July 8, 2025 — For Ashley Love, MPAS ’15, PA-C, medicine’s combination of science, lifelong learning and patient impact drew her to a career as a physician assistant. Ten years after graduating from the University of Florida, she experienced a full-circle moment when she delivered the keynote address June 21 at the 2025 School of PA Studies Commencement Ceremony, where she returned to campus to share stories, wisdom and a renewed passion with the next generation of colleagues. 

As her medical knowledge was put to the test in her didactic year at the School of PA Studies, Love discovered something that went beyond the textbooks. Her time with the College of Medicine Equal Access Clinic and Mobile Outreach Clinic gave her firsthand encounters with patients from all walks of life and with unique fears, concerns and battles. Outside of their diagnosis, patients would have to overcome issues with transportation, finances and limited access to care. These experiences revealed to her the importance of understanding patients beyond their medical conditions and of treating the whole person, not just the illness. 

“It wasn’t just using that science, that clinical knowledge — you had to apply it to these patients’ lives,” Love said. “That always meant diagnosing whatever condition they were presenting with that day, but it also meant really listening to them and understanding their concerns and frustrations before you offered or developed a treatment plan for them.” 

Seeing the impactful stories from her patients and colleagues, Love was inspired to seek out more stories in medicine. This led to the creation of the “Shadow Me Next!” podcast. Its purpose is to give listeners an inside look into the lives of health care workers across different specialties.  

“It’s a virtual shadowing podcast where I talk with leaders in health care — all types of MDs and DOs, PTs, MPs, nurses, physical therapists, speech language pathologists, you name it,” Love said. “We talk about their day in the life, their path to their career, we investigate their challenges, we applaud their successes and we gather advice for the next generation of health care professionals … Students come to the podcast who know they want to be in medicine, but they’re not quite sure what their perfect fit is or where they need to focus their attention.” 

Looking back on her time in PA school, Love wished she could have shadowed people from all types of specialties and professions. The podcast gives her that opportunity as she passes it on to the next generation. Through this form of storytelling, listeners gain a beginner shadowing experience for specific professions and specialties to help guide them on their medical career journeys. Physical shadowing can come with obstacles, so a single episode could serve as a starting point for many students.  

Her podcast emphasizes context in addition to content, aiming to provide students with a deeper understanding of how professions fit into the health care landscape and the experiences that come from it. When asked what advice she has for students, Love encourages them to be curious and ask questions. 

“Collect stories from everybody around you,” Love said. “Everybody has something that can contribute to increasing your knowledge around health care and about your role. Collect stories from health care professionals. Ask them why they like their job. Ask them to describe their hardest day. Ask them about something they’re proud of that they’ve done recently.” 

Love works as a clinical PA at Florida Skin Cancer & Dermatology Specialists in Gainesville. In this specialty, patients sometimes feel uncomfortable, embarrassed or confused. She approaches them with the primary focus of breaking down these barriers before talking about a diagnosis and treatment. From her personal philosophy of patient care to her passion for storytelling in her podcast, Love strives for lifelong learning in mentoring the next generation of health care providers. 

“I think we can get so bogged down in medical capital and prescribing and education and data points and billing codes and all of those things,” Love said. “But we have to remember why we do what we do, and that’s to form personal connections with our patients with the goal of improving their lives.”