Growing From Within: Robert Molyneaux, PA-C.

While many MedStar Washington Hospital Center associates can trace their careers back to the beginning at our hospital, not many started here as a student like Robert Molyneaux. It was 1981 when Robert came for a rotation with MedSTAR Trauma as a physician assistant (PA) student. His learning experience taught him not only the skills to become a PA, but also that this was a place he would want to return to during his career. After a stop at Capitol Hill Hospital (a part of Medlantic Healthcare Group, a pre-cursor to MedStar Health) as a surgical and hospitalist PA, and Prince George’s Hospital Center’s Critical Care unit as a critical care PA, Robert came back to MedStar Washington in 1995.

Here, Robert has worked in Surgical Critical Care and the Cardiovascular Recovery Room, advancing to become chief PA for Surgical Critical Care in 1999. He worked on initiatives that brought professional growth to our advanced practice providers (APPs) and helped reduce the hospital’s central line-associated bloodstream infection (CLABSI) rate. He also helped establish the Procedure Service in 2012 and write the job description for the position he would take on next.

Because of these initiatives, Robert became the clinical director of the Procedure Service, a job that fit in perfectly with his lifestyle as a father of teenagers. His job gave him the flexibility to get his children off to school before coming in to work. In this role, Robert was also part of a team that drastically reduced CLABSI by 85%.

One key to Robert’s success has been learning from other leaders. One leader who became a mentor, Arthur St. Andre, MD, taught Robert lessons on how to take what he calls “well-intentioned” risks, make mistakes, and grow from those lessons. He says he continues to get similar support from the director of Critical Care, Alexandra Pratt, MD.

“The Hospital Center provides a lot of training for leaders,” said Robert. “This is an innovative staff and we implemented management and leadership techniques that allow leaders to grow because of what is offered here.”

Robert said he has enjoyed his career at MedStar Washington, is humbled and appreciative of his colleagues who helped reduce CLABSI, and will always appreciate the hospital where his wife was born and where his career thrived.