Joanna Adams is a physician assistant in the Department of Neurological Surgery and works in the Spine Center. Physician Assistants (PAs) are often referred to as mid-level providers. They are highly trained members of our neurological surgery health care team who practice medicine with the supervision of licensed physicians, providing patients with a wide range of services that would otherwise be performed by physicians.

Specific duties are defined by state regulation and practice setting, but include a variety of both diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. Utilizing a medical model of patient care, PAs are trained to: obtain medical histories, perform complete physical examinations and minor surgical procedures, diagnose illnesses, order and interpret routine diagnostic tests, develop treatment and management plans, suture wounds, set fractures, assist in surgery and provide education to patients regarding illness, health promotion and disease prevention. Joanna works directly with Dr. Chang, a neurosurgery spine surgeon, to treat and manage his surgical patients.