medicine office of Dr . Robert Flurry . There , she also scribed for a PA .
“ The only PA I had known [ entering the class ] was the one I worked with , and I loved everything about what she did ,” Quina said . “ Meeting another one who kind of had the same passion in the educational setting drew me toward the profession .”
Kim Berggren , DMSc , PA-C , has been the College of Medicine ’ s associate clinical education director in Pensacola since the spring of 2022 . A practicing PA in the Panhandle for 15 years – 20 years overall – she teaches the introductory course and serves as a Pre-PA advisor on campus at UWF – her alma mater – while managing the program .
Kimberly Berggren , DMSc , PA-C Associate Clinical Education Director , Pensacola
Many have begun their journey taking an undergraduate or continuing education introductory course to the PA profession on either the UWF or FSU campus .
Through its first five graduating classes , 25 of the 42 PAs who completed their clinical training at the college ’ s Pensacola campus are currently practicing in the Panhandle . Those numbers are almost certain to improve with the PA classes of 2024 and 2025 totaling 15 pipeline students .
“ I had plans to become a pharmacist ,” said Quina , who worked as a delivery driver and later a technician for a pharmacy as she completed her Biomedical Sciences degree at UWF in 2020 . She first heard about PAPP from the pharmacist where she worked .
It wasn ’ t until December of 2021 that she made a last-minute decision to enroll in the Introduction to the Physician Assistant Profession as a continuing education student at UWF beginning in January 2022 .
The change of direction came after two years as a volunteer and later a medical assistant at Health and Hope , a free clinic serving the underserved , while gaining clinical experience as a medical transcriptionist at the family
“ A lot of my role in this position is finding people who might be interested ,” Berggren explained . “ Sometimes it ’ s finding students who know they want to be a PA . Sometimes it ’ s people who have never heard of a PA , so they can learn more about it . I help guide them , and the faculty at UWF , to understand how to get to that ultimate goal .”
Quina said Berggren ’ s class helped fill gaps .
“ I didn ’ t know all of the history behind the PA profession . Seeing how they bridge the gaps in health care resonated with me . I want to be that person to step up and be able to help .”
Educating future PAs in Pensacola , home to Naval Air Station Pensacola – one of eight military bases in the Northwest Florida region – has some historical connectivity , as well . The profession was born from Vietnam War medics returning home with skills and no place to apply them in a civilian workforce .
“ Some very insightful people married that together with this idea that we needed more health care providers , and thus the birth of the PA profession , which occurred almost 60 years ago ,” explained Ben Smith , FSU ’ s School of Physician Assistant Practice program director and associate dean . “ It ’ s a fascinating story .”
Berggren knows it well . Her husband is retired Air Force , with three stops in the Panhandle – twice at Tyndall Air Force Base ( AFB ) near Panama City , and once at Eglin AFB , equidistant between Panama City and Pensacola . She is also a practicing Pediatric PA at Eglin .
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