Task Force Requests Faculty
Comments Regarding a
Name Change for APAP

By Sherry Stolberg, MGPGP, PA-C
Member, APAP Transition Task Force

The Transition Task Force (TTF) would like to obtain a representative sample of faculty comments and suggestions on the issue of a name change for APAP. I have summarized the main points, both pro and con, from the full discussion presented by Immediate Past President Paul Lombardo in last month’s February APAP Update. The question of a name change arose during the February retreat for members of the board and TTF. A full, updated version of the FAQs about the Association’s transition to independent management is available at this link.

What has prompted discussion of a name change for APAP? Since the Association is transitioning to independent management, the board and the TTF have raised the possibility of changing APAP’s name. Member programs will ultimately make the decision about whether to change the name of the organization. Some of the points in favor of changing the Association’s name include:

1. APAP’s current name, Association of Physician Assistant Programs (APAP) does not include the word education, making it difficult for external organizations to recognize our primary function and unique role in educating physician assistants
2. A name change could be an opportunity to better position and brand the Association
3. The shortened version of the Association’s name and the one most often utilized — A-PAP — is unappealing
4. A name change could facilitate future opportunities to forge new professional linkages
5. A name change is timely, and with the impending move to independent management, could provide momentum and may energize the members’ sense of ownership and connection with the Association.

Possible disadvantages of a name change include:

1. Potential expense
2. The need to orient other organizations to the change
3. Members may resist a change and the process may consume too much time and energy

What are your thoughts about this concept? Please send your comments and suggestions for a name to Eileen Evans, eileen@aapa.org.

My colleagues on the transition task force are Chair, Dana Sayre-Stanhope, EdD, PA-C; Lisa Mustone Alexander, EdD, MPH, PA; David Asprey, PhD, PA-C; Patrick T. Knott, PhD, PA-C; Paul Lombardo, MPS, RPA-C; and Dawn Morton-Rias, PD, PA-C. Timi Agar Barwick is an ex officio member.

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APAP Update - March 2005