This Day in History: October 6

Advancing the PA profession since 1908 

October 6, 2024

PA Week is here! Join us as we celebrate 116 years of history, beginning with the man who started it all: Dr. Eugene Stead! From the first graduating PA class to a growing profession of more than 178,000 PAs strong, there is plenty to celebrate! 

[Visit PAweek.com to learn how you can participate this PA Week!] 

An Innovator is Born 
Dr. Eugene A Stead (1908-2005) is credited as the founder of the PA profession, making him one of the foremost educational innovators of the twenty-first century. 

Based on his and his colleagues’ growing use of ex-military corpsmen in the early 1960s to help run specialty units at Duke, Dr. Stead began to formulate his two-year curriculum to expand the prior education and experience of these corpsmen to become competent PAs. 

With the support of the Duke faculty and administration, he launched the first formal educational program for PAs at Duke University in 1965. For the next seven years, Duke University and later the University of Washington (Dr. Richard Smith‘s MEDEX program) became focal points for the development of the PA profession. Although not planned, it is only appropriate that National PA Day (now week) is celebrated each year on his birthday – Oct. 6. 

The First Class of PAs Graduates 
The first PA class—consisting of three Navy Corpsmen, Victor H. Germino, Kenneth F. Ferrell, and Richard J. Scheele—graduated from the Duke University PA program on Oct. 6, 1967. The PA concept was lauded early on, and gained federal acceptance and backing as early as the 1970s as a creative solution to physician shortages.  

The medical community helped support the new profession and spurred the setting of accreditation standards, establishment of a national certification process and standardized examination, and development of continuing medical education (CME) requirements. 

Introducing the First “PA Day” 
Twenty years later, on Oct. 6, 1987, National PA Day was born. Honorary PA Marilyn H. Fitzgerald, along with PA volunteers on the AAPA Public Education Committee—David Larson, Tom Berry, Susan Perdue, Donna Sewell, James Tanner, Kevin Bolan, and Susan Schwartz—came up with the idea as a way to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the first graduating class of PAs. 

AAPA designed a logo, created stickers for PAs to wear and a banner to hang from a building walkway close to AAPA headquarters in Arlington, Virginia, and drafted handouts to offer information about the profession.  

The team reached out to the constituent organizations and suggested ways they and their members could celebrate this milestone, including sharing an AAPA-drafted press release that they could send to their local media. Meanwhile, AAPA staff reached out to the national media.  

The First PA Week 
In May 2004, the AAPA House of Delegates adopted policy changing PA Day to PA Week. 

Today, PA Week is celebrated every year from Oct. 6–12. This week is a time to celebrate all that PAs have accomplished, highlight the high-quality care they provide, and elevate the profession.  

There are many different ways that PAs and PA students show their PA pride and advocate for the profession. From volunteering, to spreading awareness of the profession, there is something for everyone! 

[Donate to the PA Foundation’s IMPACT grant to support PAs and PA students committed to making a difference through patient-centered, community-based health projects] 

This year, AAPA has a number of resources available for all those interested in joining in the celebration! You can join the crowd during PAs on the Plaza in New York City, host a Project Access event, share graphics on social media, highlight a fellow PA who goes above and beyond, or reach out to legislators. Visit PAweek.com to get started today! 

Follow AAPA on social to see how PAs are celebrating across the country! Use hashtags #PAweek and #PAsGoBeyond to join the conversation. 

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