From the OR to the C-Suite: Dr. Brooke Schweitzer on Advanced Practice Leadership in Healthcare

On this episode of the Building Bridges podcast, host Cody Sasek interviews Dr. Brooke Schweitzer, a plastic and reconstructive surgery physician assistant and Executive Director of Advanced Practice Providers at University of Chicago Medicine. She was appointed to this inaugural role amid rapid APP growth from about 200 pre-COVID to over 600 current. Schweitzer describes overseeing PAs, NPs, CNSs, CRNAs, and nurse midwives across multiple sites, and shares how she discovered the PA profession after shadowing in surgery. 

She recounts unexpectedly stepping into interim hospital leadership at a critical access hospital, prompting her to pursue a doctorate and business residency to bridge clinical and administrative “languages.” She emphasizes saying yes to opportunities, listening, transparency, servant leadership, stakeholder alignment in matrixed organizations, and measuring value through key metrics like length of stay and readmissions as healthcare shifts toward value-based care, while advocating for stronger APP representation and leadership pathways.

What happens when you stop waiting for the “right path” and start building your own? In this episode of Building Bridges, Dr. Olatunde Oshikoya, PA-C, shares how an uncertain start as a new graduate evolved into a purpose-driven career spanning urgent care, mobile medicine, and telehealth in addiction and behavioral health. From launching a mobile clinic during the COVID-19 pandemic to embracing remote care as the future of medicine, his journey highlights the power of adaptability, innovation, and saying yes to opportunity—even when the outcome isn’t clear. 

This conversation explores how telehealth is reshaping access to care, allowing providers to meet patients where they are—literally and figuratively—while maintaining the core principles of medicine. Dr. Oshikoya also shares his passion for mentorship and community impact, emphasizing the importance of looking inward, leveraging your network, and stepping up to meet needs in your own community. 

Whether you’re a clinician, student, or educator, this episode is a reminder that meaningful careers aren’t linear—they’re built through openness, discomfort, and a willingness to act.

Rod Jackson on Heart-Healthy Living, Teaching Epidemiology, and the GATE Frame

Adrian interviews Dr. Rod Jackson on the Building Bridges Podcast (Butler University Dr. Medical Science Bridge Program), focusing on cardiovascular prevention and his teaching approach. Jackson argues coronary heart disease is driven primarily by dietary saturated fat, largely from meat and dairy, and urges reducing saturated fat first, then avoiding smoking, eating largely unprocessed foods low in salt and refined sugar, and exercising (which he ranks lower than diet). He recommends regular cardiovascular risk assessment, especially for older adults, and notes safe, cheap blood-pressure and lipid-lowering drugs can substantially reduce risk and that lifestyle changes help even after disease develops. Jackson explains his engaging teaching style centers on connecting with students through relatable stories (like his evidence-based lunch) and using pictures to teach epidemiology via the “GATE frame,” which he calls the epidemiological paradigm, plus a “cross” to incorporate evidence, values, politics/cost, and individual circumstances in decisions.

00:00 Welcome Back and Recap

00:58 Heart Health Basics

01:30 Butter Cop and Saturated Fat

03:59 Prevention and Risk Meds

05:10 Never Too Late to Change

06:38 Teaching Style Secrets

11:00 Gate Frame Storytelling

13:46 Krebs Cycle Inspiration

15:03 Gate Frame Challenge

17:12 Decision Cross Explained

18:51 Final Thanks and Signoff

Links:
The GATE Framework for Epidemiologic studies: gateframe.pdf

From Hypertension to Cardiovascular Risk: Rod Jackson’s Big-Data Impact in New Zealand

Adrian, a Butler University Medical Science Bridge Program faculty member, interviews Dr. Rod Jackson, an epidemiologist at the University of Auckland, on the Building Bridges podcast. Jackson describes growing up in rural New Zealand, choosing medicine, and shifting from clinical practice to public health after working with cardiovascular epidemiologist Robert Beaglehole, focusing on prevention such as smoking reduction. He explains how conflicting hypertension definitions led him in the late 1980s to advocate replacing single risk-factor thresholds with multivariable cardiovascular risk assessment, influencing New Zealand guidelines in the 1990s and later integrated cardiovascular risk guidelines. To replace Framingham-based estimates, he helped build a primary-care clinical decision support system that created a linked national cohort exceeding 500,000 people, producing New Zealand “PREDICT” risk equations published in The Lancet (2018) and diabetes-specific equations (2021), incorporating ethnicity and social deprivation to address inequities.

00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro

00:51 Oxford Mentorship Story

02:06 Rod Jackson Bio Highlights

04:25 Early Life and Schooling

06:03 Choosing Medicine and Prevention

08:12 Switch to Epidemiology

10:11 Hypertension Definition Mess

13:41 Risk Based Guidelines Breakthrough

17:12 Building NZ Predict Cohort

21:50 Equity and Social Determinants

23:46 Part One Wrap Up

Cardiovascular disease risk prediction equations published in The Lancet – University of Auckland

This episode will introduce you to Dr. Chileatha Wynn, who demonstrates the power of saying "yes" whenever possible and the benefits it has had on her life as a PA, a leader, and the value of advocacy. 

In this episode of Building Bridges, a podcast by the Butler University Doctor of Medical Science Bridge Program, co-hosts Dr. Adrian Banning and Dr. Cody Sasek welcome their guest, Dr. Andre Dos Santos. Dr. Dos Santos shares his remarkable story of immigrating from Brazil, his diverse career as an MMA fighter and Hollywood stunt performer, and his journey to becoming a PA educator at the Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science. The conversation highlights his dedication to addressing social justice through education, his extensive commitment to his students, and the impactful difference his work is making in underserved communities. 

00:00 Introduction to Building Bridges Podcast 

00:52 Meet Dr. Andre Dos Santos 

01:59 Dr. Dos Santos' Journey and Inspirations 

03:33 Challenges and Motivations

 09:54 From MMA Fighter to PA Educator 

15:01 Supporting Students in PA Education 

20:09 The Importance of Individualized Attention 

21:28 Journey to Becoming a Clinical Coordinator 

23:48 Challenges and Rewards of the Role 

27:48 Advice for Aspiring Educators 

31:47 Impact of Mentorship and Education 

35:08 Final Reflections and Gratitude

In our first full episode, you'll have the opportunity to meet the Building Bridges podcast team.

• Adrian Banning, DHSc, PA-C
• Breann Garbas, DHSc, PA-C
• Cody Sasek, PhD, PA-C

We'll take a casual and lighthearted look at the journeys that led each of the cohosts to Butler and to the seat in front of the microphone.

Welcome to the Building Bridges Podcast. In this episode, Cody Sasek, program director of Butler University's Doctor of Medical Science Bridge Program introduces listeners to the podcast and what to expect -- from interesting conversations to learning from thought leaders, the podcast is intended to inform, entertain, and engage the audience in thinking about what's next...and what's possible.