Olympic Skiers and Snowboarders Benefit from PA Care

As the 2018 Olympics began, PA Kyle Wilkens, 52, was on hand as director of medical services for U.S. Ski & Snowboard, the federation governing America’s national teams in those sports. He also works four days a month in a sports medicine and orthopedic surgery practice in Park City, Utah. Read about Wilkens’ preparation for and experience during and after the 2018 Winter Olympic games.

Distinguished Fellows Share Motivations for AAPA Recognition

AAPA’s Distinguished Fellow program recognizes PAs who demonstrate outstanding dedication to the profession – whether through leadership, community service, professional involvement or distinction, or lifelong learning. Here, Distinguished Fellows encourage others to receive the recognition they deserve for being experienced PAs and working to advance the profession. Find out more and apply today.

Oral Health Initiatives Help PAs Make a Difference for Patients

Oral health can be a neglected part of overall healthcare for children and adults because it is often taken for granted. The lead PA for AAPA’s special interest group PAs for Oral Health describes why it is important to address this issue.

PA Leads National Stop the Bleed Day

In 2016, Major Andrew Fisher, MPAS, APA, PA-C, saw a National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine study that found that up to 20 percent of U.S. trauma deaths could be prevented. Fisher had been involved for years with a bleeding control training program and became an instructor for the American College of Surgeons’ Stop the Bleed program. Then he partnered with others to start an advocacy campaign called National Stop the Bleed Day on March 31st.

Urgent Care, a Fast Growing Specialty for PAs and Physicians

Urgent care medicine is the “provision of immediate medical service offering outpatient care for the treatment of acute and chronic illness and injury”. PAs in urgent care should have a vast array of clinical skills as well as the ability to quickly identify patients who require more intensive emergency medicine services. While urgent care providers may also be the first to diagnosis chronic diseases such as diabetes or asthma, they generally refer patients to a primary care provider for the management of these conditions.

New Law Permits PAs to Provide Hospice Care to Medicare Patients

This morning, Congress passed and President Trump signed into law two improvements to Medicare that represent significant victories for PAs and the patients they serve. The first improvement will allow PAs to manage and provide hospice care to terminally-ill Medicare patients; another will allow PAs to supervise cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation programs under the Medicare program.

PAs Help Provide Care to Las Vegas Shooting Victims

It was around 10:08 p.m. that Stephen Paddock opened fire on the more than 20,000 people at the Route 91 Harvest Music Festival from his hotel room on the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino. The shooting lasted about 10 minutes. Fifty-eight people died and more than 500 people had injuries. Here, three PAs share their stories about providing care in the hours following the tragedy.