Physician Assistants (PA-Cs) are highly qualified, licensed members of healthcare teams that assist in diagnosing, treating, prescribing medication, and more. At Peoria ENT (PENT), we are grateful to have two incredibly talented Board-Certified Physician Assistants, Jamie Jelinek and Richard Miller, on our team. We wanted to provide a spotlight for the public to learn more about them and how they impact our patients each day!
Jamie Jelinek, PA-C
Richard A. Miller, PA-C
Q: What first sparked your interest in medicine/surgery?
Jamie: In college, I worked as a nursing assistant at a local hospital. I was exposed to many different roles, but was most drawn to the PA (Physician Assistant) profession. I felt that PAs were in a unique position to broaden the care delivered to the patient and fill some crucial gaps that existed in medicine.
Rich: My grandmother and mother were both nurses and my father was a physician, so medicine was the first field I was exposed to as a young child.
Q: What drew you to the ear/nose/throat (ENT) specialty?
Jamie: I worked as a primary care PA for 2 ½ years before transitioning to ENT. I love that ENT, like family medicine, offers the opportunity to see people of all ages and form a longstanding relationship with many of my patients. I also find that the ENT specialty is narrow enough to become very familiar with the majority of problems that our patients face, but varied enough that I am constantly learning.
Rich: My neighbor is an ENT physician, and offered me a great position in 2008 where I didn’t have to be on call or work weekends.
Q: How long have you been at Peoria ENT?
Jamie: I’ve been there 8 ½ years.
Rich: I’ve been with PENT for 5 ½ years.
Q: What is your favorite part of what you do?
Jamie: I enjoy many aspects of my job, but the ultimate goal and reward is helping to relieve frustrating symptoms for patients. My favorite would have to be fungal ear infections!
Rich: Being able to treat and explain difficult ENT problems to patients is my favorite part of the job.
Q: What do you enjoy doing outside of work?
Jamie: I enjoy yoga, hiking, boating, and spending time with my husband and 2 children.
Rich: I like skiing, camping, hiking, road/mountain biking, and spending time with my wife and three daughters.
Q: What is one fact most people don’t know about you?
Jamie: I am left-handed and love telling people fun facts about lefties!
Rich: I really had no interest in going into the medical field until I was a Certified National Ski Patroller from 1994-1996 at Keystone Ski Resort in Colorado.
Jamie and Rich are invaluable members of the PENT team, and we are fortunate to have them help treat our patients!