My name is Bryan Anderson. I'm one of the physician assistants in the thoracic surgery
department here at UVA. In thoracic surgery, we see a wide variety of patients, from benign disease, to cancer-related illnesses. We primarily deal with lung cancer, esophageal cancer, various benign esophageal disorders. Things of that nature. Within the thoracic surgery department, there is a physician assistant-run clinic. That's something akin to a survivorship clinic. So we see patients who are undergoing long-term surveillance after their surgery. That's somewhere that I feel we do a great job, and provide guidance and education and context to all of the information that can sometimes be overwhelming. I would say that I'm a people person by nature. I love interacting with patients and patient connection is kind of what fuels me in my job. Every interaction is a shared experience. So my job as a PA is to provide as much context and information and education as I can to the patient. We see people for quite a long period of time and often develop really good relationships.