First
Cross-organizational Meeting of National
PA Groups Held in Naples, Florida
Representatives from the American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA), the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA), the Association of PA Programs (APAP), and the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA) met in Naples, Florida, on January 13 to share information on issues of mutual concern and interest related to the PA profession. This meeting was the first time that representatives of all four organizations have formally convened for what participants described as an opportunity to enhance the physician assistant (PA) profession to better serve patients.
Each organization presented a brief summary of the major issues being addressed by its respective board, an information exchange that participants agreed helped substantially to clarify the work of each organization, as well as the direction that each organization is taking on issues of common concern to the profession. The topics discussed included the centralized application service for PA programs, recent activities by the AAPA board’s International Affairs Committee, recent changes to ARC-PA’s Accreditation Standards for PA Education, and NCCPA’s plans for continually examining its programs and services to ensure stakeholders’ needs are being met.
Another issue of discussion was the progress being made by the International Commission on Healthcare Professions (ICHP) of the Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools (CGFNS) to develop a visa screening process for several categories of health professionals, including PAs, who are trained abroad and wish to reside in the United States on a permanent basis. The need for such a process was created by amendments made in 1996 to federal immigration laws.
A member of the CGFNS Physician Assistant Professional Standards Committee described the work to date and indicated that formal input would be solicited from key organizations prior to completion of the project. Participants who have been involved with PA international issues also contributed to the discussion. The challenges and opportunities presented by the development of the PA profession around the world are being studied by all four organizations present at the meeting.
Further updates will be made to the leaders of the four organizations and the general PA population as work on this issue progresses.
Meeting facilitator Ed Manning reported, "Overall, participants said they were very pleased with the meeting. In particular, they felt that the meeting served to enhance lines of communication among the four organizations at both the leader and staff levels on a number of issues of concern to the PA profession." Manning is a principal with the North Highland Company, a professional consulting firm located in Atlanta, Georgia.
Participants agreed to meet again for the purpose of exchanging similar information. Staff and leaders of the four organizations will work over the next few months to identify a future meeting date.
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