Mr. George F. (Rick) Hillegas is currently the Associate Director for the School of Physician Assistant Studies at South College in Knoxville, Tennessee. He is a graduate of the George Washington University’s first PA program and holds an MPH from the University of California at Berkeley. Over the past thirty-three years he has had experiences as a clinician, a military medical officer, and was an assistant professor and clinical coordinator at Quinnipiac University physician’s assistant program. Mr. Hillegas has extensive travel experience while on active duty as a Coast Guard Officer to the South Pacific, Central America, Antartic and Artic, and South America. His avocation has been introducing the general public to the Physician Assistant concept by running for elective office in the state of Connecticut and hosting a radio show for two years, Health Talk with Hillegas. In 1992-93 he was awarded the health policy fellowship for physician assistants then sponsored by Borrows Welcome (GlaxoSmithKline) and the AAPA. He spent his year as a legislative assist to Congressman Jim McDermott, 7th Congressional District Washington.

In the clinical arena, he has held positions includingVA Medical Center as a ward medical officer at Martinsburg, WV, provider of medical and occupational medicine to members of the United States Coast Guard dependants and civilian workers, staff PA at the Baltimore, VA Medical Center, and as a PA educator. He presently is working on his dissertation for an Ed.D. in Counseling Psychology. He is the Past President of the Southwest AHEC in Bridgeport, Connecticut and was a member of the Governor of Connecticut’s Allied Health Workforce Committee for the past three years.

He presently is licensed in the State of Connecticut and Tennessee. Mr. Hillegas is a fellow member of the AAPA, and certified by the NCCPA. With regards to PA community activity, Mr. Hillegas has been active inConnecticut, Maryland, Hawaii, and Naval AAPA, Association of Physicians Assistants, holding office in each of these chapters.