Career Speaker: Eric D. Tetzlaff

Eric was born in Mount Kisco, NY and spent his high school days dreaming of being the next centerfielder for the Yankees. Given his penchant for chasing balls out of the strike zone he ended up going to the University of Vermont and graduated with a major in psychology and a minor in biology. While in school he explored different career paths and thought that “healthcare” would be a good fit but didn’t really know what that meant. 

After graduating from college, he got his first “real” job as a session assistant at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. It was an entry level position in a program that helped college graduates have career growth opportunities in healthcare administration. Once he was promoted to the clinical session assistant role and started working in the oncology clinic with the attendings and clinical team he quickly realized that the administrative pathway was no longer for him. The meaningful interactions with patients, the excitement of clinical research and the intellectual challenges of oncology could not be matched. He was fortunate to work with an excellent group of physicians that took time to teach, mentor and help him explore potential career paths. Most importantly, he was introduced to the role of the PA and knew that his career path would be forever changed. 

After working at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Tx for 4 years Eric moved to the Philadelphia area and has been at FCCC since May of 2008. His primary responsibilities are clinical care of patients in the department of medical oncology and is grateful to be part of a fulfilling collaborative team-based practice. He has also served as a principal investigator in several research projects and in leadership roles for the PA profession and oncology. His research has explored provider burnout in healthcare providers as well as workforce issues related to the PA profession. He served as the chairperson of the American Academy of PAs Task force on PA Burnout and served as a member of the American Society of Clinical Oncology APP task force. Lastly, he served in leadership roles with the Association of PAs in oncology serving on the board of directors and as president of the organization. When not at work, Eric loves to run, hike and do pretty much anything outdoors.