-: My name is Natalie Ikeman.
I'm a physician assistant at Hennepin Healthcare
and I am the Lead APP for the Family Medicine Department
at the Golden Valley Clinic.
So in family medicine we work autonomously in the clinic.
And so that means that we don't interact with the physician
unless we need assistance.
In Minnesota the legal status is that the physician
is a supervisor.
So if you you have a hard or complex case then you
go to the physician for help but otherwise you are working
with your patients and documenting and ordering tests
and imaging for your patient completely on your own.
But we see newborn check-ups, we see skin
conditions, we might see
diabetes, managing heart disease, we might
have a laceration that we have to stitch up.
We have planned biopsies, for example if we're concerned
about a skin cancer.
We see patients for mental health, which is a very
important area because we have such a shortage of mental
health care in our country.
So the brunt of that falls on family medicine and we are
very well prepared to take care of that.
Every week our schedule is exactly the same.
We are an ambulatory clinic so that means we're not
hospital hours.
We're not 24/7.
So, in our clinic we're open from eight to five on some
days and til seven thirty on other days to accommodate
working families so they can come in after they work
to be seen.
And so,I do a varying degree of work within those hours
and then sometimes we have weekends.
For the most part, most jobs in family medicine
are eight to five.
Monday through Friday.
What I was able to do was become a lead physician assistant
for the Family Medicine Department.
So I oversee 30 or so nurse practitioners and physician
assistants in all the different clinics that
Hennepin Healthcare has.
And, I help coordinate trainings for them.
I oversee that we're all meeting the incentives
and the things that the hospital wants us to do.
Like colon cancer screenings, diabetes management.
And, it really allows me to network and collaborate
with my peers and also become a leader for my area.