Episode #27: Anthony Desloges | PA in Addictions, Mental Health & Primary Care
Episode Summary
What does it actually look like to build a PA role from the ground up in a high-needs environment? In this episode, I sit down with Anthony, a 2018 Toronto PA program grad who walked away from a stable neurosurgery gig to tackle the "wild west" of addictions and mental health in downtown Ottawa. It’s a raw, honest look at the grit required to serve stigmatized populations and why being a PA is sometimes about much more than just the medicine.
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0:15 Working with Vulnerable Populations
1:48 Working in Primary Care, Addictions & Mental Health as a PA
5:03 A Typical Day in the Life of a PA in Primary Care, Addictions & Mental Health
6:40 Medical Directives to work with Indirect Supervision
7:08 Getting Oriented to a New Practice as a new PA Hire
8:27 Common Conditions Seen
9:18 Less Common Conditions Seen
11:14 Working with Marginalized Populations
13:57 Challenges on the Job
Key Takeaways
Realize you are the "gap filler" for primary care. You'll often be the only person looking at the “whole picture” for patients who haven’t had a check-up in years, managing things like diabetes and hypertension right alongside their recovery journey.
Get ready for a massive pace shift. Moving from a specialty like neurosurgery to seeing 60 or 70 patients a day—sometimes with your supervising physician only available via phone or Zoom. That takes a level of grit and autonomy you won't learn in a textbook.
Understand that "healthcare" happens outside the clinic too. Sometimes your most important “medical” intervention isn't a prescription; it's helping a patient fill out housing paperwork or getting a peer worker to walk them to city hall for a health card.
Develop a thick skin and a soft heart. You’re going to meet people who are angry, intoxicated, or just plain exhausted by a system that has mistreated them; your job is to stay empathetic and not take their outbursts personally.
Take the lead on your own professional boundaries. Anthony took existing medical directives and modified them himself to fit this new addictions and primary care mode
About Our Guest
Anthony Desloges, CCPA
Anthony is a 2018 graduate of the University of Toronto PA program. After gaining experience in neurosurgery, he transitioned to full-time practice in downtown Ottawa, where he focuses on the intersection of primary care, mental health, and addictions medicine. He is currently the primary PA resource for a multi-clinic organization serving the city's most vulnerable populations
