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Know Your Candidates for APAP’s 2004 Elections
The APAP Nominations and Awards Committee announced two openings
on the APAP Board of Directors: president elect and director at large.
The committee sought nominations and subsequently verified the eligibility
of each candidate. Elections will take place at APAP’s Business
Meeting during this year’s Education Forum in Nashville, Tennessee
on Saturday, November 6, 4:15-6:00 p.m. Candidates will have an opportunity
to present their platform statements in person at the Candidates Forum
on Thursday, November 4, 4:15-5:00 p.m. The committee requests that
members review the submissions of each of these PA educators who have
agreed to come forward and run for office. Their platform statements,
brief CVs, and photos appear in this issue of the APAP Update;
responses to questions posed to them by the Nominations and Awards
Committee will be published in future issues.
Candidates
for Office
President Elect
Dawn Morton-Rias, Dean, College of Health Related
Professions, Assistant Professor, SUNY Downstate Medical Center Physician
Assistant Program, Brooklyn, New York
Director at Large
Walter Eisenhauer, Program Director, Lock Haven
University of Pennsylvania PA Program, Lock Haven, Pennsylvania
Wayne Bottom, Program Director, University
of Florida PA Program, Gainesville, Florida
Platform
Statements and CVs
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Dawn
Morton-Rias, PD, PA-C
President Elect
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I respectfully declare my candidacy for the position of president
elect of the Association of Physician Assistant Programs. Over
the past fourteen years, I have had the opportunity to serve
APAP in a number of capacities and to work with teams of dynamic,
energetic, and enthusiastic individuals who share my commitment
to PA education. The Association continues to meet the evolving
demands of our profession through the collaborative efforts
of dedicated staff and committed volunteers. I wish to expand
my involvement in APAP and to facilitate its continued growth
and development as the national leader and voice for physician
assistant education.
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Since becoming a PA twenty years ago, I have had the opportunity
to select experiences that have proven rewarding and enlightening.
Clinical practice continually reminds me of the importance of
listening and PA education has helped me become a servant leader.
My work with the ARC-PA has reinforced my commitment to fair,
comprehensive consideration of a broad range of approaches. As
dean and PA faculty member, I have the opportunity to continually
refine my skills in negotiation, facilitation, collaboration,
and decision making. Each experience has helped shape my professional
platform and prepare me for this position.
Since joining the PA faculty, the Association has trusted me
to serve as vice president, chair of two committees, advisor
to the Faculty Development Institute, presenter for several
workshops, and member of the Transition Task Force (TTF). I
recognize the key issues facing the Association, including expansion
in the global community and the value of continued collaboration
with partner organizations. I understand the fiscal landscape,
balancing data in decision-making, and the importance of remaining
responsive to member needs. Through the TTF, I have worked with
the APAP board in considering the Association’s mission,
vision, organizational structure, management, and communication
needs. I am aware of the concerns facing new and long-standing
faculty in PA programs, and as a woman of color, I am acutely
aware of the need for our profession to reflect human diversity.
These issues will continue to be primary for me as president
of the Association and beyond.
I am very proud to be a PA educator. I welcome the opportunity
to serve as president elect and to join the ranks of those who
have preceded me in leadership. I thank you for your support
and consideration of my candidacy.
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Morton-Rias CV
Walter
A. Eisenhauer, MMSc, PA-C
Director at Large
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Reflecting on my service as an APAP Board member I have developed
a new appreciation for the organization’s membership,
leadership and staff. APAP is represented by some of the best
and the brightest individuals from among our PA educational
ranks. The majority of these individuals volunteer their time
to advance the organization’s goals and PA education
purely for altruistic purposes. I believe that the organization’s
members epitomize altruism and I have been both honored and
humbled to serve the organization over the past two years.
I am now seeking your support for another two year term on
the APAP BOD.
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My first year on the APAP BOD represented a steep learning
curve attempting to understand the issues and challenges that
faced the organization. Only over the past six months have
I felt I had the ability to contribute effectively and initiate
changes that would truly benefit the organization. In addition
to providing input on the various issues that arise I have
developed evaluation tools in an effort to provide constructive
feedback to our committee chairs and members during their
service to the organization, continued to serve the education
committee, PA National Honor Society, and CECD as the board
liaison and presently I’m overseeing a workgroup charged
with developing a more efficient and effective governance
structure for our organization. I am optimistic that this
restructuring will result in a mechanism for all members to
develop a deeper understanding and appreciation for the issues
facing PA education.
Over the next two years I would hope to provide valuable
input as the organization continues to evaluate the implications
of administrative autonomy.
My goals as a Board member over the next two years would be
- attempt to identify the factors involved in our professions
high faculty turnover rate and seek potential solutions
that will lead to increased professional satisfaction and
faculty retention;
- improve communication and foster collaboration between
all PA faculty drawing on the strength of experience offered
by our more senior members and blending them with the ideas
and vibrant energy possessed by those new among our ranks
- promote the goals of an autonomous organization while
remaining cognizant of our fiduciary responsibility to the
membership.
Thank you in advance for considering my nomination to the APAP
Board and If elected I pledge to listen to and promote the values
and ideals that each of you represent as PA educators. |
Eisenhauer
CV
Wayne Bottom, MPH,
PA-C
Director at Large
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APAP stands on the brink of significant change as we
plan our free-standing structure. I’d like to be
part of that change and bring what I can to the table
to ensure that the plan reflects the best of all of us
and lays a solid foundation for our future. We have a
vigorous history, to say the least, and many proud achievements,
but as our numbers grow it’s time to set off on our
own. Like setting a fresh course with a compass, a few
degrees change now will amount to a great deal down the
road, so we want to be wise as we plot it.
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I believe we should build a structure with substance
enough to meet our members’ needs, lean enough to
be flexible and evolve, yet managed with fiscal prudence.
We’re much larger than we were a generation ago,
but not so large our members’ voices should be lost
in the crowd. We need to craft a structure open enough
so that all of us can be heard, one to grow the best of
our thinking, yet we need also a stable process to draw
these ideas together, to winnow them and build a consensus
that works. We can’t shrink from debate, but after
debate, we need to pull as a team. And the way that APAP’s
new structure evolves must support these ends.
While we can’t know all the issues that will emerge
in this transition, or where they could lead, we can pick
the team to guide the process. I believe strongly in growing
fresh talent for the future, and I’ve tried to have
a hand in that all my career, but there is a time too
for seasoned leadership with fresh perspective. Many of
you know my long history with APAP and PA education. I’d
like to use this history so we don’t lose sight of
what we’ve done right in the past and where we’ve
gone off track, so we don’t have to reinvent wheels
as we build a new APAP. There’s a bit of fresh kid
in me too that always pesters “why” and “how
can we do it better.” I’d like to bring them
both to the Board -- a grasp of our history, along with
a curious mind.
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Bottom CV
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