Tim McCreary DMSc began his medical journey as a US Army medic in 1999 and continues his service—now as a PA—in a full-time clinical role in rural northeastern Utah. He provides integrated outpatient psychiatric care in a primary care clinic and is a dedicated leader and advocate for the PA profession in the state of Utah and across the country.
Over the past decade, he has served in several significant roles in the PA profession and is a past president of the following organizations: the Association of PAs in Psychiatry (APAP, 2022-23), Utah Academy of Physician Assistants (UAPA, 2020-21), and the Public Health Service Academy of Physician Assistants (PHSAPA, 2018-19). He has advocated extensively on the vital role PAs fill in the US healthcare system and has been recognized for his humanitarian efforts abroad, as well as for his tireless personal dedication to Indigenous American individuals and families.
As a former national PA recruiter, he recognized the changing landscape in the healthcare marketplace and was an early and passionate advocate for Optimal Team Practice (OTP). His work in the AAPA House of Delegates aided in the passage of Optimal Team Practice, and he was the lead author in a recently “revised” PA scope of practice policy that allows Indian Health Service PAs full practice authority as vital members of the healthcare provider team. As President of the UAPA he successfully spearheaded two landmark legislative acts in the state of Utah: a modernization of the Utah PA Practice Act and the incorporation of PAs in the Utah Mental Health Practice Act. The first grants PAs in Utah responsibility for the care they provide and allows experienced PAs to supervise new PAs, volunteer their services for charities, and receive insurance payments. These advances allow PAs to work at the top of their training and experience, reducing administrative burdens on physician-employers and improving medical team collaboration by removing physician liability for PA-provided care. The second bill introduced PAs for the first time as mental health providers and established requirements for PAs to serve as mental health practice owners/operators.
Tim McCreary is a passionate PA educator, serving as a clinical instructor for dozens of PAs over many years, and is presently working as an adjunct clinical faculty member for several PA training programs. His students and patients bring great joy and personal growth into his professional and personal life. Over the course of his career, he has presented and instructed on a variety of topics in mental health,
public health, and primary care. He believes in the capacity of PAs to provide expert mental health services as integrated behavioral health specialists in primary care, as well as expert mental health providers on inpatient psychiatric medicine teams.
He was the architect of the world’s first Doctor of Medical Science (DMSc) psychiatry track, which was established at Rocky Mountain University in 2019. He continues to serve as the psychiatry program director and as a clinical instructor, contributing to and advising curricular content for all psychiatry course content, selecting instructors, and supporting a multi-disciplinary team of professor clinicians. He is dedicated too, and deeply grateful for a loving and supportive family. When not in the clinic, advocating for the profession, or hanging out with his family, he can be found hiking or riding in the mountains near his home in Ashley Valley.