First of all, thank you for your membership in the American Association of Pathologists’ Assistants, the only professional organization dedicated to the support, education, and advocacy of Pathologists’ Assistants!
As we prepare for the coming year, the time has come to renew your membership for 2020! You may notice your dues invoice is a little different from last year. A recommendation was proposed and approved in accordance with AAPA bylaws to implement a small dues increase in support of three primary considerations: increased value provided to our members, increased costs of operation, and desire for future growth.
1) INCREASED VALUE: Membership dues for any professional organization should be comparable to the value provided to the members. The professional responsibilities and expectations of our Pathologists’ Assistant field have grown and expanded over the last few years since the last dues increase, and the AAPA has successfully expanded to meet these expectations in both its support and advocacy for PAs. One prominent example of support is the AAPA’s increased offering of 20 free CE credits per year (originally 15) in response to the ASCP Credential Maintenance Program’s new requirement of 60 CE per 3-year renewal period (originally 45). In addition, the AAPA is keeping abreast of the newly implemented “advanced anatomic pathology” and “medical ethics” categories by specifically including and labeling the corresponding lectures or articles in our CE offerings. We have also implemented an automatic transfer process for Fellow members so that all AAPA-earned CE credits appear directly in each of our members’ CE journal transcripts with the ASCP.
Other significant examples of professional support implemented since the last dues increase include:
- Updated Scope of Practice laying out our role in healthcare.
- Milestone release of the Grossing Guidelines followed by a 2nd edition last year and a 3rd edition in progress.
- Inspection Readiness Kit for PAs and AP managers.
- New Membership & Salary Survey (record high participation).
- New Town Hall meetings exploring hot topics in our field and giving members a voice with organization leadership.
- Increased advocacy (for example, against proposed changes to CLIA which would allow nurses to perform high complexity laboratory testing, official statements to combat misunderstandings about our profession in the national news spotlight, and extensive support to PAs gaining licensure in New York State and beyond).
- Increased collaboration, including joining American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) and the Commission on Cancer (CoC), as well as connecting with major associations such as the ACS, NAME, and IAC&ME, among others.
2) INCREASED COSTS: With this marked increase in benefits comes a natural increase in costs. Higher quantity and quality of CE offerings come with a price. Digital services such as websites and apps come with fees, maintenance, and improvement costs. Legislative advocacy on any level is associated with numerous potential costs. Advocating for our members by expanding our reach and increasing our visibility through collaborating with other organizations, attending more booth meetings, and communicating our value all leads to increased costs.
3) FUTURE GROWTH: All organizations need to plan for growth, but we as PAs are at an especially pivotal point in the history of our profession. Dramatic changes are on the horizon with growth in numbers, visibility, and scope of work. Exponentially increasing numbers of PAs are entering the workforce and expanding our reach into fields such as forensics, biobanking, academics, and research. While we demand more respect and credence from physicians and fellow mid-level healthcare practitioners, we must be ready to work together to realize these goals. In light of these considerations, if the AAPA is going to maintain and further our shared values of Quality Patient Care, Education, Advocacy and Collaboration, we must come together as like-minded professionals and support the strongest vehicle through which this mission can be accomplished, both now and in the future.
Now is your opportunity to be a part of what we have in store for 2020. Invest in your career and the future of PAs. Renew your AAPA membership online or by phone and confirm your place as a valued part of our professional PA community.
If you have any questions or concerns, or if you need assistance completing your renewal, please contact the Central Office ([email protected] or 800-532-AAPA).
We look forward to supporting you in 2020 and throughout your professional career!
Best regards,
N. Dominic Alessio, PA(ASCP)CM
Membership Committee Chair