March 2003 Announcements

APAP Staff Thanks Programs for Offers of Sites for Faculty Development Workshops

Timi Agar Barwick recently e-mailed the programs to solicit program sites at which to hold upcoming faculty development sessions. Many programs responded, offering their facilities and accommodations. Others specified times when this would be a more workable option for them. APAP staff would like to thank all programs that replied. In June the new FDI Regional Summer Series, Managing Self, Managing Others, will be held at both the University of Utah PA Program in Salt Lake City and the Arcadia PA Program in Philadelphia.

Development Committee Announces Guidelines for Program Interaction with Pharmaceutical Industry

The APAP Development Committee has established the following voluntary guidelines for use by member PA programs. These guidelines are intended to provide programs with a framework for interacting with the pharmaceutical industry. Programs are encouraged to adapt these voluntary guidelines to meet program needs, as appropriate. These guidelines will become part of the material retained on the APAP Web site, under the Members Only section.

Special Research Ad Hoc Committee Formed to Deal with Policies and Protocol Concerning Data Distribution

A research ad hoc committee has been formed and will hold a conference call to identify and prioritize APAP’s data needs relative to the applicant pool and recruitment. It will also recommend policies and protocols concerning data distribution from APAP’s proprietary databases. Serving on the committee are Jim Cawley; Bert Simon; David Asprey; Gene Jones; Grace Landel; Rick Dehn; Ted Ruback; Paul Lombardo; Vice President, Application Services, Robert Ruiz; and APAP Executive Director Timi Agar Barwick.

First Meeting of National Recruitment Strategies Taskforce Held by Conference Call March 21

The National Recruitment Strategies Taskforce held its first meeting on Friday, March 21, by conference call. Members serving on the committee are Chair Grace Landel, Jim Fry, Cristina Gonzalez, Christina Robohm, Suzanne Hage. Paul Lombardo is the board liaison and Timi Agar Barwick is the staff liaison.

The committee’s specific charges are to identify and investigate the merits of various recruitment strategies to increase the awareness of careers in the PA profession among individuals investigating the health professions. In addition, the taskforce will recommend and prioritize those strategies most likely to be attainable and that APAP can most practically implement. These will target individuals of all ages, from junior high schoolers to adults, including individuals from diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds.

The meeting gave members an opportunity to introduce themselves and their particular interests and experience in recruitment issues. They planned a survey to be distributed to the programs in early to assess what recruitment activities are currently taking place within the programs. Additionally, various members of the committee are accessing the available literature on recruitment strategies being used by all segments of the health professions against the backdrop of today’s economic forces.

The taskforce will meet again in New Orleans. Their report to the membership is expected by October 2004.

Committee Members Appointed for 2002-2003

APAP would like to welcome new appointees to two committees, Education and the Committee on Ethnic and Cultural Diversity. Rena Mitchell is the chair of the Education Committee. Committee members are Emily WhiteHorse, Michelle Heinan, Kris Healy, Theresa Johnson, Patricia Ragan, and Richard Rahr. The Committee on Ethnic and Cultural Diversity is chaired by Karen Mulitalo, and members are Marshall Blesofsky, Robert Canales, Theresa Johnson, Christina Robohm, Howard Straker, and Peter Stanford.

A formalization of APAP’s committee structure is underway as a result of the approval of a restructuring plan in the fall of 2002. Under the new plan, committees will have up to 6 identified members who will serve 2-year terms and a chair who will serve for 3 years. All committees are working to implement the new structure by October 2003.

CASPA Session at May Semiannual Meeting

Programs will be interested in the CASPA session scheduled for Thursday, May 22, from 3:00-5:00 p.m., “Year-end Data and Changes to This Year’s Cycle.” The CASPA Advisory Committee will present aggregate data on the applicant pool for 2003. New data available this year includes information on reapplicants, impact of deadlines and applicant behavior trends, and fee waiver recipients. Future plans for the CASPA service will also be presented.

Reminder: CME Credit to be Awarded for Participation in Select APAP Semiannual Meeting Sessions

While all of the workshops, roundtables, and pearls selected for the APAP Semiannual Meeting in New Orleans promise to be enlightening and well worth your time, please keep in mind when you decide upon sessions to attend that the following presentations have been awarded a maximum of eight hours of Professional Category I (Preapproved) CME credit by the AAPA. Each of the eight workshops listed below is approved for one hour of CME credit.

• PA Preparedness for Bioterrorism: Preparing Ourselves, Our Colleagues, and Our Students
• Palm Computing in Clinical Medical Education
• Creating Inclusion of Complementary and Alternative Medicine in the PA Curriculum
• Incorporating Medical Spanish in the Curriculum
• Economics of Physician Assistant Employment (roundtable)
• Integrating Diversity: Pearls and Perils
• Strategies for Adapting Preventive Breast Care for Women with Disabilities
• Enhancing Students’ Clinical Reasoning Through Awareness of Common Cognitive Errors

Click here to access a full listing of workshops, roundtables, and pearls.

APAP Update - March 2003