From UK to PA of the Year: Alumna reflects on journey as HHS celebrates 10 years

By Ryan Clark
CHS Communications Director

As the College of Health Sciences celebrates the 10th anniversary of its Human Health Sciences (HHS) program, one alumna’s journey is serving as an example of the program’s impact on students pursuing careers in healthcare.

Anastasia Gliatis, MSPA, PA-C, a member of the HHS Class of 2016, was recently named Physician Assistant of the Year at the University of Chicago Medicine, where she works in Pediatric Urology.

For Gliatis, the recognition was both meaningful and humbling.

“Joyful and honored to be recognized for my patient care and additional accomplishments,” she said.

Now working at one of the nation’s leading academic medical centers, Gliatis spends most of her time in the outpatient pediatric clinic, and as a proceduralist performing Urologic bladder studies. Along the way, she has embraced opportunities to conduct and present research internationally while developing a passion for patient education.

Among her proudest projects is the creation of patient education materials — including a child-friendly animated instructional video teaching young patients how to catheterize their bladder.

“I love my job,” Gliatis said. “One of my clinical interests is patient education.”

Her work extends beyond patient care. Gliatis serves on the Advanced Practice Provider Executive Council at the University of Chicago and recently chaired the institution’s Recognition Committee, helping bring National APP Week programming to campus.

Outside of work, she enjoys life in Chicago with her dog, Coconut, spending free time at spin classes, sailing, traveling and attending live shows.

But before her professional success in Chicago, Gliatis found her footing in Lexington.

“I was drawn to UK’s ‘true college feel’ campus and their medical center,” she said. “Additionally, UK had just won the NCAA championship the year prior to my freshman year, so there was a lot of buzz around UK.”

While at UK, Gliatis discovered the physician assistant profession and quickly realized the HHS Pre-PA pathway aligned perfectly with her goals.

“The HHS Pre-PA program was the most tailored major to build a foundation to apply for and be accepted into a competitive PA program through its shadowing and educational opportunities,” she said.

After graduating from UK in 2016, Gliatis earned her Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies from Southern Illinois University in 2019 before beginning her clinical career.

As HHS marks its first decade, Gliatis credits the program with helping prepare her for the realities of healthcare long before she entered PA school.

“HHS prepared me with preceptorship opportunities built into the curriculum, opportunities to participate in medical-related volunteering, exposure to many different medical careers, professors who work clinically, and classmates who were as driven and hardworking as I was,” she said.

Some of her favorite memories at UK came directly from those experiences.

“My favorite classroom memory was during the HHS shadowing courses where you are assigned a preceptor to shadow because this was the first taste into true day-to-day clinical practice,” she said.

She also remembers a volunteer trip to New Orleans led by Dr. Karen Skaff, where HHS students worked with the Head Start program to conduct medical screenings and provide health education.

“It was a wonderful experience working with the kiddos at the New Orleans Head Start,” Gliatis said. “By performing our medical screenings and teachings, we were able to offload those mandated tasks from Head Start so they could then focus their time and resources on other needs.”

The trip ended with what she still remembers fondly — a crawfish boil hosted by Dr. Skaff for the entire class.

Now nearly a decade removed from her undergraduate years, Gliatis regularly shares advice with students considering UK and HHS, encouraging them to take full advantage of every opportunity available.

“Attend your professors’ office hours in person and regularly,” she said. “Each of your professors should recognize you and know your name within the first few weeks of school.”

She also encourages students to pursue research opportunities, develop professional skills early and remain persistent in achieving their goals.

“If you weren’t accepted into HHS on your first try, apply again,” she said. “Your first job out of PA school does not need to be your dream specialty — you have time to work your way there.”