More than 650 PAs have been trained under LTC Jed Grant, DMSc, PA-C. He has had PA students with him, both in the classroom and the clinic, for 25 years. He is also a sought-after and engaging speaker, having delivered thirty presentations at CME conferences on a variety of topics. Grant served on the California Physician Assistant Board for 10 years where his leadership was instrumental in crafting regulatory policy allowing and expanding scope for PAs to practice at the top of their license to meet healthcare demands at a critical time.
The middle of seven boys born to a truck driver and hairdresser, Jed Grant had an adventuresome childhood in rural central California. Although he liked learning, school felt like a chore. He was not too excited about college, instead preferring adventures outdoors. One summer, while playing with his brothers in a riverbed bamboo patch, one of his sibling’s legs was partially impaled on a bamboo spear. This accident created an interest and curiosity about medicine, though he did not think he was smart enough to be a doctor. After high school and a few years of arduous work, LTC Grant developed an appreciation for the benefits of higher education. LTC Grant entered military service in the Army National Guard as a medic to explore his interest in medicine and pay for school. During this time, he had his first exposure to PAs who mentored and encouraged him to pursue further medical training.
LTC Grant attended the Interservice PA Program (IPAP) in the late 1990s and was the first person in his family to obtain a bachelor’s degree. He practiced primary care in rural Nevada for one year and then transitioned to emergency medicine in central California where he would practice for the next 20 years. During this time, he continued to serve in the Army National Guard. He was assigned to infantry units and eventually aviation units as an aeromedical PA, often in the place of a flight surgeon. When a local community college, San Joaquin Valley College, opened a PA program with a focus on veterans in 2003, he immediately signed on as faculty and began teaching part-time. While his early career was always busy, he still found time to complete a master’s degree from University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) and became involved in leadership at his emergency department.
LTC Grant gradually grew to take on greater responsibilities in both education and clinical leadership. He helped to develop a “PA in triage” system that dramatically reduced wait times in emergency departments; he spoke about this new system at national conferences. He began to participate in committees at the state level and lecturing at conferences. LTC Grant left the National Guard after completing his military service obligation. After a physician friend was killed by a drunk driver, he became a part-time police officer and was honored as the Reserve Officer of the Year twice, while continuing to work in the ED and teaching PA students. In 2014, he was appointed to the PA Board of California by the governor and served on various committees. He also served as vice president and then president (2018-2020) of the board, being reappointed twice and helping to draft important legislation and regulations. Finally, he took on the role of program director at San Joaquin Valley College – which at that time was one of the last associate degree PA programs in the country – and helped run a post-graduate fellowship in emergency medicine.
In 2015, LTC Grant transitioned to the University of the Pacific where he helped establish a successful new PA program and completed his doctorate. He has published a few articles but does not have a particular research interest, preferring the joy of working with PA students and faculty. He helped to develop a comprehensive point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) curriculum that was fully integrated with other courses. LTC Grant left law enforcement and in 2014 returned to the Army National Guard, completing a combat deployment in 2021where he aided in the evacuation of Afghanistan and flew medevac missions. LTC Grant also served as the interim flight surgeon for the Multinational Force and Observers in Egypt. He was the AAPA Veterans Caucus Uniformed PA of the Year in 2023 and is the recipient of several military awards, including the Order of St. Maurice.
LTC Grant continues to serve aviators in the Army National Guard and has relocated to Arizona to start a new PA program. He is the program director for the developing PA program at Chamberlain University in Phoenix which is expecting its first class in 2026. He was elected a director at large on the NCCPA Board of Directors in 2023, appointed as a Trustee on PA History Society Board in 2025, and serves on a committee for the Arizona State PA Association. He has been married to his lovely bride Rebecca for 31 years and has four grown sons but no grandchildren (yet).
Acknowledgments: This Biographical Sketch was written by LTC Jed Grant, DMSc, PA-C, and was submitted to the Society in February 2025. Photographs are courtesy of LTC Grant.
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