Jessica Veale, PA-C, embodies what it means to be a PA leader and passionate advocate. Originally from New Bern, North Carolina, she practiced as a medical technologist in Greenville, NC, and Boston, MA, before returning to NC to attend PA school at Duke University in 2018. PA Veale’s interest in advocacy developed while serving on the Duke University School of Medicine Appropriate Treatment of Learners Committee and promoting the best interests of her fellow students. She experienced PA legislative advocacy first-hand while taking Senator Mike Woodard on a tour of the Duke PA program during a legislative visit and by participating in an NCAPA-sponsored Virtual Town Hall with Sen. Don Davis immediately after graduation. PA Veale also served as a student member on the NCAPA Political Action Committee, a position she still holds today as a professional member.
As PA school came to an end, PA Veale honed her skills as an advocate and began to speak about the underrepresentation of minorities in medical training and practice. She led students in small group discussions on diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives during the 2020 NCAPA Student Leadership Retreat. PA Veale also lent her talents and insight to the founding of the NCAPA Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DE&I) Committee. Advocacy continues to be a priority as she currently Chairs the Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU)Outreach Subcommittee. The subcommittee aims to educate NC HBCU students about the PA profession with a goal of diversifying PA school and the profession at large. The subcommittee recently held its first virtual campus visit at Elizabeth City State University during which time they spoke with students about the PA profession. The HBCU Outreach Subcommittee plans to host similar visits with Bennet College and Winston-Salem State University in the coming months.
PA Veale was the 2019 Duke University recipient of the NCAPA Endowment Student Grant. Her professional affiliations and personal accomplishments include:
- Duke PA Program Joyce Nichols Award
- Pi Alpha Honor Society Inductee
- Prentiss L. Harrison/African Heritage PA Scholarship Recipient
- Hamilton-Carter Scholarship Recipient
- Congressional Black Caucus Spouses Education Scholarship Recipient
- Lanning Taylor Scholarship Award Recipient
- Carrie Biggs Morrison Scholarship Award Recipient
- African Heritage PA Caucus Member
- Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Scholarship Reviewer
- PAEA Project Access Volunteer
PA Veale continues to be actively involved- from her work in hematology and oncology at ECU, to her membership in the NCAPA DE&I, Government Affairs, and PAC Steering Committees. Her passion for advocacy and her commitment to PA students, working PAs, and patients are invaluable assets to the profession at large.
PA Veale notes “I am honored to be among the 3.3% of PAs that identify as Black; however, I am also disappointed at how low this percentage remains over 50 years from the start of the profession. In addition to advocating for patients and the PA profession, we all must do our part to improve racial disparities within the healthcare systems so that all patients have the opportunity to benefit from racial concordance with their providers.” PA Veale has made it her professional and personal mission to improve diversity, equity, and inclusion in the profession and ensure that patients feel safe and understood by their providers.
