News Central

What Barriers Stand Between PAs and Rural Settings, MUAs, and HPSAs?

Across the United States, there is a significant shortage of healthcare providers in rural communities. To identify PAs’ and PA students’ willingness to work in rural locations, medically underserved areas, and health professional shortage areas, we gathered information on these settings in the 2021 PA Practice Survey and the 2022 AAPA Student Survey.

October 12, 2022

Interventional Radiology PA Thea Nolan’s Advocacy on Behalf of Patients Led to a Nationwide Medical Device Recall

When interventional radiology PA Thea Nolan identified a defective implantable port, her perseverance in ensuring action was taken led to a nationwide recall. For Nolan, speaking up and advocating for patients is a crucial part of being a PA.

October 11, 2022

PA’s Relatability, Determination Help Expand Access to Care in Rural Tennessee

Greg Cain, PA-C, owns three primary care clinics in rural Tennessee. Having been born and raised in a small town in rural Tennessee, Cain has a unique perspective and endearing approach that resonates with each of his patients.

October 7, 2022

PA Susanna Storeng Pushes for Legislative Changes in Colorado to Improve Access to Care

Because of restrictions in PA practice laws in Colorado, PA Susanna Storeng had to stop offering services that she has long provided, including placing IUDs and offering Hepatitis C treatment and PrEP medication for HIV prevention at her rural community health center. Storeng explains how state law limits access to care for her patients and affects her work as a PA.

October 7, 2022

PA Audrey Smeenk Helps Rural Community Navigate COVID-19 Challenges

What was it like to start working as a newly graduated PA at the onset of the pandemic in a rural South Dakota clinic? PA and SDAPA President Audrey Smeenk shares about her own mental health, her experience providing rural healthcare, and her commitment to serving the community of Philip, South Dakota.

October 7, 2022

Improving Access to Healthcare in Alaska’s Rural Villages

As a community health aide instructor in Alaska, PA Quana Ticket trains community health aides to perform thorough exams and provide care in remote villages across the state. Ticket speaks to how these healthcare professionals play a critical role in the Tribal Health system and how they are improving access to care in 170 rural Alaskan villages.

October 7, 2022

PA Week 2022 Kicks off With PAs on Not One, but Two Morning Show Plazas

On Thursday, October 6, 2022, more than 450 PAs and PA students traveled to New York City to flood Rockefeller Center and NBC’s TODAY Show, and – for the first time in the history of the event – ABC’s Good Morning America plaza, too.

October 6, 2022

From Practicing in War Zones to Remote Islands, Melinda Rawcliffe Finds Endless Opportunities as a PA

Melinda Rawcliffe’s career in healthcare has taken her to war zones, remote islands, and oil drilling sites. But while her assignments have been varied, she sees a common theme: All of these experiences have been available to her because she’s a PA.

October 6, 2022

Final Push for Federal PA Priorities Underway as Clock Ticks on 117th Congress

Despite the ticking clock and the distractions of the impending midterms, AAPA’s Federal Advocacy team has remained diligently and strategically focused on PA-priority legislation that has the potential to directly impact PA practice: specifically, the Improving Access to Workers’ Compensation for Injured Federal Workers Act (H.R. 6087) and the Access to Quality Cardiac Rehabilitation Care Act (H.R. 1956/S.1986).

September 26, 2022