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“Great question. In the world of medicine, especially now, with these large hospitals, big academic centers, and extensive facilities within large hospital systems, they do a decent job when it comes to patient care. However, I believe that in a private practice setting, you experience a more patient-centered approach. This is because your patient population tends to be smaller in numbers compared to larger institutions. It’s intimate and, for lack of a better word, very personalized. I find it to be more patient-centered than what you typically encounter in larger institutions.

This is what I enjoy and what I felt was missing in my previous roles when I worked at various hospital systems. Coming to work and focusing on a smaller group of patients allows me to dedicate my medical energy and attention to their care and outcomes. In many other areas of medicine and institutions, they often face understaffing and resource limitations. Here, it’s different. We take our time with our patients, prioritize their care, and aim to provide the best for them. This isn’t to say that other institutions don’t, but the patient-centered model here is something I’ve come to deeply respect and love as a crucial component of my work.”

“Yeah, there are a few stories I can share with you. I’ve had a variety of patient interactions that have been profoundly meaningful and hold a special place in my heart. For instance, there was a patient I was caring for in the hospital during my previous job. Surprisingly, no family members or friends came to visit this patient. So, I decided to spend some extra time with them. I provided medical care, but I also formed a unique friendship with them. We sat down at the bedside, I listened to their stories, and I got to know them as a person, not just someone with a diagnosis. This experience was amazing, and it’s exactly why I became a clinician and a medical provider.

These moments go beyond medicine; they are profoundly human and genuine. I have the privilege of experiencing these moments almost every day at the Deschamps-Braly Clinic. I get to sit with patients and be a part of their journey, a part of their transition. While this is just one component of their journey, it’s an essential one because it shapes their perception of the world. I genuinely love this aspect of my job, being able to work with these patients and play a part in this significant moment in their journey and transition.

There’s a specific moment that stands out, where a patient came to us for a consultation and became emotional. I also felt the emotional connection and asked them to put their hands out. I held their hands and reassured them, saying, “We’ve got you, we’re here for you.” Just being present in that moment with them, offering support, and seeing the gratitude in their eyes was special. Maybe they hadn’t experienced much of that in their personal life or in interactions with other medical providers. This is why I’m so passionate about what I do.

I think I needed these reminders coming into a practice like this because I had lost some of that in my previous work. It brings me great joy to come to work every day and be able to share these moments with our patients.”

“The operating room can be an intimidating place; it’s not for everyone. It is a very detail-oriented environment, from the components of anesthesia to the operation itself. It’s like a dance; you don’t want to step on anyone’s toes. So, you have to learn the dance; otherwise, it doesn’t work.

Of course, there’s a learning curve, and there are moments when you feel like you’re drowning while learning a surgical process or an operation that you’re not familiar with. That’s the beauty of being a PA—you can pivot into other specialties. The operating room can be grueling and intimidating, but I’m very fortunate to work with a surgeon who is level-headed, skilled, composed, and communicative. This has contributed significantly to my growth as a PA, as well as a person.

I’ve learned that overcoming these obstacles has taught me resilience, not just from a physical standpoint but also a focused mentality, which I can use in both my professional and personal life. I’ve learned a lot in the operating room, about myself and about people. I’ve worked with various personalities and extended that into my professional and personal life.

When I first started in the operating room right out of PA school, it was scary. Everyone was receptive to someone learning, but there comes a point where you’re expected to know it. If you don’t meet those expectations, it can be a “Make It or Break It” situation.

I’ve learned a lot in cardiac surgery and transitioned it into my current role. While there’s a lot of foundational surgical knowledge, it’s like learning an entirely different operation, which comes with its own challenges and frustrations. Over time, it gets better, and proving to your surgeon and those around you that you know what you’re doing, can learn quickly, and think on your feet is essential. This has greatly helped me in my clinical practice.”

“I think, as a PA, you get to do a lot in the realm of medicine. You get to see patients, come up with your treatment plans, diagnose, and form relationships with your patients. That stems from collaborating with your attending and/or supervising physician. So, that collaboration, in and of itself, like being able to go to my supervising and/or attending, being Dr. Deschamps-Braly, has really helped provide a safe space and a safe environment to either bounce ideas off of him or ask questions that might be beyond my current knowledge.

He’s there as my resource, and it leads to the most beneficial patient care. Of course, a patient doesn’t want someone making decisions that might not provide them with the best care. So, having the confidence in yourself to know certain things but also having the confidence to present ideas and questions to your attending in this collaborative work environment is for the benefit of the patient. I think that collaboration is really emphasized here, and it’s genuinely appreciated. I couldn’t be happier with the collaboration I share with Dr. Deschamps-Braly.”

“There’s a lot of exciting stuff going on. We’re learning more and more about the skin biome and how our normal skin biome is going to impact healing. It’s going to impact how we scar, that sort of thing. So, that’s going to be really exciting. Also, being able to more safely treat skin of color. It’s something that I don’t feel has always been well addresssed in our industry. We’ve got the Fitzpatrick scale, but that didn’t really need to know, like, actually working with the skin of color. And so, we’re getting better laser technologies, we’re getting, you know, things are getting better and better. So, people with skin of color can actually have the same treatments as people who are very fair, and I think that’s just incredible. That’s made so much progress just even in my time, and we have more on the horizon.

And then, I just think new treatments, new technologies. We’re kind of maxed out on the wavelengths, but there are so many other frequencies: ultrasounds, there are so many different energy-based devices that are coming out on the market that I think are very, very promising. And, like, who knows what’s next? And we’re having an injectable that actually rejuvenates the skin. So, there’s a lot of new techniques and things on the horizon. It’s gonna be exciting, and again, skincare is exploding, and I think we’re going to learn more and more about how to actually make topicals really penetrate into the skin and activate healing factors and that sort of thing. So, it’s exciting.”

“That’s a very challenging question. I think what I would say if I were stranded on a desert island, I would hope I had my sunblock with me. Um, so that would probably be my number one. But of course, we can’t live without everything else we use, but that is a critical component. Everybody needs to wear sunblock. Um, and you know, there’s a lot of opportunity. Like sunblock itself is evolving now, so you always want to be looking at something that has titanium or zinc, something that, you know, SPF 30 is a great way, and it doesn’t have to be 100, but 30 is great, 30 to 50. Um, and then something you wear every day. You know, we also have powder sunblocks that are lighter in texture and easier to reapply. They’re great for active people. So, I think sunblock is a crucial point, and I really work with my patients on that because it can prevent them from having to see me for lots of other reasons.

Um, but then again, I’m a huge proponent, you know, fan of retinoids, vitamin C’s, you know, just a few key pieces. I don’t like making people’s skincare regimens really complicated, but I like to have a few key great products in there. And also, for addressing acne or rosacea or, you know, other melasma, you know, of course, there’s a whole system of products and things we have to do for that.”

“The brand or the type of filler that you’re using, and maybe it’s not even the brand, um, because each brand, like Galderma or Allergan, they have various fillers that have different qualities within their brand lines, if you will. So, when I’m choosing a filler to use, I’m choosing it because of the qualities of that particular filler. Some fillers are more robust, others are more elastic and stretchy, others hold a lot more water. So, you really want to first, I mean, there’s certain fillers that can be used, I mean, many of the fillers can be used interchangeably for different things. So, it’s also, if I’m doing, let’s say, lip injections, I want to know, “Okay, do you want them really poofy? Do you want this? Do you want structure? Are we trying to change the shape a little bit?” And then, also looking, if someone has naturally young, youthful lips, there are certain fillers you can use versus, say, if it’s almost fairly deflated, needs structure, needs some contour, there are other fillers that do a better job of that.

So, it really depends on not only the area you’re treating, but then also, what do you need to have happen in that area? And the same thing, like, there are certain fillers I would not use in the under-eye area because they hold too much water and they can look puffy. And then, you have to actually go in and dissolve some of the filler. And then, there are other fillers that work beautifully for the cheek and the jaw contouring that you wouldn’t necessarily maybe put into other areas of the face. So, it really depends on the area of the face, but then also, what is the desired outcome. And that’s going to help you work through your grouping of fillers.

So, I see there’s one thing I always, you know, not everyone can come and see me, so what you want to do is find a licensed, board-certified provider in your area, and then have them walk you through what is their best choice of fillers. Because we’re all different, there’s no one solid, like, only way to do things in my industry. Um, everyone, as a provider, has their own preference.”

“Well, I think that, I mean, first of all, I love what I do. So, I don’t actually feel like I’m going to work every day. I feel like it’s I get to go to work and I get to see people and hang out with cool people and basically play in 3D on live subjects, and I get paid. I’m like, it’s amazing. Um, and my patients are always inspiring to me because I’ve seen them through every life challenge you can imagine: marriages, divorces, new babies, kids in college, job changes, you know, being part of the sandwich generation which a lot of my patients are right now, taking care of their elder parents. Um, and I just think that every day, you know, I get inspired every day by what my patients go through, and they’re just incredible people. They’re talented, smart, and it’s also really, really fun to see some people really come out of their shell. You’ll see people come in, they’re very either a client that their self-esteem is very—it’s unfortunately quite low, and by doing these injections and doing treatments and that kind of stuff, kind of building up their self-esteem, I’ve seen people turn into a completely different personality, and that is very rewarding.”

“We’ll start by introducing myself and giving them my pronouns. So, I’ll be like, “Hi, my name is Jennifer, my pronouns are she/her,” and that will trigger them to say, “Oh, hi, my name is,” and “my pronouns are.” That works quite well. In our office, we also have paperwork where they can designate their pronouns, so I always check that before I go and start working with the patient. But again, it can change with time too. So, we’ll start out saying, “Okay, these are the pronouns, this is how we’ll be addressing you. If you have a name change or if you decide to change your pronouns, please make sure you let us know and we will update accordingly.” Because, again, gender can be very fluid, or I should say, gender identity can be very fluid. So, those pronouns change with time.”

“Yeah, that’s an excellent question. Um, it really starts by, you know, finding out what the patient’s goals are. Uh, some patients I’ve worked with are not necessarily transitioning yet. They really haven’t made that decision, but they’re just trying to reflect a little bit more of what they feel on the inside on their, you know, on their external presentation. So, part of it is, you know, kind of figuring out where they are. Some patients are like 100% ready to go, let’s do all these things, and other patients are like, you know, I’m not really sure. I don’t know if I’m—I don’t know how. Maybe if I just do this little thing, it will take a little bit of the edge off of my gender dysphoria. Um, so it’s really about finding out kind of where the patient is on their journey. And then we go through the process, as far as okay, well, let’s start with this. How do you feel about, we did these three things? How are you feeling about that? You know, are we getting kind of close to where you want to be? Um, and you know, we can only do so much with my non-surgical services, but it’s enough for many patients to make them feel better about themselves until they can, you know, plan surgery. Um, or maybe we’ve done surgery and we did fat grafting, but it just wasn’t quite enough. And so, they come back and they’re like, I want a little bit more of my lips or a little more in my cheeks. Um, so I have opportunities to work with patients both before surgery and after surgery.”