We recently connected with Jennifer Vonderau and have shared our conversation below.

Jennifer, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.

I started a new clinical role as a physician associate (PA) in abdominal transplant surgery in October of 2024. The role wasn’t exactly new – I had worked as a PA in abdominal transplant surgery for 8 years – but I had transitioned to full-time work as PA faculty in 2021. I left a health institution I had come to know every facet and detail of for a new position back inpatient taking care of transplant patients.

I was extremely glad for the transition, as my new PA role was well-supported, and I joined an established and like-minded team of advanced practice providers (APPs). Patient care is a passion that I never want to leave.

About 1 year into practice at my new medical center, I was approached by Manuscripts publishing group about writing a book. Authorship had been a dream since I was young, and I had written several manuscripts that were published in peer-reviewed medical journals. But a book? That was a completely novel opportunity. I was immediately interested.

I knew the perspective I wanted to write about before my first meeting with the course director of Manuscripts. I had been working in health systems for over a decade, and I had a vast network of PAs and APPs with whom I had connected and shared numerous trials and successes.

I co-created PA Jobs, LLC with one of my best friends and peer PA Shannon Crabtree. Our business idea was to centralize resources and collective support for PAs at every phase of the profession. Creating this business aligned exactly with my ideas as a future author.

APPs (nurse practitioners, physician associates, and nurse anesthetists) make up over 40% of the health system work-force, but the system is not built to recognize or support their integration. For decades, since APPs first entered the health system, non-physician provider roles have been inelegantly added to the system infrastructure without clear intention for advancement or leadership.

The last 5 years have been hard on providers. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, rates of burnout, moral injury, and job dissatisfaction have risen significantly for physicians, nurses, and APPs. I knew this from review of research studies, from stories from peers, and from my own experiences.

What I recognized was that the challenge APPs faced was not just integration or regulation, nor was it just burnout and increased patient care volumes. It was a dual injury: feeling burnout while unheard.

In my first meeting with the course director, I was pushed to describe my central thesis, the message I had for my audience, and how I wanted to leave those who heard my perspective or read my book. I found that not only could I respond quickly, but that I was profoundly motivated to get started.

Writing my book, titled Health by Collaboration, is a pivot away from the clinical practice I returned to after injurious experiences at my former health system. Working as an author is a risk, taking some of my time, energy, and ideas for the goal of connecting with health care providers and changing our future. It’s a bigger risk than I’ve ever taken before, and I have no idea if it will “pay off.”

But investing in myself, especially in light of the challenges I’ve experienced as a PA, is invigorating. It already feels worth it. And if I can substantiate my thesis – that the best patient care outcomes are achieved when all frontline providers collaborate as empowered and equal partners – then I believe I really will have done something great.

Jennifer, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am a physician associate (PA) with 13 years of experience in surgical specialties, including general and trauma surgery, pancreatitis and hepatobiliary surgery, and abdominal transplant surgery. My work also includes several years as PA faculty, serving as Director of Didactic Education and Chair of Admissions for several years, as well as clinical research. I have published to several peer-reviewed journals and presented my research at several national conferences.

Outside of roles as a PA at major academic medical centers including Northwestern, UNC, and Duke University, I co-created and co-founded PA Jobs LLC (www.findpajobs.com) in 2024 with one of my best friends, Shannon Crabtree, MMS, PA-C. We built a website that centralizes resources and top employers for PAs, serves as a growing PA community, and allows for us to connect as consultants and/ or mentors to Pre-PAs, PA students, and practicing PAs. We use our site to write frequent blog posts addressing concerns and important information about PA practice. And we have published a monthly newsletter called PA Jobs Continuing Mentorship & Education (PA Jobs CME), which is free and features guidance from PAs in varied specialties, roles, and work environments. We’ve been fortunate to grow our audience to hundreds of PAs. Growing PA Jobs LLC has been a huge source of joy and satisfaction for us as PAs, friends, and supporters of the PA profession.

In 2026, I have been writing a book titled Health by Collaboration. I am finalizing my first draft, and I am so fortunate to have accepted publication with Manuscripts. My book will be available for pre-sale this summer and in distribution in early 2027. This book reflects a culmination of my experiences and insight as a PA, PA educator, health care provider, and entrepreneur. Advanced practice providers (APPs) are integral to the health system, but many health systems fail to integrate them intentionally. The challenges of our health system are extensive and diverse, and I do not believe much of our current health landscape is a result of malice or ill-will. I believe that despite good intentions, our systems have grown too rapidly, intending but unable to accommodate our extensive and complex health knowledge. We’ve bandaged and cobbled together a system that fails to hear its frontline voices and thus cannot optimize patient care.

I am a mother, wife, friend, cat- and dog-person, avid reader, foodie, baker, and design-enthusiast. And in my work, PA, author, entrepreneur, advocate, and mentor best describe who I am now and who I hope to continue to be.

If you could go back, would you choose the same profession, specialty, etc.?

I would absolutely be a PA every time, and I would choose abdominal transplant surgery as well. I find the medicine to be really interesting and a great mix of surgical and medical decision-making. There is always something new to learn, and working on a multidisciplinary team is really rewarding and inspiring.

I would also choose to diversify my career to include other non-clinical work. Working clinically is fulfilling, but it can also be exhausting. I tend towards introversion, so having quiet time and my own space to work helps counter the energy I expend providing patient care. I find productive down-time to be motivating and restorative.

Training and knowledge matter of course, but beyond that what do you think matters most in terms of succeeding in your field?

Staying humble, but also saying yes. I can struggle with imposter syndrome (as many women can), and it’s easy for me to leave my ideas behind in favor of someone else’s. But preserving energy shouldn’t be my priority. I’ve found that speaking up, speaking out, and sharing my perspective has usually resulted in collaboration, friendship, and appreciation for my input. I’ve learned to balance my impulse to step back by acknowledging my confidence in what I know. I aim to listen intentionally and contribute with an open-mind. Deference is occasionally required, but competence is always needed.

Saying yes allowed me to move into spaces where I’ve earned the breadth of experience that now allows me to write, start a business, and advocate. It helped combat my imposter syndrome by showing me all that I can do when I join in and contribute.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.findpajobs.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/pajobs_community
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/company/pa-jobs
• Youtube: www.youtube.com/@PAJobs_Video