Jessica Saint-Paul ’20 DMSc, PA, MPH, MCHES is a changemaker. Saint-Paul is a licensed PA, public health practitioner, educator, and philanthropist. She has learned a lot from her 20-year career as a PA. She wants to make it easier for people to get the care they need, so she is serving on the California school-based Health Alliance.
“I believe this opportunity is directly related to my doctoral degree. Having my DMSc degree expands my ability to serve in both a leadership and a clinical capacity. This is so much more than just getting an additional degree. I have the ability to directly affect change in health care through population-based medicine,” she said.
Saint-Paul is passionate about her work in adolescent health and medicine, specifically in the area of school-based health care.
“These are their formative years. So many things happen in adolescence. This is when they have the freedom to learn about their own health and develop healthier habits that are taken into adulthood. And now, many of my patients have grown. They are in college, they are parents, and they have used some of the information they received in our exam room that have shaped their lives. It’s amazing to see — I love it!” she said.
In 2019, Saint-Paul was awarded the Pediatric Physician Assistant of the Year Award from the Society for Physician Assistants in Pediatrics for her dedication and commitment to pediatric patients and the PA profession. She says she was initially enticed by the career flexibility of the PA profession.
“As an undergraduate student, I met a PA at Howard University Hospital. Then I looked at the curriculum — I couldn’t believe I could study and eventually practice as a PA in all of these different areas of medicine,” she said. “Our program was extremely rigorous. PAs have always been trained on the medical model, as physicians are. I knew I would see the day where PAs would be respected as partners and clinicians in all areas of medicine. More states like California have pivoted to Optimal Team Practice. It may have taken a pandemic, but PAs have always been able to adapt quickly to opportunities to serve and alleviate medical/health professional shortages.”
Saint-Paul states she is proud to be a PA because ultimately, PAs are improving access to health care, both locally and globally.
“We are adaptable, we are flexible. Wherever you go to seek health care, you will always find a PA. We are in every area of medicine. We perform histories and physical examinations — provide health education and diagnose and treat patients with acute and chronic medical conditions. We are PArtners in medicine,” she said.
Saint-Paul leverages her experience as a health care worker and her skills in nonprofit management to help students who are interested in working in the health care field. Additionally, she enjoys teaching dual enrollment courses for middle school and high school students who want to learn about health and science-related careers.
“These are our future health care teams,” she said.
Her passion for working in adolescent health led her to found a nonprofit organization in 2005.
“We provide case management and housing for foster care youth. I work with an amazing team providing health assessments and developing policies to assist foster care youth to transition from the dependence of the foster care system to self-sufficiency. And since we have more time with our youth now, they are able to stay in foster care until the age of 21. We provide life skills and help with education and employment, as well as make sure they are getting their physical exams and vaccinations,” she said.
“I am a first-generation Haitian-American. I am familiar with resilience and grit. My parents managed group homes while I was in high school and college. My mother served as a registered public health nurse and my father served as a radiologic technologist. I saw how they were making an impact and this deeply affected me and my decision to become a PA,” she said.
