Know Your Candidates:
Candidates Respond to Questions from the
Nominations and Awards Committee

The APAP Nominations and Awards Committee asked each candidate to respond to five questions to allow APAP membership to familiarize themselves with the candidates and their positions. The first set of two questions appears below, with up to 250 words per question. The remaining questions and responses will appear in the September APAP Update.

Candidates will present their platform statements in person at the Candidates Forum on Thursday, October 23, 4:15-5:00 p.m. Their platform statements and brief CVs were published in last month’s Update.

Richard W. Dehn Assistant Director University of Iowa PA Program Iowa City, Iowa

PA program faculty repeatedly identify faculty development as a top priority. Therefore, my first priority is to concentrate additional energy and expertise on making APAP conferences and workshops highly valued faculty development resources for all programs and faculty. Due to strong demand for clinical PAs and increased PA enrollment, there is a national shortage of qualified PA educators. We often recruit faculty from the clinical ranks who require substantial faculty development. Because the PA faculty role is, in my opinion, unique, I believe that faculty development resources can best be provided by APAP, and that APAP should make educational resources aimed at faculty development the highest quality possible. Additionally, APAP conferences can provide faculty substantial emotional, social, and professional support. I believe that APAP would benefit from the appointment of a task force to create a faculty development blueprint, using a combination of competitive processes and expert opinion to address our faculty’s development needs.

I would also seek to develop mechanisms that would encourage participation in APAP leadership activities by faculty who have not previously participated. I believe we need to intentionally cultivate our future leaders while diversifying our leadership. I have actively recruited such individuals to committees that I have had the privilege to chair, and I would encourage this throughout APAP.

I have long supported the growth and development of our research community. I will continue to support research within PA education as well as the coordination of research, within and outside APAP.

I bring nine years of active participation in APAP activities. In 1995 I joined the APAP Research and Review Committee, and in 1996 I volunteered to coordinate the student writing award process. During my management of the writing contest, submissions increased twenty-fold and new funding was solicited and obtained. Through this process I had the opportunity to interact with hundreds of students and many of my faculty peers. As a result, I gained valuable management skills as well as important insights into the lives of both PA faculty and students. In 1997 I established and have since managed a private closed Internet usergroup available to all core PA faculty (the PA Faculty Forum).

From 2000-02, I served as APAP Research and Review Committee chair. During this time the committee’s responsibilities substantially increased with the addition of a second research grant process, a six-fold increase in the number of original presentations of faculty work at our conference, addition of a poster presentation process, and development of research-oriented workshops at our conference. Last year the Research and Review Committee merged with the Research Institute, and I currently co-chair the RI. In recent years I have served on the AAPA Research Workforce Committee and represented APAP on the NCCPA Research Committee. These experiences have given me many opportunities to interact with the APAP board and to gain an appreciation of how APAP functions administratively and in relationship to other PA organizations. I believe these experiences will help me be an effective president elect.

Patrick T. Knott Program Director Finch University of Health Sciences/ Chicago Medical School PA Program North Chicago, Illinois

We can’t say what circumstances APAP will face in the future, but we have a number of opportunities awaiting development now. Some of these are:

APAP has evolved from an organization that had a relatively narrow focus, small budgets, few members, and modest goals to a much larger and more influential group with great untapped potential and far reaching goals. This means we have moved from a model where our board needs to be good managers to a model where the board must be strong, visionary leaders and good politicians. I think that I have the vision and political skills to help this organization connect with important constituents, project a strong organizational image, deal with external problems effectively, and help us reach our potential. I remain a PA educator at heart, but my leadership and business skills are what will help the board most at this point in time.

William H. Marquardt Program Director Nova Southeastern University College of Allied Health & Nursing PA Department Fort Lauderdale, Florida

My primary goals as APAP Secretary/Treasurer, owing to the nature of the office, are to maintain and ensure effective communication of information between the members and their elected leadership and to promote the continued growth of the financial base of the Association. The former is vital if we are to maintain the effective collegial relationship that has been the mark of the Association over the years, and the latter is key to not simply maintaining the status quo but to allow for addition of new initiatives that have languished as long-term goals for some time. Both will be accomplished by close, personal attention to detail and continued active involvement of a committed Finance Committee.

I have been Secretary, Treasurer (or both) for two national organizations and an Academy constituent chapter for a cumulative thirteen years and understand the need for effective communication and maintaining fiscal credibility. Beyond those specific responsibilities, my executive board service to these organizations totals over twenty-four years to date. Direct, personal, long-term working relationships with those that continue to provide vital support to the Association is, I believe, an important factor.

Dana Sayre-Stanhope Program Director Saint Louis University School of Allied Health Professions PA Program Saint Louis, Missouri

My goals for my term of office would be to:

The Association’s business plan provides an excellent blueprint for our continued growth, in combination with fiscal responsibility. But just as anyone who has used blueprints knows, they require adjustment along the way as new information emerges. I would like to see an open discussion of strategic directions, including the ongoing issue of administrative autonomy, so that appropriate adjustments and refinements can be made to the business plan. We must also continue to identify new streams of non-dues revenue through the cooperative efforts of the Development and the Finance committees and expand our work with the many external agencies with which we have relationships. I would also encourage increased collaboration with the AAPA, the NCCPA, and the ARC-PA to further refine our understanding of graduate roles and responsibilities. In the same context, our nascent relationship with the AAMC must be supported to grow to its full potential and showcase the many innovations that PA educators bring to the learning environment.

I have been privileged to be a program director for eleven years and, as the founding director of two, I understand the challenges which our younger programs face within their own institutions in helping administrators understand this animal called PA education. Now as the director of an old, established program where many of those questions have been answered, we face new challenges as we expand in new directions. I appreciate the importance of consensus building and the free flow of information to adjust our responses to those challenges. Working with creative faculty has challenged and further refined those skills as has my work with the ARC-PA. My experience as a site visitor, commissioner, and now chair has helped me prepare to work with a diverse, energetic, thoughtful, and occasionally contentious group. Finally and perhaps equally importantly, I fully understand the complex nature of the fiduciary relationship a board member has to APAP.

Frank A. Acevedo Academic Coordinator New York Institute of Technology School of Allied Health & Life Sciences Old Westbury, New York

The organizational mission of APAP is “to assist physician assistant educational programs in the instruction of highly educated physician assistants in numbers adequate to meet society’s needs.” In order to fulfill this mission APAP has already put forth five clearly articulated goals. These goals are:

1. Foster faculty development
2. Promote excellence within PA programs
3. Facilitate research and scholarly activities
4. Advocate for PA Education
5. Maintain and advance the Association

Instead of putting forth new goals I would recommend that we continue addressing our current goals within the framework of our strategic plan. APAP should continue to provide key services to constituent member programs and their faculty. Our growth to 133 accredited programs has strained faculty resources and placed recruitment and retention issues at the top of all program concerns. In order to continue to address this key issue, I would advocate for expansion of mentorship programs between APAP, existing faculty, clinical PAs, and students. It is from these latter two groups that most of our new faculty will come. Why not develop specific programs aimed at easing the transition from clinical PA to faculty member? As an organization we should embrace our students more and instill in them a sense of duty to their profession. Advocating for “education clerkships” for interested students could pique interest in academia and eventually facilitate their joining the faculty ranks. Only through our continued collaboration will we be able to address this issue and the many others that face our professional organization.

During twenty years as a physician assistant I have had an opportunity to participate on many diverse committees. Committee participation has allowed me to develop what I consider to be the strongest aspect of any organizational member, the ability to listen. Along with an ability to listen, I bring specific knowledge and skills relating to the Internet and how it can be utilized to make us more effective at delivering our services. It is my firm belief that, through the harnessing of computer technology, we can not only work more effectively, but also increase APAP revenues and member satisfaction.

Key leadership experiences:

2003: Webmaster, New York State Society of PAs
2001-2003: Delegate, New York State Society of PAs
2001: Member, New York Institute of Technology Tenure and Promotion Committee School of Allied Health and Life Sciences
2001: Member, Board of Directors, New York State Society of PAs
2000-Present: Member, New York Institute of Technology Internet Access Committee
2000-Present: Chairperson, Allied Health and Life Sciences Computer Utilization Committee
1999-2001: Governmental Affairs Chairperson, New York State Society of PAs
1995-1997: Member, Long Island University/Brooklyn Hospital PA Program Advisory Committee 1995-1996: Member, Harlem Hospital PA Program Faculty Development Advisory Committee
1994-1996: Member, Association of Physician Assistant Programs Membership Committee
1994-1996: Member, AHEC Partnerships in Training Consortium, Robert Wood Johnson Grant, Learning Technologies/Common Curricula
1994: Participant in First Leadership Training Institute

Justine Strand Faculty and Chief of the Physician Assistant Division Duke University Medical Center PA Program Durham, North Carolina

Information about the overall applicant pool is vitally important to all PA programs, and innovation and collaboration will be necessary in order to fully capture this data. I would provide energy and ideas toward accomplishing this goal. Also, APAP needs to move ahead with differentiating the organization and its mission from that of other national PA organizations, and I would contribute to this effort. Continuing improvement in APAP’s financial viability is also of vital interest to PA educators, and my skills in budget and finance would add to the ongoing effort in this regard.

I would bring experience in medical education, health policy, and administration to the APAP board. I have gained leadership experience as president of the Texas Academy of Physician Assistants and also served as government affairs chair for the North Carolina Academy of Physician Assistants. I have managed large divisions including all aspects of budget, so I am well versed in budget and finance. I have several years’ experience as a PA educator and program director, and am now division chief at Duke. My service as vice chair on the Federal Advisory Committee on Training in Primary Care Medicine and Dentistry gave me insight into the federal training grant funding process. I believe my skills and background would provide depth and synergy to the board.

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