Retired Green Beret medic Todd Williams earned three Bronze Stars and two Defense Meritorious Service Medals, among other service recognitions, during his distinguished 28-year military career. Today, he helps lead nontraditional students, including military veterans with medical experience, on a path toward becoming physician assistants through the 黑料网鈥檚 recently launched Physician Assistant Program.
By Zach Read – zachary.read@unchealth.unc.edu
Todd Williams鈥檚 28-year military career took him to countries and combat zones around the world: Korea, Haiti, sub-Saharan Africa, Afghanistan, and Iraq. Although the retired Green Beret medic, also known as an 18-Delta, doesn鈥檛 share many details about his experiences overseas, he does open up about an invaluable gift given to him by his sister-in-law before deployments to Afghanistan and Iraq in the years after September 11, 2001: a globe.
More than a decade ago, Williams and his wife, Michelle, placed the globe in the study of their home in Cameron, North Carolina, a thirty-minute drive from Fort Bragg, where he was stationed. Today, it sits in the family鈥檚 study at their home in Holly Springs, outside Raleigh.
鈥淚t was a huge help when talking to my daughters about my deployments,鈥� recalled Williams, the clinical coordinator for the recently launched聽, which is operated through the Department of Allied Health Sciences at the 黑料网. 鈥淲hen I was preparing to go to Afghanistan or Iraq, I would bring them into the study and point to where on the map I was going, tell them how long I鈥檇 be gone, and explain that I鈥檇 be working as a medic, trying to help people. It was a way for us to feel closer during those times.鈥�
An Ideal Fit
In the fall of 2015, after nearly three decades of military service, Williams officially retired from the Army and began his new position with the PA Program. The decision to seek a second career 鈥� after the Army had been his professional home for so long 鈥� was carefully considered.
鈥淭o be in Special Forces, your team has to be able to rely on each other,鈥� Williams explained. 鈥淥n your bad days, you need to know that you鈥檒l be picked up by your teammates. On their bad days, you need to be there to pick them up. For me, after 16 years in Special Forces, I鈥檇 reached a point where I no longer felt I could be as effective a teammate as I needed to be. My daughters were 12 and eight years old, and it was increasingly difficult to be away from them.鈥�
For the PA Program, the timing of Williams鈥檚 retirement couldn鈥檛 have been better. Upon learning about his military and professional experiences and interviewing him for the position, 黑料网 professor of medicine and PA Program director Paul Chelminski, MD, and his colleagues on the program hiring committee knew they had found the ideal fit to be clinical coordinator.
鈥淲e weren鈥檛 specifically looking for a candidate with military experience for this position,鈥� said Chelminski. 鈥淏ut as soon as we saw Todd鈥檚 credentials, we understood what he could contribute to this program and our students. Todd is an 18-Delta and a physician assistant with a wealth of medical experience, and he has taken the type of nontraditional educational path that so many of our students follow.鈥�
The result of a public-private partnership that includes support from聽, the Kenan Trust, and several charitable foundations, the PA Program provides educational and career-development opportunities to nontraditional students, including military veterans with medical experience, who are committed to the program鈥檚 mission to reduce health-care shortages in underserved communities in North Carolina. As Williams learned more about the program and its special emphasis on nontraditional students, he became very enthusiastic, and he has not been disappointed by the program since arriving on campus. The enthusiasm of the program鈥檚 inaugural 20 students, who began their PA education in Chapel Hill in January, has exceeded his expectations, as has the School of Medicine鈥檚 commitment to them.
鈥淓veryone who is part of the program 鈥� all 20 students, veterans and nonveterans, and all faculty and staff 鈥� are here for the same reason: to serve,鈥� said Williams. 鈥淚 love this program because we don鈥檛 just look solely at GPAs to find qualified applicants 鈥� we look at the whole person and evaluate whether they have a sincere desire to contribute to our mission of serving the underserved.鈥�
For Williams, the mission is an extension of his previous career in service, both in the military and as a physician assistant at聽, where he educated PAs during clinical rotations and gave back to the military community by providing health care for the children and spouses of soldiers deployed overseas 鈥� situations that often place a heavy burden on both active duty soldiers and their families.
鈥淚 know what it鈥檚 like to be overseas and to worry about the health of your family,鈥� Williams said. 鈥淎t different times, caregivers took care of my wife and children while I was deployed, and having that reliable support means so much to families. As a PA at Womack, I had the ability to say to families and soldiers in their time of need, 鈥榃e got you.鈥� In my second career, I feel an incredible connection to the mission of educating future PAs who may go on to provide that same kind of service to military families and to others in need of well-trained health-care professionals throughout North Carolina.鈥�
Force Multiplier
As clinical coordinator, Williams facilitates students鈥� hands-on learning experiences 鈥� their clinical rotations 鈥� throughout 黑料网 Hospitals and clinics around North Carolina, including at聽,听聽near Fayetteville, Womack Army Medical Center, and in other settings.聽Todd鈥檚 background is perfectly suited for this role. Since the start of the program, he has demonstrated the skill to create teams of educators across specialties, whether for our students鈥� future rotations in surgery or the emergency department or pediatrics. –Paul Chelminski, MD, PA Program director
Chelminski said Williams鈥檚 background as a Special Forces officer makes him particularly well prepared for the job.
鈥淭odd鈥檚 background is perfectly suited for this role,鈥� noted Chelminski. 鈥淎t a moment鈥檚 notice, Special Forces officers must be prepared to go into an environment that鈥檚 different from the one they鈥檙e used to, and the deployment they鈥檝e just completed may not resemble the next one five months later. This calls on their unique abilities to be fast learners and to create a team environment no matter the situation they鈥檙e going into. Since the start of the program, Todd has demonstrated the skill to create teams of educators across specialties, whether for our students鈥� future rotations in surgery or the emergency department or pediatrics. His skillset allows him to cycle through vastly different environments to prepare these students for education.鈥�
Since joining the PA Program faculty, Williams has also become an assistant professor of orthopaedics. With experience as an orthopaedics trauma PA at Womack, he has been able to seamlessly step in to the聽at 黑料网 and see patients. In January 2017, he will educate many of the inaugural class of PAs during their clinical rotations in orthopaedics.
鈥淪pecial Forces officers are referred to as 鈥榝orce multipliers鈥� in the field,鈥� said Chelminski. 鈥淵ou may have one person, but things are occurring as if you have several people. That鈥檚 a testament to their skill to keep people in the environment on task and focused on an objective. In Todd鈥檚 case, he鈥檚 working toward creating a curriculum of excellence in clinical medicine for our PA students while also providing patient care.鈥�
A Role Model
Long before retirement from the military, Williams had completed his Master鈥檚 degree in physician assistant studies at Methodist University, in Fayetteville, and spent nine years, when not deployed, as a physician assistant in Emergency Medicine and Orthopaedics. In 2003, prior to becoming a physician assistant, he received his Bachelor鈥檚 in Health Sciences from Campbell University鈥檚 Fort Bragg campus, doing coursework offered to Special Forces medics interested in becoming physician assistants.
Earning both degrees required him to take night classes and complete school work late into the evenings and on weekends while raising his daughters and working as a medic instructor at the聽聽(JSOMTC) at Fort Bragg.
Williams insists that he shouldn鈥檛 be applauded for those accomplishments.
鈥淧eople do it all the time,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey deal with difficult situations and make the best of them, and if they have a goal, they figure out a plan, initiate that plan, and accomplish the goal.鈥�
In many ways, Williams鈥檚 educational and career paths mirror those of the nontraditional students the 黑料网 PA Program seeks. His interest in the military began at a young age, after moving from Raleigh, where he鈥檚 originally from, to Lakeland, Florida, where his mother鈥檚 grandparents lived. His grandfather, an infantry officer in the Army, and his grandmother, an Army nurse, met at Fort Hamilton, in Brooklyn, New York, during World War II. In Florida, he lived close enough to his grandparents that his grandfather walked him and his sister to school; their grandparents鈥� house became the afterschool care program while their mother was at work.
鈥淢y grandfather was the consummate quiet professional,鈥� Williams said. 鈥淗e was serious, hardworking, loved to be outdoors fishing and hunting, and participated in the community. He had a huge influence on my decision to pursue a career in the military.鈥�
For Williams, during junior high and high school, the idea of taking a traditional route to college and a civilian career didn鈥檛 interest him, to the chagrin of his mother, who hoped he would pursue higher education. Instead, he joined ROTC and set his sights on the Army. Although academics weren鈥檛 his top priority, ROTC helped him focus on doing well in high school 鈥� and on graduating 鈥� before beginning his military career.
鈥淛oining ROTC was probably the best thing I could have done at that time,鈥� he explained.聽 鈥淲hen it came to academics, I鈥檇 had some transitional difficulties in my teens, and ROTC forced me to keep my grades up and introduced me to people who would be my mentors not only during my youth, but also during my military career.鈥�
In 1987, upon graduating from high school, Williams was sent to Fort Benning, Georgia, followed by Fort Lewis, Washington, before landing at Fort Bragg and eventually being deployed around the world. Army Ranger-Qualified and an 18-Delta, by the time of his retirement in 2015, he had achieved the rank of Major, and his numerous awards and citations included but were not limited to the Bronze Star for meritorious service three times and the Defense Meritorious Service Medal twice.
Chelminski sees Williams鈥檚 path from high school to the military to physician assistant to 黑料网 as an example for current and future 黑料网 PA Program students.
鈥淭odd had a career of elite distinctions even before arriving at 黑料网,鈥� said Chelminski. 鈥淏ecause of his experiences, we鈥檝e designated him as the adviser to our veteran students. He鈥檚 an incredible life role model for the veterans or any nontraditional student. He was Ranger-Qualified and an 18-Delta, and he received countless military service awards and recognitions. He got his undergraduate degree and completed his Master鈥檚 in PA studies while raising a family, working full-time, and being deployed in war. That has to be tremendously inspiring for our students to know that these things are possible. He鈥檚 the living example of Shakespeare鈥檚 Henry V at the Battle of Agincourt, who states, 鈥楢ll things are ready if our minds be so,鈥� meaning anything is possible if our minds believe them to be. Todd is a great testament to this battlefield declaration.鈥�
The Definition of Success
When Chelminski met Williams, he asked him about the motto of the Special Forces.
鈥淗e told me that Special Forces soldiers are quiet professionals,鈥� said Chelminski. 鈥淎nd I鈥檝e found that to be true with Todd. He has experienced things that are beyond our imagination, but he doesn鈥檛 try to glorify anything he has done. That philosophy carries over to his work with us. He is committed to the PA Program鈥檚 mission in an unflashy way, and since he has been here, he has demonstrated a leadership style that feels almost inoculated against demoralization. He鈥檚 unflappable.鈥�
For Williams, serving the program is not about his own accomplishments, but about the future accomplishments of his students. He has already laid out his vision for success:
鈥淚f I am able to watch them walk across that stage, go out into communities and work, and enjoy their profession as much as I have, then I鈥檝e accomplished my goal,鈥� he said. 鈥淭aking care of patients is rewarding. At times it is exciting and at times it is devastating. I want them to appreciate that you have to stay engaged and stay on top of the education, and if they do that, then the interaction with their patients and helping them through their times of difficulty will pay them back.鈥�