{"id":4598,"date":"2022-10-28T19:23:49","date_gmt":"2022-10-28T19:23:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/pa\/?p=4598"},"modified":"2022-10-28T19:23:49","modified_gmt":"2022-10-28T19:23:49","slug":"alumni-spotlight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/pa\/2022\/10\/28\/alumni-spotlight\/","title":{"rendered":"Alumni Spotlight"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Augsburg University PA Program wants to celebrate the successes of our alumni by checking back in a year after graduation. Our first alumnus is Tommie Lee James, a 2021 grad. We asked him a few questions about his experiences.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Tommie Lee James, PA-C<\/h2>\n<h3>What type of setting do you work in? Why did you decide your chosen area?<a href=\"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/88\/2022\/10\/DSC_0831-Tommie-James-III1.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-4602 \" src=\"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/88\/2022\/10\/DSC_0831-Tommie-James-III1-683x1024.jpeg\" alt=\"photo of tommie james in a whitecoat and smiling \" width=\"312\" height=\"467\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/88\/2022\/10\/DSC_0831-Tommie-James-III1-683x1024.jpeg 683w, https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/88\/2022\/10\/DSC_0831-Tommie-James-III1-200x300.jpeg 200w, https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/88\/2022\/10\/DSC_0831-Tommie-James-III1-768x1152.jpeg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 312px) 100vw, 312px\" \/><\/a><\/h3>\n<p>Emergency PA Fellowship. I chose Emergency Medicine because it just made sense to me. I wanted to practice in an area that excited me, had a variety of pathologies, and served a diverse population and vulnerable communities. Knowing that the learning curve is steep in EM I opted for a post-graduate fellowship to augment my learning and experience.<\/p>\n<h3>What was the biggest transition between PA school and your first job?<\/h3>\n<p>For me it was the transition from &#8220;What would you do?&#8221; to &#8220;What am I going to do?&#8221;. The sense of taking full ownership of my patients and having confidence in my decisions is admittedly a transition that I am still working through.<\/p>\n<h3>Any tips for students applying and interviewing for their first job?<\/h3>\n<p>Try making connections with the places that you are applying to. As much as jobs are looking at &#8220;can you do the work?&#8221;, they are more so concerned with &#8220;will this person be good to work with?&#8221;.<\/p>\n<h3>Any favorite memories from Augsburg&#8217;s PA Program?<\/h3>\n<p>The potlucks. AU PA Class of 2021 did not mess around when it came to our potlucks!<\/p>\n<h3>If you were not a PA, what career could you see yourself doing?<\/h3>\n<p>Definitely a science teacher.<\/p>\n<h3>What activities do you enjoy doing in your spare time?<\/h3>\n<p>Mostly spending time with my wife and dog. But I really enjoy traveling. Most recently Yucatan and Quintana Roo, states in Mexico.<\/p>\n<h3>Do you have anything else you want to share?<\/h3>\n<p>I would encourage students to prioritize balance and be present during their schooling. Make some time for your health, friends, and family, because time is a luxury you can never get back.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Augsburg University PA Program wants to celebrate the successes of our alumni by checking back in a year after graduation. &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":513,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,98],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4598","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-alumni-news","category-class-of-2021"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4598","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/513"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4598"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4598\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4604,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4598\/revisions\/4604"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4598"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4598"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.augsburg.edu\/pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4598"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}