Speakers
Speakers / Panelists
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Early Diagnosis and Management of Endometriosis for Family Practice and Outpatient Gynecology Providers - Erin Unger, PA-C, CCPA
November 11, 2022 from 1:00pm EST to 2:00pm EST -
I’ve Got Friends With Low Platelets - Andrew Herber, PA-C
November 13, 2022 from 12:00pm EST to 12:50pm EST -
Electrolytes on Wall Street: Managing the Highs and Lows - Andrew Herber, PA-C
November 13, 2022 from 10:00am EST to 10:50am EST -
Workshop - Essential Primary Care Skills for Wilderness Environments and Austere Settings - David Kuhns, MPS, CCPA, PA-C
November 12, 2022 from 1:30pm EST to 5:20pm EST -
Motivational Interviewing - Sharona Kanofsky, PA-C, CCPA
November 11, 2022 from 1:00pm EST to 3:00pm EST -
Making Learning Stick - Sharona Kanofsky, PA-C, CCPA
November 13, 2022 from 8:00am EST to 8:50am EST -
Patient Satisfaction of Primary Care PAs in Ontario - Alexa Moschella, HBSc, BHScPA
November 11, 2022 from 2:00pm EST to 3:00pm EST -
Fertility: Let's Talk - Nino Parunashvili, CCPA
November 12, 2022 from 8:00am EST to 8:50am EST -
Cheers to AUD Treatment - Nino Parunashvili, CCPA
November 12, 2022 from 10:30am EST to 11:20am EST -
MSK Ultrasound Workshop - Dr. Sarah McRae - Sainte Foy / Portneuf
November 10, 2022 from 9:00am EST to 12:00pm EST -
MSK Ultrasound Workshop - Dr. Sarah McRae - Sainte Foy / Portneuf
November 10, 2022 from 1:00pm EST to 4:00pm EST -
Comparison of Two North American Health Care Systems; How PAs Integrate into each System. What are we Missing? Doris Hansen, MS, PA-C
November 13, 2022 from 8:00am EST to 8:50am EST -
Workshop - Dermatology Procedures - Doris Hansen, MC, PA-C
November 12, 2022 from 1:30pm EST to 5:20pm EST -
Peripheral Arterial Disease - Victor Lukankin, CCPA
November 12, 2022 from 10:30am EST to 11:20am EST -
Rhabdomyolysis - Kevin Dickson, MMM, CD, MPAS, BHSc, BA, CCPA
November 12, 2022 from 11:30am EST to 12:20pm EST -
PA / NP Productivity in Emergency Department: A National Study - Tamara S. Ritsema, PhD, MPH, PA-C/R
November 12, 2022 from 11:30am EST to 12:20pm EST -
Diagnostic Testing and Admissions Decisions in Chest and Abdominal Pain - Tamara S. Ritsema, PhD, MPH, PA-C/R
November 13, 2022 from 9:00am EST to 9:50am EST -
Barriers and Facilitating Factors to Integration of First UK-trained PA onto a Secondary Care Service in the British NHS - Tamara S. Ritsema, PhD, MPH, PA-C/R
November 13, 2022 from 12:00pm EST to 12:50pm EST -
Compassion Under Pressure: Factors that Promote and Hinder Compassion in Health Care
November 12, 2022 from 9:10am EST to 10:00am EST -
Qualitative Methods in Health Care Research
November 13, 2022 from 1:00pm EST to 1:50pm EST -
How to Critique Primary Research - Alison McIntyre, CCPA and Erin Sephton, CCPA
November 12, 2022 from 8:00am EST to 8:50am EST -
How to Critique Primary Research - Alison McIntyre, CCPA and Erin Sephton, CCPA
November 12, 2022 from 8:00am EST to 8:50am EST -
KEYNOTE: Improving Equity and Access in Primary Care for Indigenous Communities through PA Care Integration
November 11, 2022 from 8:45am EST to 10:30am EST -
KEYNOTE: Improving Equity and Access in Primary Care for Indigenous Communities through PA Care Integration
November 11, 2022 from 8:45am EST to 10:30am EST -
KEYNOTE: Improving Equity and Access in Primary Care for Indigenous Communities through PA Care Integration
November 11, 2022 from 8:45am EST to 10:30am EST -
KEYNOTE: Improving Equity and Access in Primary Care for Indigenous Communities through PA Care Integration
November 11, 2022 from 8:45am EST to 10:30am EST -
KEYNOTE: Improving Equity and Access in Primary Care for Indigenous Communities through PA Care Integration
November 11, 2022 from 8:45am EST to 10:30am EST
Erin Unger
MS, MPAS PA-C/CCPA
Erin Unger
Erin Unger MS, MPAS PA-C/CCPA Works in outpatient obstetrics, gynecology and urogynecology at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto. She also helps instruct PA students at University of Toronto. Prior to working in OB/GYN, she worked at the Los Angeles LGBT Center in sexual health, HIV treatment and prevention. She practices inclusive, trauma informed care for all of her patients. She trained at Chatham University in Pittsburgh, PA. Originally from Colorado, Erin enjoys skiing, rock climbing, white water rafting, quilting and collecting old cast iron things. If you see her at the conference, or out in the wild, stop by and say hello!
Andrew Herber
PA-C
Andrew Herber
Andy Herber has worked as a PA at Mayo Clinic in the Division of Hospital Medicine for 17 years. In addition to seeing patients, Andy serves as the Chair of the NPPA Education for the institution. He is a course director of three NPPA Hospital Medicine CME courses and is a well known national speaker. He is faculty at the Mayo Clinic Simulation Center as well as lectures to local PA and NP programs. Andy is an active preceptor of PA students and has received multiple education awards in his career.
David Kuhns
MPH, CCPA, PA-C
David Kuhns
David H. Kuhns, PA-C Emeritus, CCPA- Retired, MPH, DFAAPA
David is an avid sea kayaker and recently retired his Maine Guide license. He has taught wilderness medicine for 20+ years.
With a career as a PA that has spanned 40+ years, David’s clinical experience includes pioneering roles as one of the first PAs in an inner city emergency department, and then as a solo primary care provider for an island community on the coast of Maine.
David completed his PA education at Saint Louis University in 1980, and later completed an MPH, concentrating on International Health, at Boston University in 2001.
David was the first PA to work with Médecins Sans Frontières, where he served in Somalia (1994-5), and then in Afghanistan (1995-6). He returned to Afghanistan in 2003 with Merlin, a UK -based medical relief charity.
He was honored as the recipient of the AAPA’s Paragon Award for International Humanitarian in 1999.
David joined the faculty at University of Birmingham (U.K.) as the Associate Programme Director for the PA program in 2008-11. While there, he consulted on PA development at several other British universities. He was also part of a team of experienced academics who consulted on the first PA program in Saudi Arabia. He was the Founding Director for the first Irish PA program at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (2015-6).
Though now retired, he continues to advocate for expanding the PA role in the international arena. He's currently advising on the introduction of PAs to Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. David and his wife, Patti, have an off the grid yurt on the South Shore of Nova Scotia for 20 years, where fortunately, he hasn’t had to practice his wilderness medical skills . . . so far.
Sharona Kanofsky
PA-C, CCPA, MScCH
Sharona Kanofsky
Sharona Kanofsky, PA-C, CCPA, MScCH, is an Associate Professor in the teaching stream at the University of Toronto, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, Department of Family & Community Medicine. She was the founding academic coordinator of the Consortium of PA Education Program and is currently the Research & Scholarship Lead at the PA Program. She is a Canadian- and American-certified PA with master’s degree in health professions education. She practiced as a PA in the US and Canada, most recently in geriatric care at Baycrest Hospital and is the recipient of the 2013 Tom Ashman PA of the Year Award.
Alexa Moschella
HBSc, MD Candidate
Alexa Moschella
Alexa Moschella is a first-year medical student at the University of Ottawa. Prior to this,
she completed her Honours Bachelor of Science degree at the University of Toronto,
graduating with a double major in biology for health sciences and psychology, as well as
a minor in chemistry. Subsequently, she completed one year of the Physician Assistant
program at McMaster University, where she became involved in clinical research to better
understand the patient experience in primary care practice. Alexa is passionate about
increasing access to high-quality care and advocating for interprofessional team-based
healthcare systems across Canada.
Nino Parunashvili
BScPA, CCPA
Nino Parunashvili
Nino Parunashvili, BScPA, CCPA – Fertility
Nino obtained her Physician Assistant Degree from the University of Toronto in 2018 and has been working in Addiction Medicine since then. While working on a research study “Challenges in diagnosis of polycystic ovary syndrome in adolescence” Nino developed a passion and interest for the fertility medicine. In March 2021 she started working part time in Fertility Medicine. She currently works at Dr. Tanya Williams Fertility Centre where treatment is provided for all causes of female infertility.
Nino Parunashvili, BScPA, CCPA - AUD
Nino obtained her Physician Assistant Degree from the University of Toronto in 2018 and has been working in Halton and Mississauga Rapid Access Addiction Medicine Clinic since then. Prior to her PA training, Nino graduated from medical school in Eastern Europe and has served in numerous areas of medicine in Canada. While working in pain management, she developed a special interest in Addiction Medicine. Nino additionally holds a part-time position in Fertility Medicine. She is actively involved in teaching and has a major interest in research and medical outreach programs for those in need.
Sarah McRae
CCFP
Sarah McRae
Dr SC McRae is a family medicine physician currently serving in the Canadian Armed Forces working in St Jean sur Richelieu. She is certified in MSK ultrasound and is a master instructor for acute core ultrasound involved in US education.
Doris Hansen
MS, PA-C
Doris Hansen
Victor Lukankin
CCPA
Victor Lukankin
Kevin Dickson
MMM, CD, MPAS, BHSc, BA, CCPA
Kevin Dickson
Kevin Dawe
CCPA
Kevin Dawe
Tamara S. Ritsema, PhD, MPH, PA-C/R
Associate Professor
Tamara S. Ritsema, PhD, MPH, PA-C/R
Dr. Tami Ritsema (RITZ-ma) is Associate Professor at the George Washington University and St. George’s, University of London PA programs. She is an active health workforce researcher with a specific focus on the development of the PA profession outside the United States. She also conducts workforce research on the deployment of PAs in Emergency Medicine within the US.
Dr. Ritsema has held several national and international PA leadership roles including being the Director of Research for the Faculty of Physician Associates at the Royal College of Physicians, London. She is currently the chair of the Grants Committee for the Physician Assistant Education Association and has served on the PAEA Research Committee and the Editorial Board of the Journal of Physician Assistant Education. She is the editor-in-chief of Ballweg’s Physician Assistant: a guide to clinical practice, 7th edition, which is the most commonly used PA textbook in the United States.
Dr. Ritsema is a regular speaker at national and international PA conferences. She is very excited to be here with Canadian colleagues today
Leslie St. Jacques
BHSc (PA), CC-PA; MSW, RSW, MES
Leslie St. Jacques
Leslie St. Jacques, BHSc PA (McMaster, 2010); MES; MSW, RSW
PhD student, Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, Health Professions Education Research, University of Toronto
With twelve years of combined experience as a PA in peri-operative neurosurgery and cardiovascular surgery ICU, Leslie St. Jacques has been immersed in intense clinical environments, that have become increasingly pressurized by the pandemic.
Leslie’s career has been characterized by intensity from the start. As brand-new PA grads from the first class of McMaster's PA program Leslie and her classmates worked through uncertainty and adversity to break down barriers and help establish the new clinical role in Ontario. Leslie later worked as the first PA Co-Lead and PA Education Lead at the University Health Network; became President of the Board of Directors of CAPA and is currently the Past President. She is very interested in how compassion - and the interpersonal environments we are steeped in, set the tone for our experiences as PAs, PA students, patients and family members.
In addition to her PA life, Leslie is also a psychotherapist with a Master’s in Social Work. As a Research Assistant on faculty projects and in her thesis research, Leslie gained experience with qualitative research methods. She completed a Graduate Diploma in Clinical Epidemiology at McMaster University and has just begun a PhD in Health Professions Education Research at the University of Toronto.
Leslie loves the great outdoors and hiking trails, comedy and beautiful food, (and when these things are combined all the better!) and is excited to visit la belle province.
Alison McIntyre
CCPA
Alison McIntyre
Alison McIntyre is a family medicine Physician Assistant practicing in St. Catharines, Ontario. Born and raised in London, Ontario, she earned her BSc in Biological Science from the University of Guelph before graduating from the McMaster PA program in 2014. In addition to her family medicine practice, Alison is a clinical skills instructor for the McMaster PA program. She enjoys traveling, curling and spending time with her dachshund, Rosy.
Erin Sephton
CCPA
Erin Sephton
Erin Sephton was born in Charlottetown PEI, raised throughout the maritimes and graduated with a BSc Biology from St FX in 2008. She then worked as a Primary Care paramedic throughout the province of Nova Scotia until enrolling in the PA program at McMaster University in 2011. Graduating in the class of 2013, Erin worked in primary care in Kitchener ON, as well as emergency medicine in Brantford ON until becoming one of 3 pilot project PAs for the Nova Scotia Orthopedic Surgery Pilot project in 2020. She currently works in arthroplasty in Halifax and Dartmouth NS in knee/hip replacement surgery. She enjoys traveling, spending time with her puppies and attending sporting events.
Quana Ticket, PA-C
Community Health Aide Instructor
Quana Ticket, PA-C
Quana Ticket is a Physician Assistant, Community Health Aide Instructor at the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium. Quana has worked for ANTHC for five years and prior for Southcentral Foundation for a total of 11 years. Prior to becoming a Physician Assistant, she worked in the OB/GYN clinic as a Certified Medical Assistant. She has also worked as a Medical Assistant in the Family Medicine Clinic, and as a Community Health Aide in the village of Selawik, Alaska. She earned her Medical Assistant Certificate from Alaska Career College. She earned her Community Health Practitioner certification through the University of Alaska Fairbanks, and she trained in Sitka and the Anchorage CHAP office. She became certified as a Physician Assistant through the University of Washington’s MEDEX program and the University of Alaska Anchorage. She is Alaskan Native of Inupiaq descent.
Leila Gillis, RN MN FCAN
Senior Director, Primary Health Care Services and Deputy Chief Nursing Officer
Leila Gillis, RN MN FCAN
Leila Gillis, RN MN FCAN
Senior Director, Primary Health Care Services and Deputy Chief Nursing Officer
Leila Gillis is a Federal Government nurse leader and her career has been dedicated to service to Indigenous populations at the local, provincial, regional, and national levels, influencing healthcare delivery over three decades.
As Deputy Chief Nursing Officer and Senior Director at Indigenous Services Canada, Gillis continues to work to meet Canada’s commitment to support First Nations and Inuit full ownership and control of health services. Gillis’ career was built on a foundation of front line practice in both Inuit Nunangat and First Nation communities and this experience has solidified her commitment to support system change.
Gillis is a member of the national Principle Nursing Advisors Task Force and has joined international delegations representing Canada at meetings of the International Council of Nurses and the World Health Organization.
Gillis is a graduate of Western Memorial Regional Hospital School of Nursing (diploma); St Francis Xavier University (BScN) and Dalhousie University (MN) and is a proud Newfoundlander.
Tara Clarke, MPAS-CCPA
Lead, Physician & Clinical Assistant Program
Tara Clarke, MPAS-CCPA
Tara Clarke (she/her) began her medical career as a rural paramedic, for some of Manitoba’s most underserved communities. But after 10 years in the field, Tara was diagnosed with acute Transverse Myelitis and needed to navigate a career change. In 2010 she entered the Master’s degree Physician Assistant program at the University of Manitoba. Passionate about emergency medicine, she worked 8 years in both rural and urban emergency rooms. In 2019, an opportunity presented to participate on the Manitoba First Nations COVID-19 Rapid Response Team, operationalized out of Ongomiizwin Health Services (OHS), University of Manitoba. Tara became the first PA to be hired by OHS for the RRT and grew to occupy a seat as one of 4 coordinators of the teams. Through this, OHS was introduced to the concept of PAs and asked her to help pioneer the creation of models for PA use in OHS communities serving First Nations communities. Tara is now the Lead for the OHS Physician & Clinical Assistant Program; she continues to practice as an acute care PA, working in many Nursing Station and Hospital sites such as Garden Hill, Little Grand Rapids and Hodgson. Tara also holds an academic appointment with the UofM, serving as a clinical instructor and evaluator for various programs. Outside of work, she is a busy rural mom raising 5 kids and you can find her at a hockey arena, a hot tub or travelling.
Dr. Joseph Leblanc
Associate Dean of Equity & Inclusion
Dr. Joseph Leblanc
Dr. Joseph LeBlanc is a life-long Northern Ontarian and member of Wiikwemkoong Unceded Territory. Passionate about community health and wellbeing, he has extensive experience in asset-based community development and food system change throughout the region.
Dr. Joseph LeBlanc has been appointed as the School’s inaugural Associate Dean, Equity and Inclusion, which began July 1, 2020 for a five-year term; he is also an Assistant Professor of Indigenous Health at NOSM. Dr. LeBlanc previously held the position of NOSM’s Director, Indigenous Affairs since October 15, 2018.
Before joining the Northern Ontario School of Medicine, he worked for a diverse range of organizations, including academic institutions, charities, non-profits, and Indigenous organizations. He holds an Honours Bachelor of Environmental Studies in Forest Conservation, an Environmental Management Certificate, and a PhD in Forest Sciences from Lakehead University. Dr. LeBlanc is recognized as a leading expert in Indigenous food systems and community development in Canada. He has also received several awards including a Top 20 under 40 Northwestern Ontario Visionary Award and a Forty under 40 Northern Ontario Business Award. Dr. LeBlanc is also the former director of the Sudbury Social Planning Council and has developed national food policy with a focus on Indigenous food sovereignty. He has strong ties to Thunder Bay and Nishnaabe Aski Nation communities.
Britton Sprules, CCPA
Clinical Course Director, Physician Assistant Program
Britton Sprules, CCPA
Britton Sprules is a graduate from the Inaugural class of the University of Toronto’s Consortium of PA Education and has been working in Primary Care in Thunder Bay, Ontario for over 10 years. In 2012, she joined the Northern Ontario School of Medicine University as an Assistant Professor and in 2017, she joined the Consortium of PA Education program as the Clinical Course Director. She recently completed her Master’s in Health Professions Education at Queen’s University, and for her Capstone project, she looked at the Indigenous education component of the three Canadian PA programs and what can be done to better prepare PA graduates for working with the Indigenous population.