Empowered PAs Spotlight: Shalon Buchs, PA-C

Calling all FAPA (Florida Academy of Physician Assistants) Members! If you live in Florida, and are a member of the Florida Academy of Physician Assistants, this post is for you!

In the past two weeks, you should have received an email with a survey link attached to vote on candidates for this year’s elections. I’m so pleased to say that many of the PAs featured on the blog are also running for state PA association seats or positions and today I want to tell you about a fantastic PA!

Full disclaimer. I have a serious bias in favor of this amazing woman. Shalon is one of the faculty professors of the PA program which I attended from 2009-2011. She was PA Faculty and also my mentor during some of that time and I was thankful to have her input! She is a dedicated PA, often answering late night emails and taking the time after class to clarify certain points. She is an amazing educator also. Her cardiology and EKG lectures were some of my favorites (and I still reference them!). Since my graduation, she has been very busy, having taken roles as Director of Admission and Associate Director, and is heavily involved with PAEA and FAPA.

After PA school, I reached out to Shalon because I needed some professional advice. She was very helpful and supportive and has given me some much-needed guidance on more than one occasion. Shalon’s dedication to her students and our profession is apparent in everything she does. She is a wonderful person, a fantastic PA and I’m excited to see her run for FAPA President.

Below is her platform statement:

Shalon R. Buchs, MHS, PA-C

I am honored to declare my candidacy for the Florida Academy of Physician Assistant Presidency. Serving our profession is something that is very important to me. I have been a member of both FAPA and AAPA since I was a student in 2003. From 2007 through 2016, I served as the Ocala/Marion County FAPA representative and served as a member of the HOD for 2016 and 2017.  

Supporting PA practice in Florida, listening to the PAs of Florida and ensuring the best outcomes for our patients and our profession will be my priorities as president. As we pursue OTP during this pivotal time in our profession, ensuring clear communication about our goals within the state will be of utmost importance. It will be a high priority for me to promote our profession and our professional goals clearly to ensure that we are heard and understood and so that appropriate questions are asked for our patients and our profession. 

I am committed to listening to and working with organizations involved with educating and employing PAs. I will work along with the rest of the FAPA board to bring down barriers to PA employment or preceptorship within organizations to the best of my ability.  

During my time as the Associate Director at the University of Florida and serving within the Physician Assistant Education Association (PAEA), my leadership skills have been honed through participation in many leadership development courses. I have been afforded these opportunities as my leadership roles have evolved from Director of Admissions to Associate Director at the PA program leading to increased administrative responsibilities and chairing of different committees within the program. Similarly, within PAEA, I have served various committees and am currently serving as the Chair of their Awards and Honors Review Committee and as a member of the Leadership Mission Advancement Council. I have also participated in the Leadership Summit offered by PAEA. 

I am passionate about service, which led me to the PA profession and academia in the first place. I feel strongly about advocating for the PA profession. While more specific experiences regarding service, clinical practice, academics and leadership are outlined in my CV, as a PA that continues to practice clinically while working full time in academia I believe I have unique and well-rounded outlook on PA practice in the state of Florida. 

Combining my clinical and educational perspective with my leadership skills and approachable personality, I am confident that I am uniquely prepared to serve as the President of FAPA. 

Thank you for your consideration.

Q.If you are elected to the Board of Directors, how can you strengthen the role? 

A. If elected to the Board I feel that I will bring a variety of strengths to the role. Throughout my career as a PA and even in my PA training, I was identified as a leader by peers, colleagues and supervisors. I’ve been through a significant amount of leadership development at the University of Florida and through PAEA, which has helped refine my skills. My ability to be reflective, approachable and an effective communicator will be assets to the board. Additionally, I believe in being driven by a mission and values. My ability to remain mindful of these things while pursuing goals will bring value to the board. 

If elected president, it will be imperative for me to work collaboratively with the other board members, committee chairs and other stakeholders to ensure work is being done to move the PAs of the state of Florida in a forward direction. In doing so, fostering a culture of collaboration, transparency and effective communication will be vital. While we continue to advance the PA profession within the state of Florida, I will ensure the team is always thoughtful of the Academy’s mission, vision and values. We will align our goals and create our work with regard to those items, and re-evaluate each as we make progress in our work.  

Q. If you are elected to the Board of Directors, how can you use your position to improve the PA profession in the state? 

A. If elected to the Board as President, I would use my position to work with the other members of the Board to advance the interests of the PA profession in Florida. We will first ensure that we are listening to the needs of the membership. A particular interest of mine would be to work with our PAC to continue to elevate PA practice in the state to ensure that we are working at the top of our license. The current administration recently released a statement, ‘Reforming America’s Healthcare System through Choice and Competition’ which supports legislation regarding easing scope of practice laws. If Florida capitalizes on this momentum and looks for more relaxed scope of practice laws within our state, we can be better positioned as a profession to be more marketable. Movement in this direction aligns well with pursuit of one or all of the Optimal Team Practice tenants. As we pursue these interests for our professionit is vital we communicate effectively with all stakeholders precisely what we are hoping to achieve.

My prior experience and exposures in other organizations and institutions have afforded me a wide network of support clinically, in the university setting, PA education and beyond. This vast network brings opportunities to clearly communicate the position of the PA profession in the state and hopefully, in turn bringing additional supporters for our goals.

I’m so excited to see Shalon running for FAPA President-Elect! We LOVE seeing PAs become Empowered! If you have any questions about her, I will answer them! You can reach out to me at info@empoweredpas.com.

More Empowered PAs!

Other EmpoweredPAs running for positions include Lianne Hahn for FAPA South FL Region and Ngan Lam for AAPA House of Delegates! For Texas PAs, Kris Pyles-Sweet is running for Texas HOD representative also! They could use your support as well! Good luck to all candidates!

-Courtney

If you enjoyed this post, hop on over to the EmpoweredPAs Blog for more great articles!