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Recently, U.S. News and World Report named physician assistant (PA) the No. 3 best job overall and the No. 2 best health care job — and for good reason. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment for PAs is expected to grow 20% between 2024 and 2034, significantly outpacing the national average. 

For Benita Varnado, MD, FACOG, the path to medicine was paved early on, guided by her mother, a pediatric nurse, and father, a dentist. As a child, she spent time in his dental practice, welcoming patients and assisting with paperwork.

On a typical day in Sarasota, Florida, Dr. John P. Lafferty IV might spend an hour sitting at a kitchen table with a health plan member. The conversation may begin with medications or recent doctor visits, but it often becomes something more personal. How are they sleeping? Are they steady on their feet? Is there something about their treatment plan that just is not working?

For Lucy Peterson, MD, medicine was never just a career. Growing up with a father who was an obstetrician-gynecologist (OB-GYN), she witnessed the impact his work had on patients and their families and gradually came to see medicine as part of who she is. “I think I just had it in my blood,” she said.

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