The PA Is In | Tracy Bingaman | Physician Assistant/Physician Associate/PA-C/PA-S/PA Student

What happens when the role that once fit perfectly starts feeling a little too small? In this episode, Tracy sits down with Beth Welch , a PA whose career journey has taken her from trauma and critical care medicine into executive healthcare leadership, innovation, and systems-level impact. Together, they explore what it feels like to step away from traditional clinical practice, navigate the iden...

You've learned how to diagnose and treat patients. But nobody taught you how to diagnose and treat a business. In this special episode, I'm pulling back the curtain on the Clinician Entrepreneur Collective (CEC), my 8-week small business course designed specifically for clinicians. [ https://tracybingaman.com/cec ]  If you've ever found yourself: Sitting on a business idea Coaching people informal...

You can be clinically bored and logistically burned out at the same time. And honestly? That combination is brutal. In this episode, Tracy sits down with Kathryn Werner, PA-C — practice owner, telepsychiatry provider, and consultant helping clinicians launch and grow their own practices through CPAC. Together, they unpack: what it actually takes to start a medical practice the startup costs and ti...

Have a business idea scribbled in your Notes app? A coaching offer you can't stop thinking about? A course, consulting business, product, podcast, or creative project that keeps tugging at your heart? If you've ever wondered how clinicians actually make the leap into entrepreneurship, this episode is for you. In this episode, we break down the three most common paths clinicians take when b...

What happens when a successful surgeon realizes the system he dedicated his life to… is simply fundamentally broken? Join Dr. Joe Pazona for a deeply honest conversation about burnout, entrepreneurship, healthcare innovation, and what it really looks like to walk away from traditional clinical medicine without leaving patient care. Dr. Pazona shares his six-year transition from practicing urologis...

If your business feels like it has great ideas but no traction , this episode is your diagnosis—and your treatment plan. In Episode 372, we’re continuing the “business as a body” framework and building out the nervous system of your business . Because a brain without a spinal cord and motor neurons? It can think… but it cannot move. And that’s exactly where so many clinicians-turned-entrepreneurs...

What if the biggest mistake clinician entrepreneurs make… happens before they ever launch? In this episode, Tracy sits down with entrepreneur, consultant, and former dermatology PA Kasey D'Amato for a masterclass in entrepreneurship, burnout, business strategy, and building something viable outside clinical medicine. Kasey shares how she went from practicing dermatology in Los Angeles while ma...

If your business feels chaotic, scattered, or like it’s draining more energy than it gives back… this episode is your diagnosis. In Episode 370, Tracy breaks down one of the most common (and most overlooked) problems in small business: a lack of a clear, compelling treatment plan. Using clinical frameworks like SOAP notes and real patient examples, she shows you why your business might not be brok...

If you’ve ever thought, “There has to be more than just working more shifts to make more money…” — this episode is going to open your eyes. In this conversation, I sit down with Dr. Christopher Cannell , PA-C, who shares how he transitioned from full-time clinical work into a flexible, high-income career combining academia, consulting, and entrepreneurship . What started as a single opportunity tu...

Goals Aren’t Enough—Your Business Needs a Plan You’ve been told to set goals—big ones. Write them down. Visualize them. Work harder toward them. But here’s the problem: most goals are too vague to actually drive action. “Help more people.” “Make a difference.” “Grow the business.” They sound good, but they don’t tell you what to do on a random Tuesday night when you finally sit down to work. And t...

What happens when you leave a stable, six-figure clinical career… to build something of your own? In this episode I sit down with returning guest Kate Johnston—former PA turned full-time coach and entrepreneur—to talk about what it actually looks like to walk away from medicine and build a business from the ground up. And spoiler: it’s not “build it and they will come.”  We dive into the real, unf...

She didn’t have a business plan. She didn’t have a website. She didn’t even know what a virtual assistant was. But one “yes” turned into a flexible side business bringing in $10–15K/year—while working part-time nights in the ICU and raising a family. After going part-time, Sarah wanted a small income buffer. She tried a few ideas… and then an opportunity landed in her inbox: “Want to be my VA?” Sh...

Once upon a time, there was a gold-star-collecting girl who believed hard work guaranteed fulfillment — so she chose medicine. In this deeply personal episode, Tracy Bingaman shares the story behind her burnout, her breaking point, and the decision that changed everything: she didn’t quit medicine — she quit martyrdom. After years of overwork, illness, exhaustion, and people-pleasing inside a syst...

A federal policy change could quietly reshape the future of the Physician Associate profession — and most clinicians don’t even know it’s happening. In this urgent advocacy episode, Tracy sits down with Jen Campbell, PA-C, cardiology PA, PA supervisor, and current president of the Pennsylvania Society of Physician Associates (PSPA), to break down what a proposed Department of Education rule could...

A newly proposed rule from the U.S. Department of Education could significantly restrict access to federal student loans for Physician Associate (PA) students — threatening the future PA pipeline and patient access to care. In this rapid response episode, Tracy breaks down: What the Department of Education’s proposed rule actually says How changes to federal student loan eligibility could limit PA...

Insulin Resistance, Fertility, and Taking Your Health Back Insulin resistance doesn’t just affect blood sugar — it impacts hormones, fertility, energy, and long-term health. In this episode, Tracy sits down with PA and women’s health coach Chelsea Hayman to unpack how insulin resistance shows up in real life, why “normal labs” don’t always tell the full story, and what clinicians and patients can...

After 13 years of practicing medicine, I’m not here to pretend I have it all figured out. I am here to share what experience has quietly, steadily taught me. In this episode, I’m reflecting on 13 lessons I’ve learned in my 13 years as a PA—from why people and schedules matter more than specialty, to how burnout isn’t something you beat but something you learn to monitor, to why there is absolutely...

Most clinicians don’t need to work harder to earn more — they need better strategy. In this episode of The PA Is In , Tracy breaks down three proven ways clinicians can increase their income without adding more clinic hours or sacrificing their sanity. Whether you’re stuck with tiny annual raises, feeling underpaid for your productivity, or craving more financial flexibility, this episode gives yo...

Most PAs don’t wake up one day hating medicine. Instead, they wake up tired. Numb. Disconnected. Still competent. Still caring. Still showing up — but quietly wondering where the spark went. In this episode of The PA Is In, Tracy speaks directly to the clinician who didn’t fall out of love with medicine, but feels weighed down by how it’s practiced today. She reframes burnout as information — not...

What if the problem isn’t medicine — but the way your career is structured right now? In this episode, Tracy sits down with Annie Wildermuth , PA, leadership consultant, and ICF-certified coach, for a thoughtful, grounded conversation about career pivots, burnout, and how clinicians can make intentional changes without blowing up their lives. Annie shares her own non-linear career journey — from e...

January 1st can feel loud. Your social media feed fills up with highlight reels, perfect vacations, big announcements, ambitious income goals, and declarations about how this is the year everything changes. Even when it’s well-intentioned, that constant stream can quietly send the message that you need to be different — more disciplined, more productive, more transformed — to be worthy of the year...

Breaking up is hard — and breaking up with your financial advisor after 10+ years? Still hard. In this episode, Tracy shares a deeply personal (and wildly uncomfortable) story about ending a long-standing relationship with her financial advisor — why it stopped feeling right, how she navigated the guilt and fear, and what ultimately helped her reclaim agency over her money. What started as a finan...

Dave Mittman is back—and we’re talking about what’s next for the PA profession. After 50 years in advocacy and leadership (including serving as AAPA President), Dave breaks down why the “experiment worked,” why PA modernization is the real conversation (not “scope creep”), and what changes are already reshaping our day-to-day practice. We dig into full practice and practice-level decision-making,...

Work–life balance isn’t a destination — it’s a feeling. And according to executive life coach Rebecca Olson , that feeling is available to you even in the chaos of practicing medicine and parenting young kids. In this powerful, paradigm-shifting conversation, we unpack why so many clinicians feel overwhelmed, what’s actually happening inside your nervous system, and how to reclaim presence in the...

This week on The PA Is In , we’re going behind the scenes of my experience with the PANRE-LA , the NCCPA’s longitudinal recertification exam. After recertifying the “old-school” way eight years ago — one long test, one long day, one giant burst of stress — I decided to try something totally different this cycle. In this episode, I’m sharing why I chose the PANRE-LA, how the experience compares to...