Sara Kraus, MHS, PA-C

Sara Kraus, MMS, PA-C is the Director of Didactic Curriculum at the Case Western Reserve University Physician Assistant Program in Cleveland, Ohio. She has been in PA education since 2017, when she taught procedural skills and mentored students. Sara has been full time faculty with the PA program since 2019.

Sara was trained at Wake Forest University in Winston Salem, North Carolina. She has been serving patients in Emergency Medicine since 2016 where she has continued to enhance patient care skills, technical knowledge, and practical skills. Sara also precepts students in the clinical setting and especially loves helping students develop the “art of listening” to their patients.  She volunteers at the Lake County Free Clinic in Painesville, Ohio.

Sara is a strong proponent of advocating for her patients. She believes that the best care must include active listening and true empathy. She strives to instill these values in her students in the classroom and clinic alike. Sara also emphasizes the value of self-reflection and strives to teach this skill to her students. She has published “Learning to Mourn my Patients” in the Journal of the American Academy of Physician Assistants and is a reviewer for the Mindful Practice section of this journal.

Sara’s scholarship in the PA program revolves around better understanding how students can maintain empathy through resilience and building community. Currently she is investigating how creating a positive social environment among PA students can reduce burnout and increase resilience.

Sara received her Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry and Bachelor of Art in German at Denison University in Granville, Ohio. She lived in Dinslaken, Germany, as a Fulbright Teaching Scholar from 2009 to 2010. There she learned how resilience and vulnerability must coexist to persevere through intimidating situations. It was in Germany that Sara realized that teaching was an essential part of her identity.

Sara lives in Cleveland Heights with her husband and two children. She spends nearly all her free time in the garden. Her most prized plant in the yard is her redbud tree, though she is always holding out hope that her blueberry bushes will give her a bounty one of these years.