North Carolina PAs leading the way.
Samantha (Sam) Rogers, PA-C, is a past President of NCAPA and is currently the Chair of NCAPA’s Political Action Committee (PAC). She lived on the family farm in Julian, NC, until she was seven years old, at which time her family moved to Greensboro, NC. Sam attended undergrad at Wake Forest University, majoring in Health and Exercise Science with a minor in Biology, and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in 2004. After graduating, she worked as a research assistant for four years, where she gained experience working with clinical trials. Sam “really loved the medical and clinical aspects of (the) job and wanted more” so applied to and attended the Wake Forest University PA Program, graduating in 2010.
NCAPA membership has always been important to Sam. She became a student member in 2008 while at Wake Forest, when it was made clear to her that being a member of NCAPA is “simply what you did and a very important aspect” of practicing as a PA in North Carolina. Sam has maintained her membership since that time and believes there are three major reasons that all NC PAs should join NCAPA. First of all, NCAPA provides a wealth of information and resources to PAs and Sam feels that PAs “must stay ‘in the know’ on issues which impact (the PA) profession.” She also asserts that “NCAPA provides some of the best CME offered anywhere,” which all PAs need to maintain certification. And, finally, she states that NCAPA’s “advocacy enables NC PAs to work within this state with favorable PA practice laws. This is something we have had for decades, but must stay vigilant to keep things that way, and to make them even better when there is opportunity to do so.”
Outside of being a member, Sam had a lot of support and encouragement to become further involved in NCAPA from WFU faculty (who also both happened to be past Presidents), Gail Curtis and Sue Reich. She was also introduced to other leaders within the Academy, namely Marc and Jeff Katz. Those connections, along with Sam’s love of “nerding out on policy and meetings,” opened a lot of doors for her. She has served as a Director-at-large, Vice President, and President of the NCAPA Board of Directors, has been a member of a variety of committees, and has served as Chair of Student Affairs, Membership and Marketing, and the PAC.
When asked what Sam loves most about being a PA, she shares:
Fundamentally I love the practice of medicine! I love the technical and more surgical things I get to do, and I love complex medical cases that involve listening to patients and their families in an effort to sort out what they are dealing with and to come up with the best solutions that we can.
Sam currently lives in Winston Salem, NC and practices at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, Internal Medicine, specializing in Gerontology. She has hope that “the high opinion that patients and their families have of PAs will continue to grow based on excellent encounters they have with PAs in the medical system.” She also hopes “that the medical community at large will continue to acknowledge and place more value on PAs and all that they contribute to healthcare.”
