I really am a believer that it is never too late to do the things you really desire to do with your life. I am saying this as a person who graduated PA school at 44, married with two children – it is never too late. If you are not leading the life you want to lead, you can always change.” -Shay Shaw, PA-C
For May’s “I am NCAPA” Member Highlight, the North Carolina Academy of PAs (NCAPA) is excited to be highlighting the co-chairs of the Student Affairs Committee – Shay Shaw, PA-C, and Alex Leng, PA-C!
Shay Shaw, PA-C is currently practicing in the Department of Dermatology at Atrium Wake Forest Baptist Health, where she has been for nine years prior to starting PA school. Working as a clinical aesthetician, PA Shaw was exposed to the PA profession through a Physician Assistant on her team.
“It was such a collaborative process that got everyone involved, from the MDs, the APPs, the CNAs, the aestheticians – everyone was a team,” she reflected.
PA Shaw explained that she conducted further research of the profession through a unique method – through social media.
“I actually turned to social media to see what a day-in-the-life of a PA can look like in other specialties. I started following PA students and other PA accounts, just to try and get more information. It was definitely a different research approach, for sure.”
PA Shaw decided to pursue the profession, after waiting to get more involved in her patient’s treatments and having a desire to diagnose. “As a clinical aesthetician, I would see my patients’ faces almost every other month. For some patients, I started noticing abnormalities on their faces and skin that I was confident was not there before. I then began to ask why, how, how do I fix it?”
She began investigating, asking questions as to how to treat these conditions and potentially diagnose signs of skin cancer. So, with her extensive hands-on skills and years of forming close patient connections, she decided to pivot.
Shay attended the Wake Forest University PA Program and graduated in 2022. “I went through PA school during the pandemic,” she shared. She explained that the rigorous challenges that can be experienced in PA school, paired with the isolation of the pandemic, truly showed her how necessary professional relationships are in the field, fostering continuous collaboration and support for other PA colleagues.
“I first knew about NCAPA through PA school,” she explained, after being asked how she became introduced to the NCAPA. “We were told of the importance of professional organizations that can help you do well as a PA and advocate for you – it just made sense to get involved and give back.”
PA Shaw is currently serving as the co-chair of the NCAPA Student Affairs Committee, responsible for curating and coordinating leadership events and networking opportunities for Student Members, Pre-PA members, and more.
The NCAPA asked Shay of her favorite aspect of being in the current co-chair role. “While I was in PA school, my peers were nearly 20 years younger than me,” she told the NCAPA. “I naturally evolved into an older sister figure in the cohort, and this role as a Student Affairs committee co-chair is a natural extension of that experience. My favorite thing is encouraging students that PA school is something you can get through. I wanted to extend that idea to the Student Members through support, events, and mentorship.”
I think the way the profession was created is such a testament to how we move forward; borne from a necessity to work together and collaborate. I think as long as we keep those things in the forefront, we will continue to be moving in the right direction.” -Shay Shaw, PA-C
A focus of Shay’s work as a PA mentor and NCAPA co-chair is to advocate for underrepresented minorities. “I always want to see those numbers increase to accurately reflect the populations that we serve. I want to make sure every underrepresented individual is heard – any idea you may bring to the table, any exposure you may want, etc. I want to make sure they are seen and heard. I think that being the ‘ear’ and the person to go, ‘What do you need? How can I help you?’ is what I try to embody.”
PA Shaw enjoys spending time with her family and two children and has a side passion for painting.
When asked of what she would be if she were not a PA, she smiles, saying, “I would be an artist. In my twenties, I started painting as a method of therapy and I fell in love with it, so much so that I continue to paint to this day. Whenever I have spare time, I try to pick up a canvas and let the canvas tell me what to paint.”
