AAPA Recognizes Sheila Mauldin with Honorary PA Designation

For 40 years, Mauldin has been a steadfast advocate for the PA profession

August 12, 2026

By Sarah Blugis

When Sheila Mauldin, MNM, joined the National Commission on Certification of PAs (NCCPA) in 1984, the organization was just beginning to take shape — staffed by fewer than a dozen employees and supporting a profession still gaining recognition across the country.

Over the last four decades, Mauldin has been a steadfast advocate for the physician associate profession, guiding the evolution of PA board certification. During AAPA 2026 in New Orleans, AAPA recognized Mauldin’s enduring contributions by naming her an Honorary PA.

Mauldin’s career began far from the PA profession. Raised in a small rural town in northeast Georgia, she earned a degree in education and taught for a brief time after relocating to Atlanta.

She then accepted a position as a receptionist in NCCPA’s first office. Mauldin quickly moved into new roles, including registrar, where she helped process applications, track exam results, and coordinate certification logistics. She soon realized she had found her passion working with the PA profession.

Over the course of her career, Mauldin played a central role in modernizing PA board certification to standardize year-round exam administrations across multiple sites, adapting processes that ensure fairness and consistency, and developing a longitudinal recertification process. She also helped to build multidisciplinary teams that power certification efforts today, including experts in psychometrics, exam development, and technology.

In addition to her leadership in board certification, Mauldin has contributed to numerous peer-reviewed publications, including JAAPA, through research on workforce trends that has helped to elevate public understanding of the PA profession’s role in healthcare delivery. She has also worked to integrate principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion into credentialing practices to strengthen the credibility of professional assessment across health professions worldwide. She strived to incorporate these principles throughout exam development and research initiatives.

Mauldin has participated in numerous presentations on NCCPA’s DEI, innovation, and quality efforts at assessment industry conferences, providing guidance to other organizations and showcasing the PA profession.

For more than 40 years, Mauldin has helped guide the evolution of PA board certification while contributing to research and leadership that strengthen the profession. Her career reflects both the history and the future of the PA profession — defined by excellence, collaboration, and a lasting commitment to advancing healthcare.

Sarah Blugis is AAPA’s Manager of Executive and  Leadership Communications. She can be reached at [email protected].

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