Bethany Melo practices medicine as a Critical Care Physician Assistant within the Intensive Care Unit of George Washington University Hospital. Located six blocks from the White House, three blocks from the State Department, and across the street from the World Bank, the Center for Trauma and Critical Care at GW Hospital is prepared to service a diverse group of patients, from area residents to visiting dignitaries and heads of state. Having joined the GW Medical Faculty Associates in 2017, Bethany has the privilege of working at a Level I Trauma Center; dedicating herself to the Washington metropolitan community by providing care to both the severely ill and their families.

Prior to her recent relocation, Bethany began her career as a Medical Critical Care Physician Assistant at both Christiana and Wilmington Hospital. She joined the Christiana Care Health System in 2014 and worked in close partnership with physicians of Christiana Care Pulmonary Associates; caring for some of the sickest patients in northern Delaware.

A long-term Delaware resident, Bethany attended the Delaware Military Academy for high school and served as their first female battalion commander. She then completed a B.S. in Microbiology at the University of Maryland in College Park where she served as a Senior Marshal due to having demonstrated the highest levels of scholarship and service to the campus community.

Bethany attended Arcadia University’s Christiana Delaware campus earning both a Master’s of Science in Physician Assistant Studies and a Master’s in Public Health. The majority of her clinical rotations occurred in local hospitals and private practices throughout Delaware. Her thesis work focused on planning, implementing, and evaluating an American Lung Association public health initiative to decrease adolescent smokeless tobacco usage in Delaware through parental influence. Upon graduation she was awarded the Gretchen M. Paruch Humanitarian Service Award for demonstrating academic excellence, leadership among her peers, professionalism in both the classroom and clinical setting, and service to her community and to her profession.

Bethany enjoys precepting medical students, mentoring residents, and serving as an adjunct instructor for both Arcadia University’s College of Life Sciences and GWU’s Physician Assistant Program. An active member of the Society of Critical Care Medicine, she is hospital lead for several research projects focused on quality improvement surrounding patient and family centered care. Bethany was excited to publish her first abstract in the January 2018 issue of Critical Care Medicine, a premier peer-reviewed scientific publication in critical care, as well as present her research nationally at the 47th Critical Care Congress. Working in the nation’s capitol, Bethany has recently joined the board of the District of Colombia Academy of Physician Assistants where she is both advocating for her colleagues and working to strengthen the PA profession throughout the city.