Alumni Profiles

Brittini Santos, Butler’s DMS program’s first international student, earned her Bachelor of Science in Physician Assistant Studies from the University of Toronto in 2018.

Although very attracted to the program’s curriculum, Santos enrolled at Butler with some trepidation, assuming she’d encounter lessons and information only applicable to PAs in the United States.

“I thought it was not going to be very relevant. But the learning I’m doing so far is very high level and very easily applicable to my experience in the Canadian system as well.”

Santos has spent most of her time working as a PA in forensics medicine. She works for the Ontario Forensic Pathology Service, which is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of the Solicitor General in Ontario.

In her position, she conducts autopsies under the supervision of a forensic pathologist in non-homicide/criminally suspicious and non-pediatric cases.

“I don’t see live patients,” Santos says. “On days when I’m scheduled for autopsy cases, I do about four per day. On other days, I write my reports. I look at the histology; I look at the toxicology. I look at my gross findings as well as all the other studies that we request and then formulate the cause of death.”

Recently, Santos desired a refresher in clinical medicine and the career flexibility an advanced degree designed for PAs could provide.

Despite no plans to leave her current position, she understood her DMS would make her an attractive candidate for a new job in the future, even after spending most of her career in the forensic world. She researched potential options for PA degrees in the United States.

Last fall, she enrolled in Butler’s Doctor of Medical Science (DMS) program, which accepted her without requiring her first to obtain a master’s degree.

“What drew me most to Butler’s program was the medical courses involved, like cardiology, pulmonology, and endocrinology,” Santos says. Those sold it for me because I wanted to refresh, and this program was the perfect opportunity to do that.”

She also found the enrollment process straightforward. Her online coursework affords her the flexibility necessary to pursue a DMS despite her demanding schedule.

One of her long-term goals is to be a faculty member at an academic institution where she can contribute to the growth of the PA field in her own country.

“It’s much less developed in Canada than in the States by a lot,” Santos says. “Right now, we have about 1,000 PAs in the entire country. In the United States, there are hundreds of thousands.”

She loves guiding and encouraging others to learn and believes her current profession gives her a unique perspective to share with students.

“I think my job in pathology helps that with teaching because all we do is study how the body works and how its processes went wrong,” Santos says. “So, combined with wanting to teach people, it would help the PA profession, specifically in Canada, and individual learners.

“I want to give back to the educational community that helped me so much.”

Kevin Bogenschutz, PA-C, DMS, earned a Master’s in PA Studies from Butler University in 2017. Upon graduation, he spent nearly eight years as a PA and the Clinical Director at Pike Medical Consultants, where he practiced primary care, urgent care, and pulmonary medicine.

In 2018, Bogenschutz also began teaching part-time as a Clinical Affiliate Faculty in Butler’s PA Program, where he fostered an affection for instruction and imparting knowledge to others. 

“I always knew I loved teaching and wanted to move into the educational realm at some point later in life,” Bogenschutz says. “That’s when Butler’s DMS presented itself.”

At first, he thought earning a Doctor of Medical Science (DMS) would keep him updated on the latest industry knowledge, improve his leadership skills, and empower him to transition to academia down the road.

The program exceeded his expectations and accelerated his desired career trajectory. 

Bogenschutz graduated from the program in January 2023. That fall, a position opened in Butler’s College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, and he became an Assistant Professor in the Department of PA Studies. 

Throughout the 24-month program, he teaches various courses to recent college graduates pursuing a master’s in PA studies.

Despite limited experience in full-time academia, he felt well-prepared for his new responsibilities. His DMS included a PA Educator concentration.

“Although I still had a learning curve,” Bogenschutz says, “it’s not nearly as significant as it probably would have been if I didn’t have that educator track and learn some important traits.”

His concentration included courses focused on curricular design, program leadership, and the use of technology in the classroom. 

“There’s a reason that people take so many classes to become educators,” Bogenschutz says. “Although I loved educating others and I knew I was very effective at it, my DMS showed me the nitty-gritty (skills) of how to write learning outcomes and objectives and develop a syllabus.”

Bogenschutz also learned valuable lessons from his desired DMS Capstone project—to complete a research paper for submission to the Journal of PA Education (JPAE). With support from his Capstone and faculty advisors, he developed a hypothesis, received approval from the Institutional Review Board, sent surveys to PA programs nationwide, analyzed the results, and completed the paper. 

Kevin received additional peer feedback from the Journal of PA Education and completed those edits. His efforts related to his Capstone project resulted in the publication of his article.

In December 2023, Preceptor Tools for Success: Student Review on Creating an Effective Clinical Rotation appeared in The Journal of Physician Assistant Education. 

That experience serves him well now that he’s a full-time professor. 

“It’s less daunting now that I’m writing a couple of journal articles as a faculty member with other faculty members,” Bogenschutz says. “I feel more like a contributing team member if it’s a group of us. I’ve published a paper. I know the process, and I’m happy to be part of this.”

Bogenschutz keeps his clinical skills sharp by practicing pulmonary medicine one day per week and providing intermittent urgent care coverage. He also devotes one or two Saturdays each month to running the Near West Free Clinic in Indianapolis, which provides care to the underserved in Indianapolis.

Ultimately, he’s achieved the harmony he always wanted from his career. 

“I was reflecting with my wife on what actually gives me a lot of joy,” Bogenschutz says. “Now, I’m in a position in my life where I can teach, I can practice medicine one or two days per week, and I can do research. I feel more balanced than I ever did before.”

Nearly 20 years ago, right in front of Lori Vasquez’s eyes, a PA deftly took control of a chaotic emergency-room situation and saved an asthmatic child’s life. The incident astounded the Psychology major and inspired her to become a PA herself. Two decades later, deciding the 50- to 60-hour weeks on her feet in bariatric operating rooms might need to give way to age and family, she earned a Doctor of Medical Science (DMS) in 2022.

“I am Butler’s biggest fan,” Vasquez said, explaining why she chose Butler for both medical degrees. “Butler has been part of PA education for a very long time. It comes down to experienced faculty who know how to teach practicing PAs, and they do it well. They’re not just educators. Many of them have worked as PAs in the field, and they have a lifetime of clinical experience plus a passion for teaching those of us who are passionate about furthering our education.”

Admitting to some initial nervousness about earning a doctorate online, she ended up confidently logging on for classes despite some barriers cause by geography, thanks to the program’s structure.

“I did it on a cruise, atop a mountain in Costa Rica without power, on a Grand Canyon RV trip when Internet access was a 45-minute walk. During it all, I was working full time, raising my family, and dealing with COVID. The beauty was that the flexibility and great faculty, resources, and tech of Butler’s program made it possible. I can’t imagine anything better.”

The DMS degree quickly led to being recruited as Director of APP (Advanced Practice Provider) Fellowship and Professional Development for Community Health Network, Vasquez said, and more time with family.

“There isn’t a better job for me,” she said. “When I was working so many hours as a PA, I had a strong desire to be a little more present for my family. I love my hospital system and I’ve always had an interest in education, so gave me a chance to work with Butler and get brand-new CHN providers off to a great start. I get to give back a little bit.”

Vasquez said the DMS degree has made her a better practitioner, too.

“It enhanced and refreshed my clinical knowledge. One of the things woven into the program is evidence-based medicine, so if anything, it taught me to evaluate new research, journal articles, and guidelines with a much more critical eye, and that benefits my patients. I can answer questions of my patients with a much better answer.”

Lena Grunloh, DMS, PA-C graduated from Butler’s Master’s of PA Studies program in 2018. She practiced family medicine for a few years but still wanted to learn more from her former institution.

In 2021, Grunloh joined the Doctor of Medical Science (DMS) program. 

“It was a way to get involved again with Butler,” Grunloh says. “It had been three years since I had graduated from the PA program, and I felt like I wanted to spin my wheels again with academics and get freshened up on things. I’m just kind of a chronic nerd like that. I want to get my hands on the latest knowledge.”

Grunloh continued to work while attending remote classes. She couldn’t believe the rapport she developed with her cohort members, each of whom was a fellow PA located across North America. They were all in various phases of life, with different specialties and experience levels.

She graduated in the spring of 2023. Her brother, Nick, finished the DMS Bridge program at a time that allowed them to walk across the stage at the same commencement ceremony. 

“We’re so close, and now we both have a Butler DMS degree,” Grunloh says. “We’re big Butler fans.”

Upon graduation, Grunloh found herself reinvigorated in her chosen profession.

“Truthfully, this sounds cheesy, but this is just how I feel,” Grunloh says. “Butler does a really amazing job of keeping the heart and soul focused on the good of medicine, the good of the patient, the good of the provider, and the whole team of everyone you’re with.”

She believes that focus is invaluable more than half a decade into her career. 

“That’s easily lost when you are under fire and in the rigors of a medical field, especially five, six, 10 years in,” Grunloh says. “Going through the program reignited the good soul you can find in medicine.”

Last fall, she accepted a job with JLC Services, which runs eTMS Ohio and recently opened programs in Florida and Missouri using Magnetic e-Resonance Therapy to treat military veterans, first responders, and members of law enforcement who live with conditions such as PTSD, sleep disorders, and mental illnesses.

In this role, Grunloh works with neurologists and meets with patients virtually, but she’s also responsible for opening more clinics as the company continues to expand. 

JLC Services pursued her over the course of a few months after looking into her professional background and Butler’s DMS program. Because of her education and skillset, JLC Services knew she could work autonomously and that she also possessed a mind for the different facets of medicine beyond patient-provider encounters.

“It’s been everything,” Grunloh says. “The Butler DMS program helped me to not only deepen my understanding of clinical medicine. but it also gave me a better insight into the business of medicine, networking, and more minor nuances with the patient experience overall. 

“That’s what started me on the path of adapting my practice to serve more people and enabled me to see myself in a potential leadership position.”

With that said, even if she remains in family medicine for the foreseeable future, she’s thrilled she pursued the Butler DMS when she did.

“A lot of clinicians want to reboot their skills,” Grunloh says. “It’s medicine. It evolves every five minutes, so it’s essential to drink from the fountain of knowledge every now and then and not get behind on your skills.”

Joel Ruetz, PA-C, DMS-Ed, CAQ-EM, believes Butler’s Doctor of Medical Science (DMS) program can help PAs access—even create—hospital leadership positions they otherwise might never reach. In fact, he’s living proof.

“My experience has been that a hospital has to go out of its way to create an administrative role for a PA or a PA has to develop a role for themselves to become valuable to an organization. There aren’t natural channels for growing into a position, and it’s hard for PAs to crack into that upper echelon.” Ruetz said. “I wanted to get beyond and above roles that PAs typically have. I hoped that by obtaining my DMS, I could have an entryway into those levels of administration.”

He also thought the best place to get the degree was Butler University.

“The Butler DMS has a history of obtaining faculty with high levels of leadership roles in national PA educational organizations. That really spoke to me, knowing that this DMS program was being led by people who have been leading the PA educational field for years.”

Ruetz grew up with a critical eye on academics.

“Everybody in my family is a teacher. I have a practice, but I’m also a preceptor. I started my career desiring to be a teacher. Butler’s DMS Educator track hit both of my interests,” he said. “I work in emergency medicine, so having the ability to better translate information to my students is a big benefit. I hope someday to look into long-term educational opportunities. I really like the idea of bringing emergency medicine as a specialty into PA education and then blending that specialty education into PA practice.”

To Ruetz, continued education is key to pushing the PA profession forward.

“One of the reasons I love academics so much is that I think PAs earn their place at the table by being clinically excellent. Care, training, knowledge, bedside manner and the opportunity to influence our interns’ and colleagues’ lives is what’s going to get us seats at the table.”

Ruetz credits his Butler DMS training with putting him on that path. He recently started at Vituity, a physician-led and -owned multispecialty healthcare company partnering with Ascension on emergency medicine services throughout Indiana.

“I moved from a smaller, community-based emergency medical group to a large national group that was building an internship program for PAs and nurse practitioners new to emergency medicine. I’m helping to grow the program in Central Indiana and beyond and training interns as they join the company.”

The immediate goal is to split his time equally between administrative and clinical work. He said the DMS degree prepared him for the job in two significant ways.

“First, it gave me the tools to feel confident entering into that space. I’ve always had the desire, but I really wasn’t well-equipped other than what I’d done on my own. Having had an organized curriculum to guide me gave me the confidence to ask for this kind of role,” he said.

The company hadn’t posted the position; Ruetz asked for the job he wanted.

“Second, having the backing of the DMS degree showed employers that I had taken the steps necessary to be good at the role I sought. One of the ways the program really supports its students is by incorporating evidence-based medicine and critical appraisal of articles into the core science modules. As you encounter clinical questions in practice, you’re able to find and appraise articles because you’ve had practice doing it—then you start seeing where the pearls and pitfalls are, and the opportunities for bias. It’s absolutely real life and practical, and it gives you a lot more confidence.”

If you’re not sure how you’d fit Butler’s Doctor of Medical Science program into your busy schedule, meet Emily Keller, MS, PA-C.

Keller’s started the DMS program in February 2020. She was a part-time neurosurgery PA at OhioHealth and would become adjunct faculty and clinical coordinator for Ashland University’s PA program. The COVID pandemic—with all its medical and classroom implications—officially hit the nation in March 2020. And Keller and her husband became foster parents seeking to adopt.

“We had to complete 36 hours of foster care coursework, then we got our first kids two days before Thanksgiving and … had to enroll them in a new school so they could start on Monday. That’s the day their school moved to online classes because of COVID.”

As Keller illustrates, Butler students aren’t afraid of a challenge.

Lending direction

Keller had known she would pursue medicine as a career since she was a toddler.

When I was little, “I had neurosurgeries after a car accident. I told the residents I was going to be ‘just like them,’” she said. “I don’t recall any of it, but the only thing I ever wanted to be was a neurosurgeon. Then when I was accepted to medical school I didn’t know if I wanted to be a doctor because I love education so much. That’s where being a PA came in. I’ve been working in neurosurgery since I graduated PA school.”

The DMS “came in” when Keller wasn’t sure of her next step.

“I’ve always had a passion for education, but I do like the administrative side of things. I wasn’t sure which direction I was going to head, but I knew this degree would lend itself to either one.”

She’s now full-time faculty at Ashland.

“I’m teaching the capstone course, and I’m not sure I’d be able to effectively teach students evidence-based medicine without having gone through the Butler program. A lot of the strategies that were used in those courses I use now in my course,” she said. “The instructors turned them into ways I could learn not only the clinical knowledge but also the application of evidence-based medical practices. They also gave us the freedom to tie whatever we were interested in into what we were learning.”

When Abby Ryan opened an unexpected email about Butler’s Doctor of Medical Science program, a long-suppressed desire to be back in school burst into bloom.

“I immediately thought, ‘This is it. This is what I should do,’” she said. “I’d been feeling a void in thinking about my next steps, and I’d always entertained some sadness after I graduated from PA school. The master’s degree I got was a terminal degree, yet Butler’s DMS program would give me the ability to build on it.”

Path to the Future

Abby had grown up an athlete—she played football and volleyball and ran track in Michigan—which ignited an interest in sports medicine. She earned a bachelor’s degree in Health Science and then “took a victory lap,” she said, to earn a second degree in athletic training. After graduation, she began what she thought would be a lifelong career as an athletic trainer in Grand Rapids Public Schools.

“I loved being an athletic trainer. I never imagined working outside of sports medicine, but I felt a little limited because I couldn’t take patients to that final level of care. I thought that by becoming a PA, I could do that,” she said.

She earned a PA degree and certification, then went on to practice urgent care and, later, orthopedic specialties at Bronson Battle Creek Hospital. Ten years later, she felt ready to take on more administrative responsibility.

The Butler DMS program was a pathway into that world.

“A lack of administrative and business knowledge is one thing that can hinder PAs,” she said. “PAs are meant to be lifelong learners. I don’t necessarily think you need a college program for that, but it’s difficult to build independently.”

She enrolled at Butler. “Once I started the program, I felt peace and a fullness from being reengaged in college again.”

She had been told three things about the experience that she said turned out to be accurate.

“One, the program will refresh and expand your base medical knowledge. Two, it’ll help build your evidence-based medical skills. Three, it will help you gain more administrative knowledge, and the most valuable thing I gained has been a better understanding of the business of medicine,” she said.

‘Zero regrets. … It’s brilliant.’

“The further I got into Butler’s DMS program, the more I saw how artfully constructed and logical it was. It’s brilliant,” Ryan said. “It’s designed to create a better practicing clinician and to increase your understanding of operations management and business. It’s powerful to understand what you don’t know, especially when you don’t know that you don’t know.”

She recommends the DMS program without hesitation.

“If you’re contemplating it, you should do it. I wasn’t sure I was making the right decision but now I’m confident I did. With the way the career is heading, this program is a progressive direction and if you’re already looking at it, there’s no doubt it’s the right choice.”

An experienced PA-C like Candice Oberlies doesn’t need a master’s degree to join Butler’s Doctor of Medical Science (DMS) program. That’s because Butler recognizes graduation from an accredited PA program as the admission requirement regardless of degree conferred. Oberlies joined the inaugural DMS cohort in January 2020.

Studying in a pandemic

Oberlies expected the program to be a challenge—after all, she was a full-time PA with a working spouse who traveled and three teenage children in extracurricular activities. Then, two months later, the World Health Organization declared a COVID pandemic.

“My husband couldn’t travel as much and my kids’ activities halted, so I was able to double up on a lot of classes. The kids and I found ourselves sitting at the kitchen table doing homework together,” she said.

The pandemic was just another curve in Oberlies’ career path. After earning a Psychology degree and studying Pre-Health at Miami University, she’d known she wanted to practice medicine but was unsure how.

‘Best of both worlds’

She joined the Peace Corp, working in Fiji for two years as a community health education specialist.

“I realized that for me, an advance-practice provider offered the best of both worlds: I could treat, diagnose, and prescribe, plus develop strong working relationships with patients,” she said. “I loved working with the underserved population in the Peace Corps, so Cook County Hospital/Malcolm X College’s PA program was my top choice because of its ability to serve the underprivileged and uninsured in Chicago.”

Oberlies entered emergency care with her PA certification. Five years on various shifts was “an experience of a lifetime, one that I value greatly.” With a 1:1 MD-to-PA ratio, I learned more than I had ever anticipated,” she said. “We served as both primary care and ER providers. I tried to learn as much as I could about medicine and the human spirit. It was a privilege to work with that community.”

Lifelong Learner

Oberlies had long intended to further her education. She researched master’s and doctorate programs.

She connected with the founding Butler DMS program director who talked about her mission with the DMS program, her advocacy for PAs, and how one didn’t need a master’s degree to enter Butler’s DMS program. Oberlies said, “It came at the right time, and I loved the curriculum. In addition to the organizational leadership and business of medicine courses, the DMS program focused on patient safety, advanced medical science, and foundational science courses, which enhanced my previous PA knowledge of genetics, advanced clinical immunology, and biochemistry.”

Since earning her DMS degree, Oberlies has advanced her position within her family practice clinic. She believes that the knowledge and experience gained through the DMS program’s business administration courses prepared her well for her new role as Chief Clinical Officer.

“For any PA wishing to further their career, Butler’s DMS program is the right way to do it. You dive deeper into the subject matter and discuss evidence-based medicine in a comprehensive manner. As providers, we want to continually strengthen our scientific knowledge, and Butler’s DMS program enhances that lifelong learning,” she said.

David Lane grew up in rural Alabama and saw firsthand the struggles of his community with inadequate access to healthcare. Inspired by the dedication of his local doctor, he made it his mission to provide exceptional care to those in need, no matter the location or resources available.

“My local physician felt it was his duty to keep the hospital up and running, by himself,” Lane said.

“I saw what he did for the community, and I wanted to do the same thing.” In Lane’s opinion there isn’t so much a provider shortage, but just a shortage of providers where they are needed: rural communities.

“People think you have to go across the world to help people, but there are medical deserts right here in America,” he said.

Lane said knowing what he wanted to do from a young age led him to continuously train for it throughout his professional life.

His journey to becoming a medical professional began in nursing school, where he gained knowledge and experience in heart and lung transplants in the intensive care unit. He continued his education with nurse anesthesia school, but he realized it didn’t give him the medical proficiency to practice in his rural community.

“I realized if I didn’t have my anesthesia and a bag of drugs, I wouldn’t have been helpful to anyone,” he said.

Determined to increase his value and ability to help others, he continued his education in PA school. He joined the Navy to help finance his PA education. Lane said practicing medicine in the Navy was one of the more valuable experiences because it furthered his skills and knowledge providing care in remote areas.

“While on deployment, I was 2,000 miles away from the nearest provider,” he said.

Lane advanced his career with the Doctor of Medical Science program at Butler University which provided leadership instruction and in-depth learning. It was an intensive and thorough program, he said, that helped him because in a rural setting, there are minimal resources, few consultants, and even fewer physicians. You’re usually the only provider on shift.

In addition to his clinical work, Lane has had an interest in education.  He will be a part-time instructor at St. Ambrose College as the course director for Pathophysiology course while continuing to provide patient care.

“I love rural medicine,” he said. “I can’t see myself practicing anywhere else.”

A paramedic for over three decades, Leslye Wolf had a passion for saving lives. But she knew that passion alone wouldn’t be enough to provide for her family. “I needed to elevate my career,” she said. So, in 2001, she graduated from the Malcolm X College/Cook County Hospital PA program in Chicago with an associate’s degree.

For years, Wolf worked as a PA and paramedic/firefighter in Chicago, where she excelled. But when she moved to Michigan in 2011, she found herself struggling to find a job. “I realized it was because I didn’t have a master’s degree,” she says. She applied to various master’s programs but was not accepted. Determined to advance her career, Wolf enrolled in and graduated with a degree in computer programming and even started her own company. But her true calling was in healthcare, so she continued to work as a paramedic while developing and publishing her own Android software on the side.

Wolf still felt she had untapped potential. So when she discovered the Doctor of Medical Science program at Butler University, she knew it was the right fit.

The Butler DMS program proved to be a game-changer for Wolf. It focuses on evidence-based medicine, which challenged her to dig deeper and investigate further. “It takes learning to a whole different level of medicine,” she says.

The program was not without its challenges, though. Wolf admits that the extensive reading, research, and projects were tough, but worth it. “It makes you a better provider and can open up more doors for you,” says Wolf, who graduated from the program in 2021.

Little did Wolf know, the doors opened by the DMS program would prove crucial during the COVID-19 pandemic. When hospitals were forced to restrict access to only primary doctors, “We were told that we weren’t going to be allowed in the facilities. We had no idea how we were going to see or manage our patients because they were only letting in primary doctors, specialists were not essential employees.”

Wolf’s experience in computer programming and her doctorate allowed her to lead her specialty in telemedicine. Due to her quick pivot, PAs only missed one day of rounds. For two months, the company relied on the systems she put in place to work via telemedicine before they were allowed back in to see patients.

The Butler DMS degree empowered Wolf to marry her passions with purpose, allowing her to revolutionize healthcare in a time of crisis.

Being an educator and a mentor to current and aspiring PAs and NPs wasn’t enough for Butler’s Dr. Katie Beaudoin. So, she created a new level of mentorship that makes her insights much more widely available by founding  a newsletter for advanced practice providers (APPs).

Weekly and free, Advanced Practice Pulse updates readers on everything an APP wants to keep up with: legislation, novel therapies, popular healthcare topics, scholarship and free CME sources, and more. Regular columns include APP Trending News, The More You Know, Clinical Conundrums, ICYMI (In Case You Missed It), and Future APPs, all peppered with hilariously appropriate GIFs. Inspiration for Aspirations invites readers to share their stories of “finding our careers, overcoming challenges, and offering pro tips for success.”

“We aim to elevate and unite the APP profession that is so vital to the U.S. and global healthcare markets,” said Beaudoin. “Through this newsletter, we’ll motivate career growth, provide networking opportunities and share evidence-based resources for all levels of experience.”

Beaudoin’s own experience began when she earned her undergraduate and PA degree from Butler in 2002 and 2005, respectively. She then went to Texas for a fellowship in emergency medicine and earned a PA master’s degree while holding multiple faculty positions. She returned to Butler to earn her Doctor of Medical Science (DMS) degree in 2021; since then, Beaudoin has been adjunct faculty with Butler’s DMS program and TCP (Transition to Clinical Practice) Fellowship program as she continues clinical work as a critical care PA.

Beaudoin was committed to a weekly publication, but she realized she could reach a larger audience by teaming up with someone who shared her vision. Deandra Chambliss, MSN, APRN, AGACNP-BC, DNP student, and a critical care NP, became a content co-creator.

“Deandra and I believe nurse practitioners and physician assistants have an incredible pool of talent and knowledge that is often underutilized,” Beaudoin said. “We believe that if we work collaboratively, we can make positive changes in the U.S. healthcare system. Together, we can improve access to care and effect real change for our underserved and vulnerable populations.”