Introducing Dipu Patel, PAEA Board President

With the new year, comes new leadership on the PAEA Board of Directors. Dipu Patel, DMSc, MPAS, PA-C, who first served on the board in 2016, steps into the role of Board President, bringing with her extensive experience as a PA educator, researcher, and clinician, and strong interest in the increasing role of technology for clinicians, students, and PA educators.

“I think PAs are perfectly poised to respond to healthcare’s technological advancements,” she explained. “The care teams of the future will look very different from today. Computer scientists, data scientists, and engineers will all be part of healthcare teams. As a result, PA training as flexible and agile clinicians will be invaluable.”

Patel is a professor and vice chair for innovation at the University of Pittsburgh where she works on quality improvement, innovation, digital health, and artificial intelligence. She holds a Bachelor of Science and PA Certificate from St. John’s University, Master of PA Studies from the University of Nebraska, and a Doctorate in Medical Science from the University of Lynchburg.

Prior to joining the University of Pittsburgh, she was the director of clinical pathways for a healthcare technology startup after spending 20 years in clinical practice in emergency departments, urgent care centers, and hematology/oncology practices. She also served for 15 years as the chair of the Massachusetts Board of Registration for Physician Assistants.

Patel was born in India. Her father was an engineer who specialized in large scale electrical power grid planning and installation. The family lived in south-central Africa and traveled extensively during the first decade of her life, finally moving to the US when she was 13. Those experiences contributed to her decision to become a PA.

“My initial interest was forensics,” she said. “It was patient care—the ability to help people in need—that drew me to become a PA in the end. Having seen poverty, trauma, and an overall lack of healthcare firsthand as a child and a young adult, I was drawn to helping and caregiving in a meaningful way.

“I did my training in the South Bronx, a resource-constrained environment that taught me how to think critically and innovatively while making sure the patient was taken care of. I learned a lot, seeing the extreme stages of diseases but also the inequities and inequalities of our care system. The HIV/AIDS epidemic was ongoing, and I saw firsthand the social and cultural injustices inflicted on patients by our healthcare system but also by those who worked in it. I would not trade those years of learning for anything. They made me grittier, tenacious, and taught me how to persevere.”

During the time she worked as a hematology/oncology PA, Patel’s younger brother experienced a life-threatening illness. During his six weeks in an ICU, she helped her family navigate his care even as she navigated being a new mother herself.

“The situation was dire enough that I was part of many end-of-life conversations with my parents and his care team. He was the youngest patient in the ICU. I would have those conversations with my heme/onc patients in Boston, take the train down to NJ, and then do the same with my parents and family.”

Her brother recovered, and the experience sparked a desire for change in Patel. “I decided to apply for a faculty job. I had no teaching experience; I had never spoken in front of an audience and never created a lesson plan,” she said. “I got my first faculty role and after a year I applied to another one. At this next program, I really developed my educational skills. I started a simulation program, redesigned courses, and created case studies and hands-on activities to enhance the ‘stickiness’ of learning.”

Patel sees technology and artificial intelligence moving into both clinical education and practice. “As these tools become more embedded into our practice, PAs will play a critical role in using and integrating AI-driven diagnostics, telemedicine, wearables, and other technology,” she explained.

“To prepare for this future, PA educators must focus on equipping students with the necessary skills and knowledge needed to thrive in a changing landscape. We should re-evaluate our curricula for technological competence, including digital health and AI as well as critical thinking and clinical reasoning.” She believes PAEA can position its members for success by advancing leadership development opportunities in digital health and AI, healthcare policy, and organizational improvement science. “These are skills that we as educators should develop in ourselves as well as in our students. PA programs should aim to graduate not only practice-ready clinicians of today but of the future.”