Abigail Hecker, MPAS, PA-C
Abbie Hecker is a Physician Assistant at the Blood and Marrow Transplant (BMT) service at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center (formerly Seattle Cancer Care Alliance). She is also a Teaching Associate with the Division of Medical Oncology at the University of Washington School of Medicine. At her Fred Hutch job, Abbie provides care for cancer patients who need stem cell transplants. She is in the unusual position of also having recently served as a stem cell donor for a teenage boy with leukemia through Be The Match, a national bone marrow donor registry organization.
What is a Physician Assistant?
A Physician Assistant (PA) is a licensed clinician who works in a medical setting caring for patients in partnership with a physician. They can carry out important clinical tasks such as conducting exams, diagnosing illnesses, prescribing medication, assisting during surgeries, and participating in clinical research. They receive training in general medicine and clinical practice at the master’s degree level, and some PAs opt for specialties, such as oncology.
“I love the unique role our team plays for our patients. While they are on the BMT service, we are responsible not only for their disease and transplant but also for their chronic conditions and all their medications. This means I get to be a specialist but also a generalist…It is really exciting to be able to take care of the whole patient while they are with the transplant team.”
— Abigail Hecker, MPAS, PA-C
Abbie's Story
Abbie grew up in Lincoln, Nebraska with her parents and two older sisters. Lincoln is a mid-sized mid-western city. It is the Nebraska state capital and was named in honor of President Abraham Lincoln. The city is the home of the Nebraska Cornhuskers, the University of Nebraska’s football team.
Abbie’s mother is a Certified Public Accountant who works for an accounting firm. Her father works in education; he is currently the Superintendent of Catholic Schools for the Dioceses of Lincoln, and was formerly the Dean of Students at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Her two older sisters work in nursing and in the advertising and marketing field.
Doctor, dentist, or teacher? Abbie spent most of her K-12 education career in the Lincoln school system, and stayed in town to pursue her Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. As a child, Abbie wanted to be a doctor, a dentist, and a teacher. As she grew older, she decided that she would likely become a History or English teacher. However, when she was in high school, Abbie’s father recommended that she consider a career in the medical field, which connected back to her early childhood dreams of being a doctor or dentist. But was medicine the right path for her? And which field of medicine?
As a high school and college student, Abbie volunteered as a tutor. She reflected that through this experience, “I discovered a love of breaking down complex concepts to help others learn them” as well as “a love of connecting with and helping others.” As a freshman in college, she realized that her Dad’s advice was spot on. A career in health care, she realized, “would let me combine these loves; I could connect with patients, treat them, and educate them on their diagnoses and medications.”
Choosing a career as a Physician Assistant. During her freshman year of college, Abbie enrolled in a course titled “Introduction to Health Care Professions”, which was where she was first introduced to the job of Physician Assistant. She explained, “the class would focus on a different medical career each week and would break down what role the professional plays and what is required to work in that area of medicine.” Her interest was immediately piqued by the idea of becoming a Physician Assistant because of “their ability to treat patients, perform procedures, and even prescribe medications.” It didn’t hurt her decision making when she learned that PA school was a two to three year commitment, in comparison to the four years plus residency required of medical school. That next semester she declared a pre-Physician Assistant focus and chose her undergraduate courses accordingly.
To become a Physician Assistant-Certified, you must first take pre-med courses as an undergraduate. Then you must graduate from a physician assistant program which includes thousands of hours of clinical training to obtain a Master of Physician Assistant Studies (MPAS) or equivalent degree.* Next, you must pass the national board exam and achieve a state license to practice medicine under the supervision of a physician. Some PAs choose a specialty, such as oncology or pediatrics. The “C” in the PA-C title means that the Physician Assistant maintains their national certification through continuing medical education and passing a recertification exam every ten years.
*Abbie explained that the title of the degree offered by different Physician Assistant programs varies. Some schools offer a Master of Physician Assistant Studies (MPAS), Master of Medical Science (MSc), Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies (MSPAS), or other related degrees. Although the name of the degree may differ, they all have standardized requirements and are supervised by the approval board of the Physician Assistant Education Association (PAEA).
Educational Pathway
Abbie's educational pathway included the following experiences:
Undergraduate Studies: Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Biological Sciences and Psychology, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE.
Gap Year: In order to prepare for PA school, she completed training to become a Certified Nurse Assistant, worked as a medical scribe at a pediatric clinic, and completed job shadow hours at various hospitals focused on aspects of oncology care, including radiation therapy.
Medical Training: Master of Physician Assistant Studies (MPAS), University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE (Graduated December 2021).
Check out this infographic from the American Academy of Physician Associates (AAPA) to learn more about this exciting career!
Having the support of her family and mentors meant everything. As she prepared her application for PA School and later made her way through challenging coursework, Abbie’s two older sisters offered mentorship and help. Abbie shared, “my oldest sister is a Registered Nurse and would help me study, explain difficult concepts to me, and empathized with me when classes or clinic experiences were tough.” In addition, her other sister leveraged her skill sets honed in the advertising and marketing field. She supported Abbie by “proofreading my essays for applications, helping me create resumes, and encouraging me no matter how hard things got.”
During PA school at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, Abbie was assigned to work with an “incredible” advisor named Shaun Horak. She recalled that Dr. Horak was “so supportive” and “an amazing advocate for the students.” In addition, “he really cared about us and always believed that I could succeed even when I couldn't see it myself.”
What inspired her to work in oncology care? Abbie explained, "I was drawn to this role after seeing first-hand the impact that oncology providers played in my family member's lives." In Abbie’s family, multiple people have been diagnosed with and treated for cancer. In particular, when she was a child, her young cousin tragically died of leukemia, after becoming suddenly ill with little time left for treatment. These experiences sparked her interest in pursuing a career in oncology. She noted that “it can be a terrifying and overwhelming experience, but oncology providers can play such an incredible role in their patients’ lives.” She explained, “they can connect deeply with the patients and be a source of encouragement and support during one of the toughest parts of the patient’s lives.”
She was hired by the Bone and Stem Cell service at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in April 2022 at age 26. After completing her 28-month Physician Assistant program at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, Abbie knew that she wanted to move to Seattle to join her fiancé (who is now her spouse). Inspired by a deep interest in oncology, she applied for several jobs at Fred Hutch Cancer Center. She was especially drawn to the stem cell transplant program because her best friend from childhood worked as a Clinical Research Specialist at Be The Match and collaborated with the transplant team there.
Becoming a stem cell donor with Be The Match. Just before Abbie was planning on starting her new job, she received an exciting email. She was a match for a teenage boy with leukemia! Back in college, Abbie had gone to a Be The Match event that encouraged people to sign up for the registry to potentially be a stem cell donor in the future, if a match was ever found with someone in need of a transplant. Abbie recalled, “I learned at that event what stem cell donations were and what conditions they helped treat.” She explained that “I went to the event assuming I wanted to be a donor but I knew with 100% certainty that I would do it once I learned that leukemia patients have the potential to be cured after transplant... My cousin never had the chance to undergo stem cell transplant, but if I could potentially help save someone else from the condition that took her life, I would do whatever it took.”
Several years later in the Spring of 2022, an email from Be The Match informed her that the HLA matching process showed that she could potentially serve as a blood stem cell donor for a teenage boy who had a type of blood cancer called acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). He was in need of a stem cell transplant to save his life.
Learn more about Abbie's donation story in the article “Tapped to be a Blood Stem Cell Donor, Abbie Hecker Finds New Meaning in her Work as a Blood and Marrow Transplant Provider” (Fred Hutch, July 2022).
Gaming as Quality Time
Outside of work she and her husband are gamers. Abbie explained, “most nights after work, my spouse and I will play video games together or I’ll watch him play games.” They also get together with a group of friends every few weeks to play Dungeons and Dragons. Abbie also enjoys hiking and traveling. She and her husband were married in 2022, the same year that she started her new job at Fred Hutch Cancer Center and became a stem cell donor.
A Typical Day as a Physician Assistant
A day in the life of a Physician Assistant in the Blood and Marrow Transplant Service. Abbie works with cancer patients before, during, and after they receive stem cell transplants. She explained, “I help evaluate them before transplant to make sure they’re a good candidate for transplant.” When a patient receives a stem cell transplant, Abbie continues to help by “treating any side effects or complications and managing their health until they’re ready to leave our transplant team and head home.” A typical day at work for her involves “examining and treating patients, prescribing medications, monitoring lab work, and reviewing diagnostic tests and imaging.” In this role, Abbie works as part of a larger team. She explained, “I collaborate with the nurses, medical assistants, pharmacists, dieticians, and the attending physician to take care of patients.”
The best and most challenging parts of her job? Abbie shared that her favorite part of her job is working with her “incredible patients.” She explained, “our patients come from a wide variety of backgrounds and have endured so much by the time they arrive at our service.” However, one of the biggest challenges with working within the field of oncology is “when things don’t go as expected.” Abbie explained, “sometimes we learn that our patient’s cancer came back or their transplant failed” and “sometimes our patients get really sick or even pass away.” She reflected, “those setbacks and losses can be really devastating for the patients and for our team.” Even though this comes with the choice of working in oncology patient care, “certainly learning how to process those events and how to cope with losses is extremely challenging.”
Advice for Students
Her advice for high school students? Be open minded! Abbie encourages students to be flexible and think beyond just doctors and nurses as the available jobs within the field of medicine. She shared, “there are so many careers available in medicine; pharmacists, surgical technicians, laboratory scientists, psychologists, occupational therapists, medical assistants, and so many others!” She said, “you may discover a career you’ve never heard of that is a better fit for you than any of the others, just like me!” Abbie also encourages students to explore opportunities for job shadowing, internships, or volunteer experiences. She said, “there’s a lot that goes on behind the scenes in medicine that you only see if you aren’t the patient, and I think every bit of exposure to the medical world helps you make a career decision that’s right for you.”
Check out Becoming the Next Cancer Researcher or Clinician for tips on finding research experiences, internships, and volunteer opportunities.
“One of the best parts of my job is working with such incredible patients. The transplant process can be really difficult and yet they persevere through it because they hope for a better future. I love to support them through their transplant and share in their hope.”
— Abigail Hecker, MPAS, PA-C
U.S. Wage Information
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, the median wage for physician assistants in the U.S. is $130,020 in 2023.
Additional Resources
Credit: Thank you to Abbie Hecker for participating in this project. Some of the information used to develop this profile came from “Tapped to be a Blood Stem Cell Donor, Abbie Hecker Finds New Meaning in her Work as a Blood and Marrow Transplant Provider” (Fred Hutch, July 2022). Career profile written by Dr. Kristen Clapper Bergsman.