In 1967, John Betz was recruited to train as a physician assistant, a new category of healthcare practitioner between doctor and nurse. The University of Washington had created a pilot project, "MEDEX," to bolster the region's ranks of clinicians.

Along with twelve other former military medics and corpsmen, Betz became a pioneer in the physician assistant profession, now 100,000 strong. He was assigned to small clinic in Othello, Wash., where he practiced for 44 years until his retirement in 2014.
 
The story, told with digital multimedia, describes the MEDEX program's origins and Betz's experience.