John Lynch ’21 DMSc, PA-C was excited to start his new career as a clinical team leader with CareTeam. CareTeam is a growing healthcare organization that partners with employers across the country to provide primary care and occupational medicine services to employees and their families. Lynch manages a team of advanced practice professionals including both PAs and nurse practitioners, across 22 CareTeam health center locations.
“My job responsibilities will allow me to make a difference,” Lynch said. “I’ll have a role in helping to standardize procedures within the clinics. I am looking forward to onboarding new clinical team members and making sure they are comfortable with procedures and flow, along with electronic medical records. I will also provide clinical coverage at health centers during special programs and events.”
Lynch was attracted to CareTeam because of their philosophy: “live well, work well.” CareTeam’s health centers encourage an average of 25-minute appointments, so providers can assess whole health needs.
“I’m happy to say that I see eight to 10 patients during an eight-hour shift, and I’m experiencing renewed joy in my clinical practice,” he said. “I have met wonderful people, with lots of good spirit and a positive direction for the future!”
He credits the health administration classes in the DMSc with providing him with the skills he will utilize in his new role.
“I am thrilled that I will be in a role to advocate for the PA profession by example through leadership,” he said.
“The mentorship I have received from my DMSc peer group, as well as the guidance provided in the executive leadership and healthcare advocacy course taught by Dr. Jeremy Welsh and Dr. David Mittman have inspired me. The tools I have gained through the DMSc have proved invaluable,” he said.
Lynch has always been interested in travel medicine and tropical and infectious disease. His 30-year career with the federal government allowed him to explore many different parts of the world and gain experience in emergency planning and coordination.
As Lynch was considering topics to write about for his evidence-based medicine course, he came across articles discussing yellow fever and the vaccine being in short supply. He found this topic very interesting and decided to do more research into it.
“I became very interested in yellow fever, and the vaccine production and its history,” he said.The reservoir of yellow fever is in apes, in the jungle, and every once in a while it will spill out into the countryside. The fear is that the virus – which is transmitted by the same mosquito that vectors Zika virus – if it gets into a village or a city and an urban outbreak occurs, you have a real disaster.”
As he researched, he found a piece by a medical historian that described a yellow fever outbreak in Norfolk, Virginia in 1855. His research on the Virginia outbreak confirmed that the crisis affected Norfolk more than the black plague affected London in 1665.
“As a Virginian, and a history buff, I was very surprised that I had not heard about this before, so I had to pursue the story. “I was stunned – everyone knows about the black plague of London, but not many have heard of the Norfolk yellow fever outbreak,” he said.
Lynch decided to submit his paper topic to the Virginia Academy of Physician Assistants (VAPA) for consideration for their annual summer conference. The paper was accepted and he presented “Yellow Jack: the Reemergence of Yellow Fever”in 2021.
“During the presentation, we discussed the yellow fever vaccine and vaccine production. The vaccine and mosquito control are literally the only things we have to combat yellow fever – similar to COVID-19, everything else is symptomatic treatment,” he said.
His presentation drew from his real-life experiences in emergency planning throughout his career.
Of his experience in the DMSc, Lynch said he was very happy with what he encountered.
“The instructors have been incredible and very supportive. I have enjoyed the class content and also the discussion boards,” he said.
Lynch also noted that the breadth and depth of the experiences of classmates is impressive.
“I am thrilled with the academic rigor of the program, and I enjoy the intellectual conversations with my colleagues in the program,” he said.
