The first PA program was started at Duke University in 1965 by Dr. Eugene Stead, with four former Navy corpsmen—Ken Ferrell, Vic Germino, Don Guffey, and Dick Scheele—as students. Two years later, the PA profession was officially born when three of these gentlemen graduated and became PAs. The profession has undergone rapid and tremendous changes in the past 40 years, and this roundtable was conducted with the surviving members of that first class to obtain their perspectives on its history. Reggie Carter conducted the roundtable for the Society for the Preservation of Physician Assistant History (SPPAHx) as part of the society's ongoing efforts to accurately preserve the history of the PA profession for future generations. The roundtable took place on June 8, 2005, at the SPPAHx office in Durham, NC, and Pam Scott edited the transcript for publication in JAAPA. For more information on the SPPAHx, please visit their Web site at http://pahx.org/.
CARTER: You were a member of the first class of a completely new type of health care provider that was nothing more than a concept of Dr. Stead's at that time. What made you decide to take a chance on becoming one of the first in this new profession?
FERRELL: I felt it was exactly what I had been looking for but didn't know existed. I was very excited about it. However, I acknowledged the fact that since it was brand new, it might not succeed. Still, I was very excited about giving it a try, and if it did fall through, I felt that I would not have lost anything and might have gained some more knowledge and skills that would be useful in my current job.
GERMINO: I was already working at Duke and thoroughly enjoyed what I was doing. They laid it on the line and informed me that this was a totally new concept to be able to utilize the talents of ex-military corpsmen. At the time, the only thing my military training had qualified me to do was to work as a research technician or an OR tech. At the same time, I was concerned about how I was going to financially support my family and go to school. So they said, “With your experience, we can sign you up as a patient care technician, and you can work while in the program.” So I agreed to give it a try.
CARTER: So, you were not only able to work part-time while attending PA school but encouraged to do so?
GERMINO: Right. We worked at least 20 hours a week either as a patient care tech, in the hyperbaric chamber, or doing research. Part-time jobs were plentiful around the hospital at that time. And we also signed up to be part of research studies. You know, for swallowing this or that, or getting stuck here and there, they'd give you 25 or 50 bucks. That was always gravy and fun too. I signed up for all of them I could.
FERRELL: In addition, we got a $200 monthly stipend and didn't have to pay tuition. It was a pretty good deal.
CARTER: That has changed. Today most programs discourage working outside of the program, and you pay the school tuition. Now, what was your impression of what the PA profession was going to be at that time?
FERRELL: I think I had a pretty good picture because Dr. Stead made it very clear. I think I understood early on what he had envisioned. His favorite term for describing a PA was someone to extend the arms and legs of the physician. You were there really to support the physician, extend the physician's services, and do basically what that physician wanted or needed you to do.
GERMINO: That was my understanding as well.