Oral Histories
The Oral History Collection contains audiotapes, videos and DVDs with corresponding transcripts produced either by the Society or by others and then gifted to the Society. Holdings from this collection have been digitized and placed in the Society’s digital archival collection using PastPerfect™ software.
While there is no substitute for original correspondence and other primary source materials, interviews help us understand better the context in which decisions were made, offer fresh insights, and suggest directions for further research. The Society continues to identify, collect, catalog and preserve existing audio and video oral histories and is conducting additional interviews with key individuals to fill in gaps of missing information.
To access the entirety of our Oral History Collection, please visit our PastPerfect website here.
If you need help searching our Oral Histories, please click here for our Search Guide.
To see more of our video Oral Histories, please visit our Vimeo account by clicking here.
Voices of the PA profession: Please use the suggestion box to recommend individuals who should be interviewed about specific events in their own or our collective professional history.
FEATURED ORAL HISTORIES
GARY TOOLEY
Tooley shares his experiences as a medic in the Army, how he became a PA, and his service in the Army National Guard.
SHEPARD STONE
Stone talks on his experiences in the Army Reserves, as a medic, and how he learned about the PA profession.
JAMES CANNON
Cannon shares his experiences in the Coast Guard, how he became a PA and the most satisfying aspects of his PA career.
AMELIA DURAN-STANTON
Duran-Stanton is an IPAP graduate that is currently on active duty in the US Army. She shares how she became a PA, what drove her to become interested in the profession and her specialty, and her current work as of 2017.
RECENTLY ADDED HISTORIES
Nicole Burwell >
Burwell, PhD, PA-C, DFAAPA, is President Elect of the Physician Assistant Education Association (PAEA). In her interview she shares how she became a PA and a PA educator, the importance of being involved in the profession, her work in DEI initiatives and her plans for her presidency.
Susan LeLacheur >
Susan LeLacheur, DrPH, PA-C, talks about being a PA during the HIV/AIDS crisis of the 1980s and 1990s. She speaks on moving from clinical work to HIV/AIDS research, her most memorable patient and her passion for health equity.
Reginald Carter >
In this 2022 interview, Reginald Carter, PhD, PA, shares how he became program director of the Duke University PA Program, his accomplishments as a member and president of the Association of PA Programs (now PAEA), and the history of the Physician Assistant History Society.
FEATURED VIDEO ORAL HISTORY INTERVIEWS
Nicole Burwell
Burwell shares how she became a PA and a PA educator, the importance of being involved in the profession, her work in DEI initiatives and her plans for her presidency.
Richard Muma
Muma shares how he became the first PA to be named a university president and the accomplishments he is most proud of.
Ted Ruback
Ruback talks about how he became a PA, how he became a PA educator, his mentor, Dr. Henry Silver, and how Dr. Silver's approach to ...
LeLacheur talks about being a PA during the HIV/AIDS crisis of the 1980s and 1990s. She speaks on moving from clinical work to HIV/AIDS research, her most memorable patient and her passion for health equity.
Susan LeLacheur
FEATURED AUDIO INTERVIEWS
Sherry Stolberg>
Sherry Stolberg graduated from Hahnemann University's PA program at Philadelphia. Hahnemann was the first PA program in Philadelphia. Stolberg later went on to become the program director for Hahnemann and, later on, Stanford.
Harvery Estes>
Dr. Estes talks on being one of the early program directors for the Duke PA Program.
Ann Bliss>
Ann Bliss talks on being one of the founders of the Yale PA Program and the program's early years.
Dennis Blessing>
He talks about his career in the Army as a medic, becoming a PA, the most challenging moment in his career, and some of his career highlights.
Oral History Collections
PAs and the HIV/AIDS Epidemic>
This oral history series highlights the role PAs and the AAPA LBGT Caucus played in healthcare during the HIV/AIDS epidemic of the 1980s and 1990s.
Medics and Corpsmen>
This project was originally in collaboration with the Maine Military Museum. This is a collection of interviews with PAs who began their health practitioner careers as either military medics or corpsmen.
The PA Profession in the Netherlands>
This series interviews those who helped start and shape the PA profession in the Netherlands.