Rashadah Jordan, PA-C, was inspired to become a Certified PA because of her desire to make a community impact, through patient education and spreading public awareness of mental health conditions.
“I’d advise anyone interested in becoming a PA to do your research and to know your why, meaning know what drives you,” Jordan said.
When first embarking on her professional journey, Jordan was interested in pediatric cardiology and family medicine. However, during a during a behavioral health rotation in her clinical year, she discovered her why—a passion for psychiatry, a specialty that came naturally to her.
“I always say I didn’t pick psychiatry, but psychiatry picked me,” Jordan said. “I fell in love with it. Though the specialty can be challenging, it is also incredibly rewarding.”
Today, Jordan practices in psychiatry and addiction medicine. Her patients include both adults and children as young as five years old. She feels that psychiatry allows her to have an especially positive impact on her patients.
“My favorite part of my profession is to see the progress made by people under my care,” Jordan said. “I not only treat patients with mental illness, but I also provide them with education. Patients express gratitude because I take time to listen to them and to help them better understand their condition and treatment.”
According to the most recent Statistical Profile of Certified PAs, an annual report from NCCPA, the number of Certified PAs who specialize in psychiatry has increased 57% since 2016.
Since the creation of the profession, PAs have worked with care teams to provide high-quality care to patients across every specialty of medicine. The total number of all Certified PAs in the U.S. is more than 148,000. These Certified PAs treat more than 9.5 million patients each week. They diagnose and treat chronic diseases, prescribe medications, assist in major surgery and more.
If you think the Certified PA path may be right for you, check out PAsDoThat.net for more information on the profession and for more stories like this one.
