Elyse Watkins has been a clinically practicing PA since 1993. As a recipient of a National Health Service Corps scholarship while at The George Washington University’s PA program, she spent two years after graduation working in a migrant health clinic in rural central California, several more years in family medicine, and over two decades in ob/gyn. She holds two bachelor’s degrees – one in anthropology and sociology, the other in PA studies with a post-baccalaureate certificate. She also holds a master’s degree in health care administration and a doctorate in health sciences with a concentration in global health.

She is currently an Associate Professor at the University of Lynchburg’s Doctor of Medical Science Program where she teaches Global Health and Evidence-based Medicine and is visiting faculty at various other PA programs (including Emory & Henry) where she teaches the reproductive medicine/women’s health curriculum. Dr. Watkins is the Department Editor for the Women’s Health section in the Journal of the American Academy of Physician Assistants and the Association of PAs in Ob Gyn’s immediate past CME chair.

She received her certification from the North American Menopause Society as a certified menopause practitioner in 2021. She speaks at multiple local, state, and national CME conferences on global health, women’s health, and behavioral health topics of interest. Her peer-reviewed publications include multiple articles in the Journal of the American Academy of Physician Assistants, an article in Clinician Reviews, a chapter in a women’s health textbook, a chapter in a pharmacology book, a book on professional practice issues for PAs, and a book on ob/gyn for clinical learners. She also edited and contributed to an entire edition in PA Clinics on ob/gyn. She is a member of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, PAs for Global Health, the Association of PAs in Ob Gyn, the North
Carolina Academy of PAs where she is immediate past-President, and the American Academy of Physician Assistants where she is a Distinguished Fellow. In what little free time she has, she volunteers at a local hospice organization and makes art, another of her passions.