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
JULIE THERIAULT
Theriault shares the stories of how she became a PA and president of AAPA and also offers advice to those considering the PA profession as a career.
PAULINE GROSS
Gross is the second female PA to reach the rank of Colonel in the US Army. She shares how she became a PA, the mentors she has had throughout her career, how she joined as a teacher in the Army's PA program, and what inspires her in her work.
CATHERINE DRAGON
Dragon shares how she became a PA, stories of her work at a breast cancer clinic, and what it is like being a woman in the early years of the PA profession.
JOYCE NICHOLS
In this audio only interview, Nichols shares her journey to becoming a PA and the struggles she faced in her career.
RECENTLY ADDED HISTORIES
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.
Sheila Mauldin >
Sheila Mauldin has worked with the National Commission on Certification of PAs since 1984. Mauldin shares how she started working for the NCCPA, her various roles, and the evolutions she has witnessed both in the organization and in the PA profession.
Kenneth Moritsugu >
Kenneth Moritsugu, MD, MPH, FACPM, Rear Admiral, USPHS (ret), shares his journey in joining the USPHS, his proud moments in the service, how he supported the PA profession, and his advice for those who want to join the US Public Health Service.
Lisa Dandrea Lenell
Lenell talks about her award winning radio show, ReachMD, and why she is proud to be a PA.
Christine Everett
Everett shares how she went from researcher at the national institutes of health to clinical PA to PA educator/researcher.
Roberts talks of how she became involved with St. George's PA program in the UK.
Karen Roberts
FEATURED AUDIO INTERVIEWS
Ruth Ballweg>
Ballweg shares her experiences as one of the first PAs to practice in Washington State, becoming program director of MEDEX Northwest and her advocacy in advancing the PA concept internationally.
Grace Landel>
Landel talks about how she became interested in the PA profession, her early years as a PA, working at an HIV clinic in the early 80s, and her involvement in programs to get health care to underserved populations.
Joyce Nichols>
The last recorded interview with Joyce Nichols conducted in June 2012 before she passed away the following month. Joyce was interviewed in her home by John Davis and Earl Echard.
Maryann Ramos>
Ramos recounts how she became a PA and her experiences as a first responder during the 9/11 attack on the Pentagon.
Sherry Stolberg>
Stolberg shares how she became a PA and a PA educator.
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.