Host: Josh Loew, PA-C, MPAS

Guests: Ashley Vitale, DHSc, PA-C, CPAAPA and Natalie Trueman, PA-C

In this special episode of the MAPA Podcast, host Josh Loew, PA-C sits down with Ashley Vitale, DHSc, PA-C, CPAAPA, recipient of MAPA’s 2025 Preceptor of the Year Award. Ashley shares her journey as a surgical PA with Mayo Clinic Health System in Mankato and reflects on nearly two decades of mentoring PA students.
The conversation explores why precepting is essential to the future of the PA profession, how mentoring students has shaped Ashley’s own clinical practice, and what makes a truly great preceptor. Ashley offers candid insights into surgical education, adaptability in clinical training, and the powerful two-way relationship between students and preceptors.

Josh also speaks with Natalie Trueman, PA-C, MAPA’s 2025 PA of the Year, to discuss her journey into hospital medicine, what meaningful patient care looks like in practice, and how recognition can help sustain clinicians through burnout.
Natalie reflects on her path to becoming a PA, her role as a hospitalist at Regions Hospital and Methodist Hospital, and the privilege of caring for patients from all walks of life. She shares powerful insights on goals-of-care conversations, end-of-life decision making, mentorship, and the importance of honoring patient dignity.