News Central

American Academy of PAs Announces 2021 Individual Excellence Award Recipients

AAPA is pleased to announce its 2021 Awards to PAs and PA students who have distinguished themselves in service to their patients and their communities, and who have been dedicated advocates for the PA profession.

May 26, 2021

2021 PA Student of the Year Advocates for LGBT PA Students and Patients

Victoria Ho is the 2021 recipient of the PA Student of the Year Award. A PA student at Sacred Heart University, Ho was selected as a recipient of the LBGT PA Caucus Student Leader Fellowship Award, through which she co-founded an LGBT support group for pre-PAs for her fellowship project.

May 26, 2021

2021 Military Service Award Recipient Helps Others Reach Their Top Potential

Col. James J. Jones, PhD, PA-C, is the 2021 recipient of the Military Service Award. Jones is the Branch Chief of the Interservice Physician Assistant Program. He was the first PA to serve as the Deputy Director and Chief of Protective Medicine in the White House Medical Unit.

May 26, 2021

2021 Preceptor of the Year Always Has a Student by Her Side

Katie Sorensen, MSPAS, PA-C, is the 2021 recipient of the AAPA/PAEA Preceptor of the Year Award. Sorensen practices general surgery in Duluth, Minnesota, has been precepting for 10 years, and provides resources and advice to thousands of students via social media.

May 26, 2021

2021 PA of the Year Serves Her Community Through Street Medicine

Ho’onani (Nani) Cuadrado, MSPAS, PA-C, is the 2021 recipient of the PA of the Year Award. Cuadrado is the Program Director of Valley Health Partners Street Medicine and has dedicated her career to serving persons experiencing homelessness and victims of sex trafficking.

May 26, 2021

2021 Outstanding Student Society Didn’t Let the Pandemic Hold them Back

The Morehouse School of Medicine Henry Lee “Buddy” Treadwell PA Student Society is AAPA’s 2021 Outstanding Student Society. Throughout 2020, the society held a variety of events including a town hall focused on diversity in the profession, a food drive, and more.

May 26, 2021

2021 Publishing Award Recipient Conducted First Survey of Transgender Healthcare Curricula in PA Education

Joanne Rolls, MEHP, MPAS, PA-C, is the 2021 recipient of the Publishing Award. Her article, “Curricular Approaches to Transgender Health in Physician Assistant Education,” is the first national survey of healthcare curricula in PA education.

May 26, 2021

AAPA House of Delegates Votes to Change Profession Title to Physician Associate

The AAPA House of Delegates (HOD) today passed a resolution affirming “physician associate” as the official title for the PA profession by a majority vote of 198 to 68. The vote followed deliberation by the HOD and study by an international marketing and communications firm.

May 24, 2021

AAPA Provides Update on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Initiatives to Date

AAPA has spent the past year listening, learning, and building strategies and initiatives to enhance diversity in the profession and to address health inequities among patients. Although our work is just a start, here is an update on AAPA’s DEI efforts.

May 24, 2021