of collaborating with other PAs on an innovative AI-based healthcare solution in a startup software company. The modern PA clinician needs tools to manage these patients using value-based care. It is the pioneer spirit that has been the energy motivating her career. Outside of her professional roles, her early interests in art and humanities continue to inform and balance this perspective. She is co-creating another book that embodies the written word and how art has been a central theme of her life. The book will hopefully serve as a model to others showing that medicine is as much about understanding people as it is about treating disease. Her career reflects a rare combination of clinical expertise, educational leadership, and a deeply human approach to care—one that continues to influence the physician associate profession today.
Acknowledgments:
This biography was written by Jeff Myers, MPH, MMSc, PA-C, DFAAPA, FAAHPM, with the assistance of Nadya Dimitrov. It was submitted to the Society in April 2026. The photograph is courtesy of Dr. Dminirov.
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