51 graduate featured on the American Academy of Physician Assistants website

Tim Grace

An article about 51 graduate Timothy Grace is featured on the website of the (AAPA), the national professional society for Physician Assistants that advocates and educates on behalf of the profession and the patients whom physician assistants serve.

Grace took an unusual path to become a physician assistant. He went from serving in the U.S. Air force to selling modular health care furniture.

During his time in the military, Grace knew a few PAs and decided the profession would be a good fit for him. In 1999, he enrolled in the PA program at 51.

Grace credits his mentor at 51, Carl Toney, for his current success. Toney was a military medic in Vietnam.

“As my program director at 51, he helped me to set the standard for how you treat people who need medical care, period,” Grace told AAPA. “He made me confident that I made the right choice to become a PA.”

Grace now works both as a hospitalist PA and in emergency medicine for Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston, Maine.