NCAPA is a leader. But we couldn’t do it without the PAs among us dedicated to leading the way.
Peter Gunn, PA-C, was born and raised in Sheffield, Massachusetts. At the time, Sheffield was a very small town in western MA with no stop lights and only one small community store and one gas station. Peter graduated high school in a class of 84 students and went on to receive his BS in biology at Tuskegee University in Alabama. He then attended graduate school at Purdue University, where he received an MS in Biology. After attending Purdue, Peter moved to Connecticut and worked as a Pharmaceutical Sales Rep for Pfizer, where he interacted with many PAs in the cities of New Haven and Hartford. Many of the PAs had attended PA school at Yale and Peter’s interest in applying to the program was sparked. He applied to the Yale PA program in 1993 and graduated in 1995. Transitioning from a sales rep to a PA provided Peter with a level of personal satisfaction which he did not feel in his prior career. He now felt he had a career with a purpose.
Four days after graduating from Yale, Peter drove to North Carolina and began his new career as a PA in eastern NC at a Rural Health Clinic. In 2006, he moved to the Raleigh/Durham area and took a position at Duke University Hospital, where he has been ever since. Peter works as a hopitalist in orthopedics but spends most of his time as an Administrative Director in the Department of Advanced Practice. He works with a team consisting of nine team leads and close to 100 APPs in adult medical and surgical areas.
Peter joined NCAPA when he first moved to North Carolina, 25 years ago. He became a member of NCAPA to remain abreast of updated policies and industry standards, as well as for professional leadership experience and professional development and education resources. In 2015, Peter was asked to become the President of the Triangle Area Physician Assistants (TAPA), a regional chapter of NCAPA. The chapter was experiencing a downward trend, with limited meetings and a decreasing membership. Peter took over the role of President and, with the help of the other TAPA officers, was able to provide a new focus for the chapter and together, they tripled the number of TAPA members in less than a year. Peter stepped down from the role of President after three years but remains very active in the chapter and is currently the Student Liaison at TAPA and the TAPA Regional Chapter Representative to NCAPA.
Peter is a strong advocate for PAs, as well as for NCAPA and regional chapters and feels that with continued support, “the PA profession will continue to grow and develop strong leaders and advocates at the state and local levels.” He feels the advocacy involved in tracking federal and state legislation that could impact the PA profession is important work being done by NCAPA. Peter also feels that NCAPA is “an area for news, education and networking. We all share a common purpose and (NCAPA) can help us achieve our goals. The officers and staff are very strong advocates for the PA profession and, as we all know, there is strength in numbers. Please support your local regional chapter, NCAPA, and each other.”
Thank you for leading the way for so many, Peter. We are fortunate to have you among us!
