PA Q&A: Tyler Wood

I went to Brigham Young University thinking I would be a researcher in biochemistry, but then I realized it wasn’t my thing. I transferred and did some prerequisites for the nursing program. Then I started working as a CNA [certified nursing assistant] in a memory care unit, where I rubbed shoulders with a lot of PAs and pre-PAs. The more I worked with them, the more I felt it really fit with what I wanted to do and the plans I have for my life. I was married, and we were thinking of timing and kids. I wanted to get out and see patients as soon as possible, so the two-and-a-half-year program really fit with that. 

I really enjoyed working in the memory care unit. It helped me understand that not everything in medicine is an individual’s doing. If the person in front of me has Alzheimer’s, the way they might be a little rude to me isn’t because they hate me. It’s the disease. I have to help them the best way I know how so they can be comfortable and happy and safe.  

I have a lot of respect for the PA profession. I really appreciate that as PAs, we can be flexible. We bring a lot of added knowledge, depending on our prior health care experience or skills from a previous specialty. We have people in academia and research, but it’s very patient care focused. I feel like family practice will be a perfect fit for me; I’ll have individuals from age 0 to 102. I’ll be able to care for everybody.

Coming to PA school, I really prioritized my family a lot. It’s not that I wasn’t studying hard; my wife would probably say I still studied plenty. But my focus was different than in undergrad, when we didn’t have kids. I knew I could be with my family and work hard and have the knowledge base I needed to help my patients. 

We had our second child during the PA summer curriculum. Then it really shifted from “I’m a dad and a PA,” to “I’m a dad first.” It started to drive more decisions that I was making about what type of job I wanted to get. 

We had about eight weeks where I was gone in Algona for a month and then Sioux City for a month for away rotations. That paradoxically strengthened our family bond. My wife, Lizzie, was my hero and my kids’ hero during this time. I’m grateful for her and for those who helped us during that time. 

I did a lot of outreach activities with Dr. Theresa Ho in the microbiology department. We did STEM programs with two elementary schools and one high school. I love microbiology, so I liked teaching the kids about it. And I realized that in high school is when I really got interested in the health care field, so I wanted to share that with the kids. 

I helped lead Project Access, a project with the PA Education Association to spread the word about PAs to underrepresented and diverse students. We were able to go to a couple of elementary schools and teach about PAs specifically, showing the kids hearts and X-rays. It was really fun to get them excited about being a PA. 

Marc Doobay was my faculty advisor. He’s also a family man and is a family medicine PA. Gleaning from his knowledge and his experience really helped me.  

Tony Brenneman also was a good support to me when my daughter was born. He had a kid while in PA school too, and it was good to hear from his experiences and have his encouragement during that transition. 

I loved the learning community fundraisers. We had a couple of PA teams in the “Bean Ball Bonanza” dodgeball tournament, and we just had a blast.  

The PA summer curriculum packed a lot in, but we also had a bags tournament and some other things just to keep it lively while we were learning. You need to work hard but also play hard. Those are the things I’ll take with me. 

We have 25 students per class, and I felt really close with all of my PA cohort. Being able to hang out with them strengthened me and helped me along through this process. It was hard being pulled away from them for clinicals, but we were able to keep up with each other and get lunch if we were in the hospital. 

For pre-PAs: Try to make as many connections as you can. Get to know some PAs. As you learn more about their stories, you can really decide if this is what you want to become.  

For those in PA school: I failed an exam once. I talked to the curriculum managers, and they were so kind. They sat down with me and went through the exam, and I remember thinking, “This is what good teachers are.” They are people who sit with students when they have a hard time and help them grow. 

I don’t think you can go wrong by deciding to be a PA. There are so many different avenues you can take. Once you decide you want to do it, jump in with both feet and don’t give up. Even if you fail an exam in PA school. 

I have a job lined up in Roseburg, Oregon. It's a private practice family medicine group run by one doctor who has three advanced practice providers working with him. Roseburg has a population of 29,000, but it’s technically rural because it’s farther away from other big cities. I will really enjoy getting to know the town and integrating my life into that community. My hometown has a population of 9,000, and I think I leaned more toward practicing in a rural area. 

I have learned that having young kids and being many miles away from family truly makes the heart grow fonder. We are grateful that while living in Oregon, we will only be a day’s drive away from our families. My wife’s grandparents live in the same town we are moving to, so I also look forward to making memories with them, while learning to love a new community.