Pete Breitinger's journey to respected PA educator spans more than three decades and reveals the profound human connections at the heart of healthcare. What begins as a candid reflection on his unexpected path into medicine transforms into a masterclass on resilience, advocacy, and equity in patient care.
When Pete shares stories from his years in pediatric cardiology, his voice brightens with genuine affection for the families he's followed, some from infancy through adulthood. "These kids are resilient," he says, "you talk about a definition of resilience? Go to Peds Cardiology." This perspective on patient strength becomes a thread woven throughout our conversation, reappearing as he describes the qualities that make successful PA students and practitioners.
The most powerful moment comes when Pete redefines his profession's very acronym. "What does PA stand for?" he asks his students each year. Beyond the official "Physician Assistant," Pete insists it means "Patient Advocate," a conviction forged while navigating the healthcare system with his wife during her cancer diagnosis. Seeing patients struggle without guidance crystallized his belief that advocacy isn't just political action but happens in every exam room, with every prescription, with every referral.
His work with UF's Mobile Outreach Clinic brings this philosophy to life, providing care to underserved communities from a converted bus. "If you want to be a true patient advocate, go work in underserved areas," Pete advises, noting how this experience forces practitioners to find creative solutions without "all the bells and whistles" of well-equipped facilities. The geographical distribution of healthcare resources, with standalone ERs concentrated in affluent areas, becomes a stark visual reminder of persistent inequities.
Through three decades of evolution in healthcare education, Pete has witnessed growing awareness of these systemic issues. Today's students arrive more community-aware and ready to address social determinants of health, giving him hope for medicine's future. His parting wisdom? Simply "be kind," a reminder that seeing patients as complete human beings rather than medical cases is perhaps the most fundamental form of advocacy.
Join us for this illuminating conversation about what it truly means to care for patients in all their complexity. Subscribe now and follow @shadowmenext on social media for more insights into the human side of medicine.

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