National Physician Assistant Conference to be held in Philadelphia

The largest annual gathering of the physician assistant (PA) profession – the fourth fastest-growing profession in the country – will convene Saturday, May 26, through Thursday, May 31, at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia.

Thousands of PAs and PA students are expected to attend the 35th annual conference hosted by the American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA).

As in past years, PA delegates to the annual conference will debate a number of issues about this country's heath care system and the delivery of patient care by physician assistants. Among the numerous items that will come before the AAPA's policy-making body, the House of Delegates, will be the following:

• A resolution that opposes the pactice of using hospital emergency departments to “board” patients if the practice threatens the safety and quality of care;
• A policy paper on retail-based clinics that stresses ongoing access to and supervision by physicians (consistent with state law) and the encouragement of a “medical home” for patients;
• A policy paper that supports changes in law that encourage PAs and other health care providers to apologize for medical mistakes without incurring increased personal liability;
• A resolution that opposes the establishment of local, federal, or state initiatives that require health care providers to refuse care to undocumented persons or to report suspected undocumented persons to authorities;
• A policy paper against deceptive advertising practices such as making claims regarding painless or miraculous cures; promoting unproven or scientifically unsound modalities not supported by evidence-based studies; and misleading patients about the scope of services offered.

Renowned medical professionals will facilitate workshops on advances in medication and team-based care for patients. Doron Schneider, M.D., a director at the Center for Patient Safety and Health Care Quality, will lecture on team-based care for the diabetic patient. Other facilitators include nationally renowned sex and gender expert Jake Drescher, M.D who will lecture on Ethical Issues in Sexual Conversion. Other interesting topics include New Drugs and Devices that Might Change Your Practice, and National Health Insurance: Has Its Time Come?

The PA conference will also include dozens of workshops and seminars on patient safety, health disparities, and a host of health care topics. To view the full schedule of CME sessions, visit the AAPA Web site at http://www.aapa.org/annual-conf-cme .

In addition, the conference exhibit hall will be open May 29 through May 30. There will be more than 200 exhibitors presenting the latest medical products and services.

To help the AAPA kick-off its conference, Tony Award-winning playwright, actor, activist, and poet, Sarah Jones, will perform at the meeting's general session on May 26. She will perform a selection from her one-woman play, A Right to Care, which examines the ways ethnic, racial, and economic health disparities affect the daily lives of various characters. The critically-acclaimed Jones, an Obie-award winning playwright, is perhaps best known for her work, Bridge & Tunnel, the long-running Broadway hit that examines the lives of many from New York's immigrant communities.

Reporters planning to attend the AAPA annual conference should contact Stephanie Matlock Maynor, AAPA public relations manager.

Physician assistants are licensed health professionals who practice medicine as members of a team with their supervising physicians. PAs deliver a broad range of medical and surgical services to diverse populations in rural and urban settings.

AAPA is the only national organization to represent physician assistants in all medical and surgical specialties and work settings in the United States and federal services. Founded in 1968, the Academy works to promote quality, cost-effective health care, and the professional and personal growth of PAs. For more information about the Academy and the PA profession, visit the AAPA's Web site at