Prescription for a life fulfilled: Satisfaction through service runs deep in the Perman family
A 43-mile stretch of Highway 12 in South Dakota, around 70 miles south of the North Dakota border, contains much of the life story of a UND physician assistant (PA) program graduate who has dedicated his personal and professional life to serving others.
Clint Perman’s path to becoming a PA started in 1989 when he entered the healthcare workforce as a registered nurse (RN) after earning degrees from both Presentation College and Northern State University in Aberdeen, S.D. Hailing from Glenham, S.D. (population 108), Perman worked in various roles as a nurse, including as a member of the U.S. Army Reserve, before deciding to enter the PA profession.
“As a nurse I worked with PAs at the hospital, as well as in the military. I liked the autonomy they had and I felt I could make more of an impact in my rural community caring for patients as a PA,” Perman said.
So he chose the UND PA program because of its accelerated program for nurses.
“The initial route to becoming a PA from UND was a 12-month certificate program for an experienced RN to PA,” added UND Department of Physician Assistant Studies Chair Jeanie McHugo. “The educational model, much like the current model, was alternating classroom sessions with clinical experiences. Learn, apply, learn more, apply more.”
Perman spent a year alternating classroom and clinical experiences and successfully completed the program in 2002 as a Certified Physician Assistant (PA-C). After that, he returned to serve his home area in rural South Dakota, beginning in Mobridge for a year, then transitioning to Bowdle for nine years, and finally settling at Selby Medical Clinic in Selby, S.D., for the past 13 years.
“I was the only provider [in Selby] for a number of years,” he said, adding that a women’s health physician now visits the community weekly. In 2020, the small clinic was acquired by Mobridge Regional Hospital, which is gladly keeping Perman on through the transition.
For McHugo and her PA program faculty colleagues, it’s gratifying to see graduates like Perman serving where they are needed.
“Growing up in a small South Dakota farming community not too far from where Clint now lives, I know firsthand how incredibly important it is to have access to healthcare in these rural areas,” McHugo said. “It is so rewarding to have the opportunity to teach and mentor PA students in rural communities who then stay and provide healthcare for the people who live and work in those communities. Their work is truly meaningful, impactful, and significant for these small towns.”
Although Perman’s practice is in South Dakota, he continues to stay connected with the North Dakota Academy of Physician Assistants (NDAPA) and attends the group’s conference annually.
“It’s inspiring to see Clint consistently engage with the rural health focus at our annual NDAPA Primary Care Conferences and then bring those insights back to his community,” said Jay Metzger, associate professor in the UND PA program and board member of the NDAPA. “His commitment to staying connected, learning from peers, and applying that knowledge in rural South Dakota embodies the very spirit of our program.”
The value of providing care to fellow community members in rural and underserved areas was observed and passed down to Perman’s children. A 2022 article in North Dakota Medicine magazine featured Clint’s son, Zach, who is the Chief Dental Officer and Hospital Chief of Staff serving the Indian Health Service (IHS) clinic in Fort Yates, N.D.
Zach and his sister Xandria Yackley both followed their dad into the healthcare field, both choosing the dentistry profession and working in the Fort Yates and McLauglin areas, respectively.
“I frequently did locums work, covering a number of underserved IHS and rural healthcare facilities in addition to working full time at a rural clinic and Critical Access Hospital,” Clint Perman said. “I believe [my children] saw the impact one person could make in people’s lives. It makes me very proud to have them in the field of healthcare and especially to know that they provide services to the underserved.”
While healthcare may seem like the main spotlight in Perman’s life, the layers of service he offers to his community run much deeper. The Cloverleaf Bar and Grill, located in Selby, is an establishment originally owned by Perman’s in-laws.
Perman and his wife purchased the business from his wife’s family after they retired and operated it for a number of years.
“We eventually sold the business but ended up getting it back. It was closed for a couple of years, but I received repeated requests to have it re-open so [community members] could have a spot to eat, drink, and get together. They eventually wore me down, and I opened it back up a couple of years ago,” he said.
In addition to offering a place to dine, the Cloverleaf also offers hotel rooms and apartment rentals to accommodate housing and lodging needs for the community. Owning and operating the Cloverleaf is just “doing what is needed,” Perman added.
“I guess it’s along the same line as healthcare, only providing a different service to the community,” he said. “It’s very time consuming to operate a business. It’s only open on weekends but the work continues daily.”
If working full time as a clinician, plus owning and operating a weekend restaurant business, isn’t enough to make a person dizzy, Perman shared that he and his wife have also been fostering a baby for the past year.
“I must have thought we had too much down time,” he joked.
In addition to providing a loving and safe home for a newborn, he finds solace in spending time with his kids and grandkids, gardening, and golfing when he can. For Perman, his wish to make an impact in his rural community has truly turned into a lifetime of service.
And he wouldn’t have it any other way.
