tana-summers

Tana Summers

Department Chair Assistant Professor Program Director MS, PA-C

Programs and Courses Taught

Master of Physician Assistant

PA 620 Medicine I
PA 621 Medicine II
PA 623 Obstetrics & Gynecology
PA 605 Clinical Simulation Lab

About Me

Tana is originally from Portland, Oregon. She earned a BS from Santa Clara University and a MS from Baylor College of Medicine, where she completed her Physician Assistant training in 2001. She completed a medical Spanish immersion program on the border of Mexico working with underserved patients, and spent the first 6 years of her career working among underserved Latino communities in general Pediatrics and Family & Internal Medicine. She moved to a Family & Preventive Medicine practice in Mill Valley, California in 2005 and worked there for 10 years.  She currently practices part time in urgent care.
Tana began working at SMU as an adjunct faculty in the fall of 2005, and became a principal member of the PA faculty in 2008. She was the Academic Coordinator from 2008 through 2015, when she became the Assistant Program Director.

Education

I graduated from Santa Clara University in California with a major in Combined Science and a minor in English in 1998.  I became a certified phlebotomist and then began Physician Assistant training at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas in 1999.  I graduated with a Master of Science degree and certificate of completion as a Physician Assistant in 2001 and became a certified Physician Assistant.

Professional Affiliations & Memberships

American Academy of Physician Assistants

Honors & Awards

Faculty of the Year 2009