Physician Assistant Lynette White said one of the advantages of going to a PA is she can spend more time with the patient than a doctor usually can.

And PAs (physician assistants) also focus on wellness care, while MDs (medical doctors) are necessary for more complex diagnoses of illnesses.

White staffs the office of General Practitioners of Bethany at 696 Amity Road, Bethany. It is part of a medical practice supervised by Dr. Richard Slater, and started by his father, Dr. Daniel Slater, in Hamden in 1927.

She also sees patients at the medical practice’s office in Branford.

"My goal is to bring a bit of old medicine back," said White. That means spending time with the patients to help them understand and participate in maintaining good health.

She said she grew up in Orange and moved to Bethany five years ago with her husband, Robert White Jr., a lifelong Bethany resident.

White studied biology and chemistry at Salve Regina University in Rhode Island, and graduated in 2000 with a Master of Science degree from Quinnipiac University’s physician assistant program.

She said although as a physician assistant she works under the supervision of a medical doctor, she can do everything needed to practice medicine, including ordering tests, interpreting the test results, drawing blood, giving injections and prescribing medicine.

White also is active in community outreach. She works with children from Bethany, mostly 5th graders, teaching them about health and guiding them on topics they are interested in, such as smoking, diabetes, nutrition, exposure to indoor mold, germs and concussion injuries.

She said she explains the health information at the children’s learning level, and knows from how excited they are that they are learning.

White also helps educate physician assistant students at Quinnipiac and the University of Bridgeport. She is an adjunct professor at Quinnipiac and a lecturer at UB.

She spends part of her week at her medical practice’s Branford office. General Practitioners of Bethany is open Tuesdays and Thursdays.

White said she enjoys helping people stay healthy. "Keeping people healthy, generation to generation," she said.