“Whether it is in my current administrative role in our system and helping APPs feel supported, or my clinical role, caring for patients and their families – whatever that looks like, I love helping people live their best lives.” -Emily Epling, MA, PA-C
For the April #IamNCAPA Member Highlight, the NCAPA is spotlighting the new Board of Directors Vice President, Emily Epling, MA, PA-C. She is currently practicing as a PA in Winston-Salem, NC at Novant Health Malignant Hematology Transplant and Cellular Therapy Program, as well as serving as the Chief Advanced Practice Officer at Novant Health.
She is a graduate of the Wake Forest University’s PA Program, and has obtained her Master’s degree in Executive Leadership from Liberty University. She has been a PA since 1994. “Back then, I found myself really having to explain to people what a PA is,” she says. “I think we’ve come a long way from that point. Most people now know what a PA is and really embrace them as part of the care team.”
Her PA Journey
Emily Epling has always known she wanted to be in medicine. She grew up in Tennessee, but found her way to North Carolina upon attending Meredith College. She tells the NCAPA of the exact time when she knew she wanted to become a PA.
“I was 15,” she shares. “I thought I was going to go to medical school. One of our family friends was a cardiologist, and he had asked me one summer to come work and shadow. They had 6 cardiologists and 4 PAs. This was in the mid-to-late 80s, and I did not know what a PA was. After seeing all that a PA can do, it impacted me to change my course and realize that this is a profession that will allow me to practice medicine, give back to people, and yet balance family and other needs. From the time I was 15, I knew that is what I wanted to do.”
In sharing her PA journey, Emily also reflects on a patient story that has since stuck with her. “When I was starting out, I worked for the county. Over time, I’ve found that my patients taught me a lot. I remember specifically writing a prescription for this patient. She says, ‘Okay, I’ll get it.’ And then she and her sister started digging up the change at the bottom of her purse to try to get a dollar. She was under Medicare and Medicaid at the time. She was scrounging up change to try and afford this medication that she needed.”
Emily pauses. “It just hit me… a dollar for me meant getting something out of a vending machine. But for her, it was a sacrifice to be able to get something that impacted her health. It was one of the most impactful moments in my career, that made me realize what can be so easy for some, can be incredibly difficult for others. That has stayed with me throughout my career, pushing me to stay aware and commit to individualizing medicine for each patient. It’s not just about writing a prescription and sending them on their way. If they cannot afford it, or have no way to access it, what you’re doing is for nothing.”
On her term as Vice President
For her term as the NCAPA Board of Directors Vice President, Emily is excited about optimal team practice and every member of the team working at top of license to ensure more patients have access to quality care.
Additionally, as a member of the AAPA taskforce that developed Competencies for PAs in Healthcare Administration, Emily is committed to investing in the professional development of the NCAPA constituency. On where she sees the PA profession changing in the next few years, she wants PAs “to continue to be seen as part of the solution around reducing health disparities and increasing access to care.”
Being a member of the NCAPA is important because it’s a way to have a strong collective voice across the state for advocacy purposes, representing the interests of PAs, and for the betterment of patients across North Carolina. I encourage folks to jump in, be courageous, and be willing to be part of the solution.” -Emily Epling, MA, PA-C
