The NCAPA had the honor of sitting down with NC Academy of PAs (NCAPA) Member, psychiatry physician assistant (PA), and recent Summer Conference Speaker, Julie A. Romeis, DMSc, PA-C, CAQ-Psychiatry. Dr. Romeis, a board-certified PA and a graduate of the PA program at the University of Lynchburg, is also a graduate of Lynchburg’s Doctor of Medical Science Program. As part of the program, Dr. Romeis completed a fellowship that exposed her to her passion of practicing in psychiatry and addiction medicine.
“I went to PA school when I was 45 years old, so in a way, it was a career change, but I had worked in medicine for many, many years starting with small animal veterinary medicine, then transitioning to becoming a CNA working with a primarily geriatric population.”
A Unique Path to PA
Dr. Romeis was born in California, spent an equal amount of time in upstate New York, while also having family in Florida. Why did she choose to live in North Carolina? “I chose North Carolina to settle down because in 1995, Money Magazine called it the best to live!” she laughed. Her daughter and son are currently at NC State University, where her son is studying engineering. Her father is a mechanical engineer, and her grandfather was a doctor. “So, we joke that medicine skips a generation in my family.”
“I’ve actually worked in small animal veterinary medicine for about 12 years prior to pursuing the PA . The thing about veterinary medicine is, it’s not as specialized as human medicine. In one clinic with one veterinarian and myself, we did everything from wellness checks to trauma surgery.” To her surprise, this knowledge transferred incredibly well to PA school. “I can’t tell you the number of times I knew the answer to something, because I recalled treating an animal in the past who may have had Cushing’s, or a cancer diagnosis, or underwent a trauma surgery.”
Inspired by Her Own Journey
Dr. Romeis describes medicine as her first love. “In 1995, maybe you knew PAs existed – but no one was talking about them. When I found the PA profession, I realized that it was everything I was searching for, in the myriad of careers I’ve had.”
On top of that, Dr. Romeis was motivated to become a provider based on her own experience with advocating for herself in her own patient journey. “I had a medical condition where I started having symptoms. I started seeing a provider who thought it was one thing, but it wasn’t, and I underwent treatment but eventually got worse – and this process repeated again and again.”
This process went on for 14 years with 12 different clinicians before she took matters into her own hands. “I read and researched and requested one specific test that diagnosed me correctly – I had diagnosed myself. I thought, if I could do anything to prevent people from going through a decade of feeling horrible, getting unexplained discomfort or pain, and not getting answers, I’d like to do that. So that also inspired me, specifically to be a PA.”
A Day in the Life of a Psychiatry PA
Dr. Romeis currently practices at MD Psychiatry and Emotional Health, a practice in Raleigh, NC that specializes in outpatient psychiatry. “What I like the most about this practice is that we take all insurances, Medicare, Medicaid, Tricare, all ages, all conditions.”
Her favorite part about her role? The ability to empower and educate her patients. “I love educating patients’ on trauma and trauma-related diagnoses. For example, I’ll have a patient come in and say, ‘I’ve just always been a worrier.’ Turns out, that patient was suffering post-traumatic stress disorder, and after teaching them what is going on in their body, I empower them to take control of the situation.”
A day in the life with Dr. Romeis consists of follow-ups, intaking one or two new patients on a regular day, and precepting one to two PA students at any given time. When describing her preceptor experience, Romeis said, “With every patient, students are listening in or leading the discussion. Every encounter is a learning experience for everyone that is involved, including the patient. I also believe PA school curriculums can improve in the area of teaching mental health. We need to have a more robust curriculum that gets students excited about psychiatry.”
Dr. Romeis has been involved in the past with the NC Academy of PAs as part of the DE&I Committee for three years, and she is especially passionate about fostering intentional mentorship and preceptorship at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). “When you’re talking about psychiatry, there is value in having your provider look like you and get you – your lived experiences, your background, etc.,” she shared. “I am also engaged in a preceptorship commitment with Morehouse School of Medicine and NC A&T University’s PA programs to increase exposure of psychiatry to PA students of color. I want to spread the appreciation and excitement with working in mental health and psychopharmacology.”
In her free time, Dr. Romeis is a certified yoga teacher who has recently started a yoga class for women with chronic disease, a population she says, “are often misunderstood and disenfranchised.” On top of that, she has recently joined a choir alongside a PA colleague and enjoys spending time with her father and two children.
And when asked what she would be doing if she was not a PA? Her answer was simple: directing community theater and working with children. “I think one of the most favorite things I did as a volunteer was called ‘Odyssey of the Mind,’ where I helped elementary school kids design and create a skit. I also had a background in theater growing up, so working with kids in a community theater would definitely be my alternate role.”
