Mission Statement

The Nevada Academy of Physician Assistants is dedicated to the advancement of its members and the physician assistant profession through academy support, education, public awareness, and legislative action.

 

GOALS

1. To enhance the profession by developing collegial relations with other healthcare professionals
2. To promote the value of the physician assistant profession through public awareness
3. To protect the physician assistant through legislative action and reform when necessary
4. To encourage collaboration with supervising physicians and other professional colleagues to provide medical care in a variety of practice settings
5. To encourage networking and the sharing of knowledge and opinion among the Nevada PAs
6. To promote the development of Nevada PAs by sponsoring quality continuing medical education

 

 

 

  

 

National PA Week Oct 6th - Oct 12th, 2010

 

Dear Members:

Let’s get ready for another amazing PA Week.  National PA Week is celebrated every year from October 6-12. It is a time to support, celebrate and recognize PAs. It is also a time to increase public awareness of the PA profession.

We hope to get all of our members to join us in celebrating our profession. We have included a list of events that will take place during the PA week celebration.

Please let us know if you or your organization will be celebrating PA Week in a special way. We will be keeping you updated on the events we have planned for you to attend and volunteer.

 

 Calendar of Events:

 October 6^th – 12^th

As part of PA Week, the Nevada Academy of Physician Assistants is planning another opportunity to mentor a Physician Assistant Student for a day. The “mentor for the Day”, program allows us to illustrate the important role we play within our medical facilities to future PAs. We are working together with Touro University School of Physician Assistant Studies to make this event a success. If you are interested in allowing a local PA student to join you for a day in your clinic please email me adufordpac@yahoo.com.  Please provide us your name, email contact, phone number, medical specialty.

October 15^th ,   2PM

“The Perfect 10 of Health for 2010”

Join Touro University at Valley High School for the first Community Outreach and Health Awareness Health Fair. This event will allow PA student and Local PAs educate high school students about common health issues, healthy habits and how to live a healthy life.   The health fair will also serve as a fundraiser to support fellow PA student, Ricky Tebbs in his efforts to fight cancer. 

 If you would like to volunteer,  or have your clinic sponsor a booth contact

Ricki Brown at (224) 875-5520. 

October 15^th , 730 PM

Join NAPA for the 2^nd Annual PA week Mixer.

We hope that you can join us for an evening of networking with local PAs and colleagues.  Location is to be announced soon.

 

 

 

PAs for Physician Associate

 

  A recent facebook group has launched a task force to change the physician assistant name to that of the physician associate.  The group introduces that the time has come to change our title to the Physician Associate.  They believe with changes in healthcare reform our profession needs to take on our original name “ associate” and that this opportunity will advance the profession.  They are calling on all PA and PA student across the country to help to implement this change as soon as possible.  If you are interested in learning more about this facebook group.  Join now.

www.PhysicianAssociate.com

(This posting is for information purposes only, NAPA and the NAPA Board of Directors does not support nor reject this change)

The statement below introduces the matter in which PAs for Physician Associate intends implement this change to our profession.  

 

 We are leaders who believe it is increasingly unwise to wait longer to make this long-needed change. Collectively, the below-signed PAs have given much of their lives to the profession and are dedicated to its advancement. Why We Need a Change Our profession’s original name was physician associate. Physicians demanded that “associate” be changed on the grounds that it did not properly describe the desired scope of PA practice. Forty years later we have outgrown the "assistant" title. It no longer accurately represents the profession. It is inaccurate and confuses consumers. The title is misleading and carries negative connotations which we can and should avoid. As we move into a new model of healthcare delivery it is of the utmost importance that our profession’s name accurately describes our role. Why a Change Is Justified

-- The PA role is truly one of partnership; of association and collegiality. We work as associates and have for many years. Our profession’s birth-name in 1965 was physician associate.

-- “Physicians assistant” is a generic term. It can mean anything: a person in the office that bills patients, a records assistant, the person that sets up and cleans the exam room, all the way to a certified, licensed PA. The profession must move from this generic name to one that aptly and more accurately describes our function -- In our society, "assistant" denotes a technical job, not a profession. -- PAs are held to the same legal and medical standards as physicians.

-- The title is confusing and misleading to our patients and the public in general. Since the name practically guarantees that “physician assistants” will be confused with “medical assistants”, patients are at risk of thinking they are receiving substandard care or expect that after the “assistant” a physician will also be seeing them. Most times this does not happen, nor does the physician or the PA expect it to happen. It is time to have the name mirror the reality that exists.

-- The internationalization of PAs is important to the profession. Having to explain that the common meaning of the name “assistant” under-represents our true practice is a barrier, in international forums, to full understanding.

-- The above problems also may keep prospective applicants and others away from becoming PAs as they would not want to go through extensive schooling only to become someone's assistant.

-- Almost all professions at the level of training of a PA (pharmacy, PT, OT, NP) are or soon will be at the doctorate level. Our education and practice is professional, as should be our title.

-- “Assistant” obscures the PA’s true role in the practice. Physicians who might otherwise consider a PA do not hire one as they feel they need someone more than just another "assistant".

-- All professions should be able to name their profession. “Physician Assistant” both demeans and misrepresents our profession. It is time to claim the name that is both appropriate and our birthright and discard the one that was forced upon us. The Process

-- The profession, ideally through the AAPA Board or HOD, should immediately adopt a policy that states that "Hereafter the profession will work to be retitled "Physician Associate," as it more accurately reflects the profession in the 21st century".

-- If the Board or House is reluctant to do this on their own, then the entire profession should be polled using the AAPA's full database.

-- This renaming can be done over a number of years, with the ability reserved to use either title in the interim if necessary, depending on state legislation, etc.

-- The PA profession should advise organized medicine that this change is not an effort for independent practice but is a move to more accurately describe the scope and status of the profession and place it at a level where it belongs. It should also be explained that the name physician associate had been chosen for us by organized medicine to represent the PA profession 45 years ago. PAs should stress that after 45 years of delivering quality medical care across the entire spectrum of practice, we are choosing a more appropriate name and that we would expect nothing less than the full support of organized medicine, which will also benefit from the change.

-- PA programs should include the name physician associate whenever possible--along with the title physician assistant if need be.

-- “Physician Associate” allows us continued use of the initials "PA", which are well-known to the public.

-- “Associate” does not imply that PAs are equal to physicians. Associate professors are not full professors. Associate deans are not full deans. There are precedents for this.

-- The profession should consider funding State-level efforts to effect this change.

 

  

  

 

 

Shade Tree Shelter Children Need our Help.

 

Our NAPA member and Director at Large, Amie Duford, PA-C is implementing a birthday program for the children at the Shade Tree Shelter. This allows You and any other willing volunteers to provide a small birthday cake and an inexpensive age appropriate gift to the shelter on a certain birthday date each month. We ask that you offer to purchase a cake and small gift and deliver to Shade Tree so that these thoughtful gifts can be given to a child for his or her birthday. We realize that this economy has everyone a little financially stressed, but these children did not ask to be put in this position and we have a unique opportunity to make their birthday special. If anyone is interested simply email Amie at HYPERLINK "mailto:adufordpac@yahoo.com" adufordpac@yahoo.com.

 

 

 

Membership Committee

As NAPA continues to improve services, communication and events we see our membership expand rapidly. We hope that we are keeping everyone interested and involved and encourage you to invite other colleagues to join us. We have new membership software within our new website and hope this allows you to register and update your dues with ease. Please let us know that we can do to make your Nevada Academy even better and more exciting. For comments, suggestions or inquiries contact committee chair Blanca R. Tenhet, PA-C at brtenhet@yahoo.com.

 

 

Legislative Committee

 

In recent news, there have been many concerns regarding the issue of Physician Assistants and Nurse Practitioners in Nevada being able to sign high school sports physicals. Currently, the only acceptable signatures for high school sports physicals are those of Physicians and homeopathic physicians. According to the NIAA (Nevada Interscholastic Athletics Association) lawyers are working on re-writing this code to include PA's and NP's as authorized practitioners to administer and sign high school sports physical. Although this change in code is a governmental legislative process that can take a significant amount of time to change. I have recently spoken with the NIAA lawyer and he has approximated a minimum of 6 months to a year before this new code is made official.

 In addition, the Nevada State Board of Medical Examiners (NSBME) has discussed the necessity for PA's to maintain NCCPA certification after initial testing. . As it currently stands we are NO longer required to maintain our NCCPA certification in the state of Nevada. Do take in mind that certain insurance companies and hospitals may require re-certification for reimbursement and/or credentialing.

 If you have any further questions regarding laws or legislative issues as they pertain to PA's in the state of Nevada please feel free to email me. (davisayers@gmail.com)