Sarah Bolander, DMSc, PA-C, DFAAPA, is a PA, educator, and mentor with nearly two decades of clinical experience, primarily in orthopedics. She continues to practice at Cactus Pediatric Orthopedics while advancing PA education, scholarship, and professional development.

She is faculty in the PA program at Northern Arizona University (NAU) and an adjunct faculty member in the University of Lynchburg’s Doctor of Medical Science program, where she earned her doctorate in medical education. Her professional interests include mentorship, professional identity formation, and preparing PAs and NPs to practice and lead throughout their careers.

As a national conference speaker, Sarah presents on orthopedics, education, professional practice, and artificial intelligence. She supports current and future educators through national faculty development initiatives and helps shape continuing PA education through leadership on national conference committees, including the American Academy of Physician Associates (AAPA), the Physician Assistant Education Association (PAEA), and Physician Associates in Orthopedic Surgery (PAOS).

Her scholarship includes professional practice and orthopedic publications in JAAPA and the JBJS Journal of Orthopedics for Physician Assistants, co-authored book chapters and a board review text, and research on PA-specific doctoral degrees through the AAPA-PAEA Research Fellowship. In recognition of her scholarly work, she was recently named Scholar of the Year by NAU’s College of Health and Human Services and has received two writing awards.

Her professional service includes advocacy at the state and national levels through the AAPA House of Delegates and the Arizona State Association of Physician Assistants, where she served as a past president.

Outside of work, Sarah enjoys traveling, fishing and boating with her husband, and attending youth activities for her three girls, including swimming, karate, and Special Olympics.