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

Deep in the depths of healthcare burnout, I did something completely off the wall and purchased a season pass to our local ski mountain. That choice? It saved me! Learn the importance of a hobby and movement in your journey to heal your healthcare burnout! 📅 Want to make sure you don’t fall into these mistakes? Book a Part-Time Pivot Call—let’s map out your plan together. Link in the show notes!...

Going part-time sounds amazing—until you realize how many mistakes can trip you up. If you don’t approach this transition strategically, you could end up with a lower income, frustrated employer, and the same workload you had before. In this episode, I’m sharing the biggest mistakes clinicians make when going part-time—and, most importantly, how to avoid them. Whether you’re worried about finances...

Did you know you can specialize when you work in primary care? As a surgical PA, I’ve worked in various surgical subspecialities, but the concept of primary care subspecialities was brand new to me. My guest today, Alex Childs, shares his story of specializing in pharmacogenetics as a primary care PA.   Alex is a PA with a Doctor of Medical Science degree working in family medicine in Utah. Alex’s...

Feeling overworked but scared to ask for fewer clinical days? I’ve been there. In this episode, I’m breaking down exactly how I went from a 5-day plus workweek to a 4-day workweek to 3 days—without losing financial stability or career growth. I’ll walk you through how I structured my proposal, overcame objections, and made it easy for my employer to say YES. 📅 Want help making this happen for you...

Are you a member of the American Academy of Physician Associates (AAPA)? If you’re not, you should be! Not only does your membership help support our national academy, advancing legislation and improving practice for PAs across the country, but AAPA offers a variety of benefits to its members! My guests today, Kelsey King & Laura Burch, both work at AAPA and are here to share the newest AAPA m...

Feeling stuck in long hours and endless burnout? I’ve been there. During the pandemic, I was working 60-hour weeks, exhausted and overwhelmed, with no clue how to reclaim my time. But over time, I transitioned from full-time to just 24 hours a week across three days —without sacrificing my income or career growth. And today, I’m pulling back the curtain on how I did it. If you’re dreaming of more...

Ever wonder what life could look like if you weren’t working full-time? This week, I got to take my kids to their well-check without rushing from clinic, train for my Ironman, ski three days, and have unhurried coffee chats with my husband—all because I work part-time. These are the moments I used to miss when I was drowning in long hours, late-night charting, and constant exhaustion. In this epis...

Are you interested in taking on more leadership roles in your job? Do you want to become a leader in your clinic or department or hospital system? If becoming a leader is something you’re interested in taking on or looking forward to as a step in growing your career, this episode is for you! My guest today is Stacey Becker, the Director of APPs at Endeavor Health in suburban Chicago. From working...

Thinking of transitioning from full-time clinical work to a part-time schedule without sacrificing your income, career prospects, or work-life balance? If you’re feeling the weight of burnout, long hours, and constant patient demands, this episode is for you. I’ve been there—working 60+ hours a week, teetering on the edge of exhaustion, and missing out on life. Now? I work 24 clinical hours a week...

Have you ever wondered what it’s like to be a Neonatal PA? Have you dreamed of working in the NICU but don’t know where to start? My guest today is here to answer all those questions and more! Lex Mastro is a Neonatal PA and currently the Division of Newborn Medicine Advanced Practice Provider Supervisor and Associate Director of the Advanced Practice Provider Neonatology Fellowship Program. After...

Choosing your next clinical role can feel exciting but also overwhelming. In this episode, we break down 10 essential questions you need to ask before accepting a job offer to ensure it aligns with your values, lifestyle, and career goals. From patient loads and on-call expectations to workplace culture and compensation packages, we cover everything you need to make an informed decision. We’ll als...

Jessica Boone, the visionary infertility Physician Assistant turned CEO of Fortitude Fertility Consulting, is my guest on the podcast today. Jessica is redefining the journey to parenthood with her unique blend of expertise, empathy, and empowerment. At the core of Jessica's practice is a revolutionary couple-focused approach, offering a personalized concierge experience that combines one-on-one f...

In this episode, we explore the critical intersection of internet safety and HIPAA compliance for healthcare providers. With an increasing online presence on platforms like LinkedIn, Facebook, and Sermo, it’s essential to understand how to share responsibly while protecting patient privacy. We’ll dive into practical questions to ask yourself before posting, commenting, or sharing online to avoid c...

Today on the show we’re talking all things S-E-X. How comfortable do you feel discussing sex and sexual health with your patients? Have you even considered these conversations if you work in a speciality like cardiology or rheumatology? Where do you even start? My guest today is Aleece Fosnight, a PA with experience in urology, gynecology, pelvic health, gender affirming care, sexual medicine, and...

If you’ve been following along in our money series with special guest PA Sarah Miller, we’ve covered the basics of investing - why, how, and where. But what’s the final goal? What are we investing for? For most of us the answer is retirement. But in order to retire, we need a big enough nest egg to be financially independent. In today’s episode, Sarah explains what financial independence is and ho...

In this episode we dive into Sermo, and their new exclusive online community for Advanced Practice Providers (APPs). Learn how this secure platform fosters professional networking, offers paid survey opportunities, and provides valuable tools like the world's largest drug ratings database.  Discover why Sermo’s focus on Advanced Practice Providers makes it a unique and supportive space for career...

Struggling to get quality sleep? In this episode of The PA Is In , we’re diving into the importance of a consistent evening routine and how it can transform your sleep, health, and overall well-being. From tips on limiting blue light exposure to establishing a calming wind-down ritual, Tracy shares her personal nighttime routine and actionable strategies to help you wake up refreshed and ready to...

Now that we’ve covered the importance of investing, types of retirement accounts, and the difference between Traditional and Roth, we’re moving on to discuss what to actually buy inside these accounts. What should you be investing in? How do you choose your investments? Sarah is here to teach us about index funds, how to interpret expense ratios, and the difference between dollar cost averaging an...

I’m unpacking my biggest career regrets. Things about my career as a physician assistant (now physician associate) that I’ve never shared before. It’s easy to look back and think, “If I had only known then what I know now, I could have made smarter choices.” But here’s the thing: regrets don’t have to define you. Instead, they can be powerful tools for growth and learning. By reflecting on what di...

Want to land a raise in 2025? This episode of The PA Is In dives into the three essential steps to confidently negotiate a salary increase as a Physician Associate. Learn how to set clear compensation goals, craft a strategic approach to your conversations, and specific strategies to turn negotiation into collaboration.  Don't forget to grab your free Clinician Negotiation Roadmap at tracybingaman...

We’re back with the next episode in our Back to Basics Money Series! Sarah is here to discuss everything IRAs. What’s the difference between a Roth IRA and a Traditional IRA? What’s a Backdoor Roth? How do these affect my taxes? Sarah is here to answer all these questions and more! We also dive into risk tolerance and stock market fluctuations.  Sarah is a personal finance nerd who learned about f...

In PA school we learned the first treatment to almost every disease is lifestyle modifications. But why do we wait until a patient receives a diagnosis instead of being proactive about starting lifestyle modifications earlier? How do we actually help patients follow through with making effective lifestyle modifications? What do we do if we know we need to make changes in our own lifestyles? My gue...

We are talking about something that’s close to my heart: how YOU, as a healthcare provider, can make your life, career, and patient care better, not through big system changes, but through personal, daily actions that add up in huge ways. So today, we’re focusing on five things you can do to thrive as a provider. Whether you’re feeling overwhelmed, burned out, or just want to fine-tune your daily...

We’re back with the next episode in our Back to Basics Money Series! Sarah is here to discuss the basics of getting started with investing.  Do you get confused when you hear all the investing lingo and acronyms? Does it sound like a foreign language? Do you know the difference between a 401k and a 403b and an IRA? Sarah is here to answer all these questions and more! In today’s episode, we’re exp...

I love to highlight Unicorn PAs, especially PAs who are working in rarer, unique specialities. My guest today absolutely fits that bill! Paige Grasso is a surgical PA working in transplant and hepatobiliary surgery. Paige shares what life is like as a transplant surgery PA and how she got started in this unique speciality. We also discuss what every clinician (regardless of specialty) needs to kno...