BOT Candidate – Brittin Cavanagh

We would like to encourage all Fellow members to participate in the AAPA Board of Trustees (BOT) election.  Voting is now open and will remain open through the extended deadline of Monday, December 13, 2021 at 11:59 pm CST.  Those who are attending the 46th Annual Conference: The Future of Pathology in person will have the opportunity to cast their vote onsite.  All other Fellow members are invited to cast their vote online via SurveyMonkey (check your email for the ballot).

To learn more about a candidate, click on their name above to be taken to their feature page.  For this election, you will be able to cast your vote for up to three of five candidates.

Results will be announced later in December, and elected members will begin their terms in January 2022.

Thank you in advance for your participation!

Please tell the AAPA membership about yourself, and describe your past volunteer work.
I am Brittin Cavanagh, a Pathologists’ Assistant working for Wellington SCL in beautiful Wellington, New Zealand.  In my current position, I gross surgical specimens, oversee the dissection laboratory, train pathology residents, and upskill scientists.  Being one of only a few ASCP certified Pathologists’ Assistants in the country, I have the opportunity to represent my profession in a location that needs the PA position.  I advocate for my profession through hard work, constant improvement, and sharing my love for the field with everyone I meet.  I began supporting my profession in 2015, where, along with Dominic Alessio, I founded the AAPA Student Committee.  I will continue elevating my profession through advocacy, supporting the AAPA, and leading by example in my position.  I love my profession, I enjoy working with laboratory professionals, and I aspire to help patients as well as the medical professionals in my community.

Why are you interested in serving on the AAPA BOT?
I have served the AAPA since the moment an opportunity became available to me.  From the beginning, I realized that our unique professional organization gives each member, even a PA student, the ability to make a difference.  Since then, I have come to realize how the dedication of AAPA volunteers shapes our profession.  A profession that I adore, one that I want to share with others, and one I want to continue to grow.  I volunteer for the AAPA because I want to be a part of making our fascinating and important field even better.  Personally, I advocate for PAs every day by working hard, constantly seeking to improve myself, and by promoting the profession.  Professionally, I am dedicated to supporting the organization that serves PAs.  By seeking an appointment on the BOT, I would like to continue to grow PA opportunities in unique locations and various positions.  I am looking to work hard to maintain our forward momentum and expanding our scope of practice.

What is your understanding of the mission and vision of this organization?
The mission and vision of the AAPA are to support PAs both professionally and personally. The AAPA seeks to do this through advocacy, education, facilitating innovation, communication, and connection. The AAPA represents PAs in various organizations, promoting the profession, influencing healthcare, and improving our position in the healthcare team. Through representation in governing boards and high-quality continuing education, the AAPA standardizes our education, providing quality patient care. Patent care is further improved by AAPA guided communication and various committees which are constantly seeking to advance our profession. And most importantly the AAPA creates a community of like-minded individuals that lean on one another for professional and personal support.

What do you think should be the most important priority for AAPA?
The most important priority for the AAPA already is its members, and I do not believe that needs to change.  The AAPA is unique as a professional organization in that it prioritizes members first.  By focusing on what the members want and what they need, the organization can better serve its purpose.  The AAPA listens to members, actively seeking their feedback, and then acts on this feedback.  Every member has a voice and, in this close-knit community, each PA can represent their profession.  This is the strength of this organization, and it has made the AAPA the leading organization for PAs.

Is there a particular area that you feel could be improved within AAPA?
From what I have seen, the AAPA is constantly seeking to improve itself through the hard work and dedication of its volunteers and by listening to what members are asking for.  Since becoming a member, I have watched the AAPA begin to reform how it reaches its members while looking to interact with PAs outside of the AAPA membership.  I can see some areas where this should continue, especially in social media.  This can be achieved by tapping into some of the AAPA’s newest members who have the expertise and energy to make this happen.  Connection and communication are so important in a field where often there are only a few PAs at each hospital.  Connecting with more and more of its members will strengthen the AAPA, allowing the organization to do greater things for the profession.

What is the biggest challenge your lab faces today?
The biggest challenge facing my laboratory today is staffing – we have trouble finding PAs, doctors, and scientists to hire.  New Zealand is a small but beautiful country with lots of opportunities but few training programs for doctors and scientists, and there are no PA programs in Australasia.  We tried to recruit PAs from North America but have been unsuccessful.  New Zealand is extremely far from North America, and the lifestyle here differs from the US.  Since most PAs leave school with student loans, they are hesitant to move across the world to work.  I will continue to represent the PA profession in New Zealand, promoting our position and influencing laboratories to create PA positions.  It is my hope that I can bring more PAs to Australasia to expand our profession globally.