ChristopherPForestPA-C, DHSc, DFAAPA

Summary

• Christopher Forest, PA-C, is a full-time tenured professor at the Dominican University of California Master of Science Physician Assistant program. He also works as a primary care Physician Assistant at Doctors on Duty in Salinas, CA. He has 34 years of clinical experience as a PA in Family Medicine, Pediatrics, Internal Medicine, Urology, and Urgent Care.
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  Dr. Forest served as the Founding Program Director and tenured professor for the Master of Science Physician Assistant Program at CSUMB for 6 years and as Assistant Professor at the Keck School of Medicine of USC Primary Care PA program for 10 years before that. He has Emeritus status from USC. His publications and national lectures reflect his passion for teaching, service learning, interprofessional education, medical ethics, and the importance of the Spanish language in the health professions. He has more than 20 publications and close to 350 citations of his work.
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  He created the CSUMB PA Program, establishing its mission to serve disadvantaged individuals living in underserved communities in the Tricounty region. To support this mission, he designed the program with a focus on primary care, created Conversational Medical Spanish courses for their entire first year, to prepare students to train and work with underserved migrant farmworkers and in local Spanish-speaking only communities.
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  Professor Forest, who is of Nicaraguan descent, was raised speaking Spanish. His parents instilled in him a heart for Latino culture and a clear commitment to caring for the underserved. He has led students on medical mission trips to Honduras and Nicaragua. The focus of his doctorate was the provision of culturally sensitive health care for Latino migrant farmworkers. Link to publications and presentations.