Meet our Truly Ambitious PA Jennifer Megale

This post is part of a blog series highlighting Northwell Health’s Advanced Clinical Providers (ACP). Each Northwell Health employee was nominated by their manager as an individual who exemplifies a central Northwell Health value. This month, we’re proud to introduce you to Jennifer Meagle, Supervising Physician Assistant in the Department of Surgery/Surgical Critical Care/Otolaryngology at North Shore University Hospital (NSUH), who is a “Truly Ambitious” member of our team. Read below to learn why and explore ACP job opportunities at Northwell Health here:

Jennifer Megale, dog lover, athlete, and world traveler, loves an adventure. When she’s not addressing critical care needs as PA Supervisor at NSUH, she spends her time with her Rhodesian Ridgeback Penny, scuba diving and snowboarding all over the world.

Her adventure in health care began in 2011, following her college graduation and the start of her career as a per diem Surgery PA and soon full-time at NSUH where she worked for several years.

 Jennifer returned to Northwell as Surgery PA Supervisor in 2018 and says it’s where her heart belongs. “What I have always loved about NSUH is the sense of family. Even though we are a large hospital everyone has always been so welcoming and transparent, including administration. You don’t see this very often at other large health systems. The organization is always looking for ways to help their employees grow and succeed,” says Jennifer.

As a Surgery PA Supervisor, she has been responsible for building a new total parenteral nutrition service, setting up a bioskills surgical course for PAs, and working on a robotics training course. Jennifer is continuously looking for ways to improve patient care, encouraging PAs to take on a more proactive role in their education and skills development. Jennifer says, “This past year, I arranged for a surgical physician assistant’s Bioskills lab, where PAs are learning to build on their operative and suturing skills. Making PAs more confident in their own ability truly helps them to adequately care and address all of the concerns of our patients.”

Surgical PAs at NSUH assist in minimally invasive robotic surgery. During robotic surgeries, PAs function as the bedside assist. Jennifer explains, “we are needed to change instruments, troubleshoot and use an assist port to help with the operation. Robotic surgery provides a number of benefits to the patient including less trauma to the body, minimal scarring, and faster recovery.”

Jennifer’s great adventure isn’t only in the OR. She’s an avid traveler with the intention of visiting every continent over the next five years, and with only three left to go, she’s almost reached her goal! She says, “I’m an intense snowboarder and I checked heliboarding off my bucket list two years ago at Whistler Mountain in Canada. To be dropped off at the top of a mountain by helicopter was exhilarating, to say the least!” 

 For Jennifer, providing Truly Ambitious care is her next great adventure. Are you Made for working with exceptional Advanced Clinical Providers like Jennifer? Explore your career opportunities at Northwell Health.