Panel Discussion: The PA-Physician Dynamic - Maximizing Efficiency
November 8, 2025 from 11:30am MDT to 12:20pm MDT
Health care is changing, and it is important now more than ever to foster team-based care. This panel discussion will bring together physicians who work closely with Physician Assistants (PAs) and will touch on topics ranging from PA orientation, supervision and collaboration, along with the benefits a PA brings to the health care team. By sharing real life examples, participating doctors will also highlight how PAs have helped reduce burnout. They will also outline how to fund a PA position and the lucrative return on the investment this provides. PAs are physician extenders, the future of medicine. Every doctor deserves a PA.
Learning Objectives
At the conclusion of this session, the participant will be able to:
- Explain how to onboard a PA
- Define supervision and how it changes over time
- Recognize how PAs are collaborative team players, contributing to a physician’s practice and effective patient care
- Recall examples and list the various benefits of incorporating a PA into your practice
- Identify different ways to fund a PA position
- Explain how lucrative it is to incorporate a PA into your practice
Speakers / Panelists
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Panel Discussion: The PA-Physician Dynamic - Maximizing Efficiency
November 8, 2025 from 11:30am MDT to 12:20pm MDT -
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November 6, 2025 from 9:00am MDT to 12:00pm MDT -
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Panel Discussion: The PA-Physician Dynamic - Maximizing Efficiency
November 8, 2025 from 11:30am MDT to 12:20pm MDT -
Panel Discussion: The PA-Physician Dynamic - Maximizing Efficiency
November 8, 2025 from 11:30am MDT to 12:20pm MDT -
Panel Discussion: The PA-Physician Dynamic - Maximizing Efficiency
November 8, 2025 from 11:30am MDT to 12:20pm MDT
Gabriel DeMone
CD, BSc-PA, BSc, CCPA
Gabriel DeMone
Gabe grew up in BC, served 14 years with the CAF and was a graduate of the final MPATP in 2022. He currently works in the ED at Red Deer Hospital. He serves as the Alt. Dir. BC for CAPA and as a Director-at-Large for PARSEC. He is driven to advancing the PA profession in Canada through advocacy and education, and is pursuing his Masters Degree in Precision Health, with a focus on Health Professions Education Leadership.
Kirsten Luomala
CD,DMSc, MPAS, CCPA
Kirsten Luomala
Originally from BC, Kirsten joined the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) in 1987. She served for 26 years with deployments to Alert, Haiti and Afghanistan. She was selected for the CAF PA program in 2007 and graduated in the inaugural BSc PA class in 2009. Kirsten subsequently was then posted to the Canadian Forces Medical School assigned to teach in the CAF PA program. While on her 2nd deployment to Afghanistan in 2013 she completed her Master of PA studies in Education and ER medicine from the University of Nebraska while assisting in developing the Combat PA program for the Afghanistan National Army. Kirsten retired from the CAF in 2014 to accept a position in Alberta’s Demonstration Project in Neurosurgery at University of Alberta where she currently works. She attended the University of Lynchburg, graduating in 2021 with her DMSc in Neurosurgery. Kirsten has been involved in the CAPA in various capacities, and directly involved in the successful regulation of Alberta PAs in Apr 2021. She currently resides in Spruce Grove with her family.
Dr. Neil Gibson
MSc, CCPE, DTMH, MD , MACP, FRCPC
Dr. Neil Gibson
Dr. Gibson spent 32 years with the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF), serving in Somalia, Norway, France, the United States, Djibouti, Cambodia, Eritrea, Ethiopia and Afghanistan. He rose to be the senior internal medicine specialist at the rank of colonel, the highest position a Canadian Forces Health Services medical officer can attain.
A trusted leader, Dr. Gibson oversaw the intensive care unit and trauma resuscitation unit at the Role 3 Multinational Medical Unit in Kandahar, Afghanistan, which had limited resources compared with those available at Canadian hospitals, in conditions described as “a wooden shack at the end of a runway.” He not only provided excellent care under those circumstances but also supported his team to achieve a 98% patient survival rate.
After he retired from CAF in 2011, Dr. Gibson was asked to return to Base Petawawa in Ontario to train a new generation of health care professionals, and he served five years as a flight physician for Shock Trauma Air Rescue Service (STARS).
His influence can also be felt in the Alberta health system. Having worked alongside physician assistants (PAs) his entire career, he knew they could provide crucial support to physicians in civilian settings. Largely because of Dr. Gibson’s ongoing advocacy, PAs became regulated members of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta in 2021. Currently, as the associate zone medical director, acute care coverage, at Alberta Health Services, Dr. Gibson oversees the hiring of alternative health providers (such as PAs) to fill gaps in clinical coverage.
Jamie McIntyre
MD
Jamie McIntyre
Jamie is the site lead at the Red Deer Regional Hospital Centre. Born and raised in Red Deer, he completed his medical school at the University of Alberta before returning to his hometown for his rural family medicine residency. Jamie then went on to complete his emergency medicine training at the University of Calgary and has been working at the Red Deer Regional Hospital since finishing his training. Outside of work, he enjoys exploring the world with his family, developing his Dungeons and Dragons character, walking his dog, mountain biking, and fitting in taekwondo and golf when time allows. He and his colleagues are greatly looking forward to the program having a training program based out of Red Deer.