10/08/2023

PA Week Spotlight: Matt Fair, PA-C

Happy PA Week, October 6-12, 2023!

OAPA is celebrating the growth of our PA community as it gets wider and more diverse every year. We cherish the value that PAs bring to the table and recognize the unique contributions each PA makes to health care landscape across Ohio.

Today we feature an interview with Matt Fair, PA-C, who practices in neurosurgery in Mansfield, Ohio.

1. What does PA week mean to you?

PA week is a time to demonstrate camaraderie and reflect on and celebrate our accomplishments as providers.

2. What is your favorite part of being a PA?

I Iove helping people, and helping give people's lives back through medicine is truly rewarding.

3. Do you currently take students or train other PAs?

I help pre-PA students obtain shadowing hours. I am happy to take PA students or pre-PA students.

4. What was your journey like to your current position?

The journey to by current position required a great deal of resolve. Prior to enrolling into PA school, I maintained full time work, commuted 3+ hours a day, and took night classes. It prepared me for the rigors of PA school and practice as a PA, and I couldn't be happier that I did it.

5. Why do you love your current work in Neurosurgery?

I love neurosurgery because to m, it is like a Rubik's cube. You align the pieces of patient history and diagnostic testing with knowledge of anatomy, and the puzzle is generally solved. It is great detective work, which keeps me thinking, and I enjoy that.

6. How does practicing in Neurosurgery improve patient care?

Practicing in neurosurgery improves patient care because we treat one of the most common ailments in the United States, back pain. Improving people's back pain has long lasting effects, not just for the individual, but for the community and country because it puts people back to work and helps them lead happy, productive lives.

7. How has your role changed throughout your assignment?

I have only been practicing for close to a year now, and throughout this time, my role has changed by becoming more involved in patient care as I learn the ins and outs of neurosurgery.

8. What do you see changing in the PA profession within the next 5 to 10 years?

In the next 5 to 10 years, I see the PA profession becoming more widely known and accepted by patients.