Know Your Candidates
Candidates
Respond to Questions
Several faculty have declared their candidacy for APAP office. To
help members get to know them and their positions on issues, candidates
will present their platform statements in person and respond to member
questions at the Candidates Forum on Thursday, November 3, 4:15-5:00
p.m. Election ballots will be available to program directors or their
designated representatives on Saturday, November 5, immediately following
the awards lunch. Ballots can be cast at any time up to the beginning
of the APAP Business Meeting, scheduled for 4:15 to 6:00 p.m. Only
member programs may vote. Candidates’ remaining responses to
the questions posed to each of them by APAP’s Nomination and
Awards Committee appear below. Responses
to questions one to three are available in the September APAP
Update; and platform
statements and CVs appear in the August Update.
Candidates
for Office
President Elect
Anita Duhl Glicken, MSW, master’s curriculum
coordinator and professor of pediatrics, University of Colorado Health
Sciences Center, Child Health Associate/PA Program, Aurora, Colorado.
Director at
Large
Frank A. Acevedo, MS, PA-C, academic coordinator,
associate director, and assistant professor, New York Institute of
Technology, Department of PA Studies, Old Westbury, New York.
Mary Ann J. Laxen, PA-C, MAB, program director,
University of North Dakota PA Program, Grand Forks, North Dakota
President
Elect
Anita
Duhl Glicken, MSW
4. As
APAP transitions to an independently managed organization, what is
your vision for the “new Association?”
Since inception, APAP has successfully responded to external demands
in the ever-changing landscape of medical education and the internal
needs of its members. This is evidenced, in part, by the proliferation
of PA programs, which has allowed us to grow as an organization. At
the same time, growth challenges us to develop new strategies to meet
increasing member needs.
Our “new Association” must continue
to meet faculty needs but also address APAP’s new responsibilities
as an active participant in the dialogue of the broader medical education
community.
My vision, therefore, includes expanded services commensurate with
our growth. Ongoing needs assessment will result in new strategies
for service delivery, including more and better products for faculty,
programs, and the Association. Although every faculty member or program
may not benefit from all APAP initiatives, the increasing range of
services and resources should enable us to reach everyone in some
way.
Change is always difficult; it is hard to
create a new system when we are actively engaged in the existing one.
As we transition to independent management, the importance of dialogue
cannot be overestimated. The Association’s future rests on the
quality and thoroughness of our shared visioning and exchange of ideas.
The “new Association” must continue to support an educational
paradigm that values diversity. Each PA program has created a unique
spin on the definition and scope of its academic activities. The “new
Association” will continue to support program individuality and
our shared commitment to excellence in practice-based learning and
patient care.
5.
Identify two or three initiatives that the Association could engage
in to enhance its identity and level of recognition in the environment
external to the PA profession.
APAP’s expanding role in the global community
of medical education will be a strong focus of initiative over the
next several years. Internationally, the Association will increasingly
be called upon to supply direction for the globalization of the PA
educational model. Nationally, APAP will expand its role as a partner
with liaison organizations in creating interdisciplinary educational
models to meet practice needs of the future. At the institutional
and faculty level, APAP will be an important resource as we develop
and define the role of the academic physician assistant.
For the organization to be an active participant in these dialogues,
enhancing its identity and level of recognition, APAP will need to
develop innovative strategies for data management. New mechanisms
for collection and dissemination of essential information could provide
additional member services, while at the same time provide valuable
data to inform our contributions to the broader medical education
and practice communities.
Building tools to enhance the knowledge, skills, and evaluation of
students and faculty will also enhance APAP’s visibility in the
environment external to the PA profession. The Association could work
with liaison organizations in defining medical educator competencies
that would serve as anchors for interdisciplinary faculty development,
evaluation, promotion, and life-long learning. By supporting and mentoring
academic physician assistants and their colleagues in scholarly research,
teaching, and service, APAP will be recognized for bringing together
the pragmatic needs of the practicing PA and its academic quest to
advance our knowledge base to improve patient care in our communities.
Director
at Large
Frank
A. Acevedo, MS, PA-C
4. As APAP transitions to
an independently managed organization, what is your vision for the
“new Association?”
My vision for the “new Association” is that
it not be a parallel to the “new Coke” formula we saw
a number of years ago. APAP has shown that it can evolve on the
fly. This is evidenced by its influence in developing CASPA, Pi
Alpha, the Education Committee, International Relations, and our
journal Perspective. These accomplishments were achieved
by an “old” APAP using an “old” formula that
everyone seemed to prosper from.
With our new transition it becomes ever more important
that we utilize our institutional memory to identify those qualities
that have made us successful while at the same time identifying
new opportunities. Many of these new opportunities will lie in how
we interact with other organizations from both health care and lay
arenas alike. As an independently managed organization we need to
continue our fiscal responsibility towards our members while investing
where there is room for growth. Our support of international programs
represents one of these worthwhile endeavors. APAP can play a lead
role in ensuring that the PA model is applied as uniform as possible
in international settings. This will allow for greater professional
recognition and perhaps allow our profession to eventually become
“borderless.” APAP can further develop and promote its
new image by identifying how we can serve our patient communities
better through the PA education we provide. Hopefully in a “new”
APAP the patient will rise to the front of our management equation.
5. Identify two or three
initiatives that the Association could engage in to enhance its
identity and level of recognition in the environment external to
the PA profession.
As the Association nears a period of increasing autonomy
and independence there exists new opportunities for increasing its
scope of influence and level of recognition external to the PA profession.
In order to achieve this lofty goal I would like to see the Association
concentrate on two or three initial initiatives that would move
us in this direction. Firstly, I believe that the Association can
continue to develop its ties with the Association of American Medical
Colleges (AAMC). Through a stronger affiliation with the AAMC the
Association can begin to exert its influence on medical education
as a whole. The two organizations together can work towards developing
collaborative projects that enhance each others educational programs
while emphasizing the collaborative physician assistant/physician
practice model. Secondly, APAP can partner with AAPA to formulate
key position papers that clearly articulate the Associations position
on key patient care and global issues. The time has come for us
to stop thinking regionally and instead begin to think in a global
manner. The adaptation of position papers would clearly articulate
the Association’s position on key issues that affect not just
the PA profession but the entire health care market and its consumers.
Lastly, APAP should continue to reach out to our international PA
partners for the purpose of providing health care solutions to those
populations most in need of care. Through a continued dialogue with
our international partners APAP can make sure that it is brought
to the forefront of health care issues on a global scale.
Director
at Large
Mary
Ann J. Laxen, PA-C, MAB
4. As APAP transitions to
an independently managed organization, what is your vision for the
“new Association?”
My vision is still a little clouded. For example, it wasn’t
until I received the survey about name/logo change that I realized
this was being considered. Either I hadn’t been reading material
being sent and available to members, or there hadn’t been sufficient
information on the topic to the general membership before the survey.
I knew there was a committee working on the transition, but didn’t
understand the scope of the task of that committee. Once members
of the board/committee explained their thinking, and other members
expressed their views, I had a better idea of the pros and cons
and could have answered the questions with greater insight.
That is one small example of the “clouds.” That being
said, I see a lot of possibilities before us. We start with a “clean
canvas.” We have clearly defined goals, a strong and active
membership, healthy and viable programs, diversity in educational
frameworks, growth in research and scholarly activity among the
membership, a foundation to foster our ideals as well as our future
— the list could go on. These things we do not need to “reinvent,”
but become the foundation for what is to come.
I see this next year as one of “moving” — of transitioning
in the physical sense. Much time and effort will go into getting
the “office” resettled. We have to allow time for this
while trying to “function as usual.” Communication with
the membership is key. Communication with AAPA takes a new form.
We will all be learning.
5. Identify two or three initiatives that
the Association could engage in to enhance its identity and level
of recognition in the environment external to the PA profession.
This is a perfect time to concentrate efforts on the “external”
environment. While we are explaining our “new” independent
identity we can strengthen established alliances and reach out to
new alliances. I would like to see us broaden our initiatives with
educational organizations of all types. Just as individual PAs have
worked toward membership on state medical boards/boards of directors,
our organization should seek that recognition on various medical
and educational boards.
I envision a more clearly defined mechanism for APAP
in responding to requests, guidelines, and assistance from entities
in other countries seeking to understand or establish a PA-like
practitioner education program that fits their country’s needs.
Federal funding and its increasing lack thereof,
does and will have a long term effect on our ability to educate
PAs. Effort needs to be made in increasing our visibility and power
on Capitol Hill. We need to form and strengthen coalitions with
other medical/educational entities to bring a stronger and more
unified voice to members of Congress and the Senate.
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