After completing her Honours Bachelor of Science degree at Redeemer in 2012, Katelyn Miller was accepted to the twenty-four month Physician Assistant program at McMaster University. After writing her certification exam this past fall, she accepted a position in primary care on Manitoulin Island.
Although Physician Assistants (PAs) have also practiced in the United States since the 1960s, they weren’t fully introduced into the civilian health care system until 2007. They had been employed by the Canadian Forces for many years, providing health care services to members of the military and their families.
PAs have been integrated into the health care system as a way to increase access to care, decrease wait times, and improve overall quality of care. In her role, Miller works with six different physicians in both family medicine and emergency medicine settings. She sees patients on her own, takes histories and conducts physical examinations, orders and interprets tests, diagnoses and treats illnesses and performs various procedures including suturing, skin biopsies, casting, etc. She always works in collaboration with a physician, but does have a degree of autonomy as well.
“I felt that God was truly guiding and leading me to this program,” she writes, “and I am so thankful for the opportunities He has blessed me with, including having a foundational Christian education at Redeemer. The PA program is competitive program — out of 450 applicants, 24 students were accepted in the year I applied. I’m passionate about the quality of education provided at Redeemer University and I’m thankful for how it has shaped me to be the person I am today.”