Department of Surgery Physician Assistant Alexis Keyworth, PA-C, Honored as PA of the Year
For Alexis Keyworth, PA-C, being a physician assistant (PA) is more than a way to make a living. It’s become a way to make a life.
“I love physiology, pathophysiology, disease processes, and connecting with people,” says Keyworth, who works in the cardiothoracic intensive care unit in the University of Colorado Department of Surgery. “I get to combine all of that as a PA.”
Award-winning work
For her exemplary service to the profession, Keyworth has been named PA of the Year by the Colorado Academy of PAs (CAPA). The annual award is granted to a PA who provides high-quality patient care and inspires colleagues and patients alike. Keyworth will receive the award at the CAPA awards ceremony on May 18.
“From the moment I went into PA school, I knew that this was the right path for me,” she says. “From my very first clinical medicine class, I was totally sold. I feel like I really have thrown everything that I have into my career and my job — wanting to be the absolute best PA that I could possibly be. That I actualized it in a way that other people recognized it — it's amazing for other people to see that.”
A different path
The daughter of an intensivist, Keyworth discovered the PA profession while she was an undergraduate at St. Mary’s College of Maryland.
“It was a way for me to practice medicine in the way that I wanted to, and to have more of the lifestyle balance I was looking for,” she says.
After going through a 24-month program at George Washington University, followed by a critical care residency at Johns Hopkins University, Keyworth became a PA in 2010. She and her husband moved to Colorado in 2016.
Training the next generation of PAs
In addition to her work in the cardiothoracic ICU, Keyworth is director of the Advanced Practice Provider (APP) Fellowship Program in the Department of Surgery, which is dedicated to educating and training PAs and nurse practitioners in surgical and critical care.
“I did an APP fellowship myself, coming out of PA school, and I'm a strong advocate of the value of these programs,” says Keyworth, assistant professor of cardiothoracic surgery in the CU Department of Surgery. “You don't learn a lot about critical care or surgery when you're in school, so the fellowship helps to bridge that gap in a supported environment where you have mentorship and structured didactics and feedback that help you rise to the level that a lot of APPs are looking to be at when they start in their first job.”
More than a decade out from her fellowship, Keyworth says she has seen the role of the PA grow during her years in the profession.
“The role of advanced practice providers has become more integral to teams,” she says. “During my residency, I encountered a lot of people who were confused about what my role was and what I did as a PA. We weren’t commonplace to residents then, and many attendings did not have any experience working with PAs. Now, I think all our attendings and our nurses would say we are indispensable to the unit here. I've seen the PA profession grow to be more recognized and more valued for what we contribute to patient care.”