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Dear AAPA Members,
The American Association of Pathologists’ Assistants has been dedicated to the advocacy and advancement of our profession since its enactment in 1972. Since that time, a lot has changed within our profession. An accreditation process was created for our training programs after establishing an affiliation with the National Accrediting Agency for Clinical Laboratory Sciences (NAACLS). A national certification exam was created for pathologists’ assistants after partnering with the American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP). All baccalaureate degree programs were converted to master’s degree programs. One look at the AAPA Historical Timeline and you can certainly gain an appreciation for everything and everyone that has gotten our profession to where it is now.
Now we are asking you, our members, to weigh in on an issue that could have a profound impact on our profession. As of late, there have been a lot of discussions surrounding title changes, with the most prevalent example being physician assistants who recently voted to change their title to physician associates. With all these talks and in conjunction with our recent AAPA rebrand, the AAPA began early discussions on whether a title change could be feasible for our own profession. With a topic that could have a major impact on our members, we believe it is important that your opinion and voice guide this discussion. The survey we are sending you today (check your email inbox) is to determine if a title change is something that our members are interested in exploring.
At this point, we are not determining whether to implement a title change. Rather, we would like to know if this is a topic you think the AAPA should explore. If our members decide that they do want the AAPA to explore this topic further, then we will continue to research this subject more in-depth, ensuring our members are involved along each step of the way. Then, after all the research is complete, we can determine whether to implement a title change.
This is a very impactful decision to make, so we do not expect you to make such a decision without further information. That is why we will also be holding a town hall on Thursday, February 10th, 7:00 – 8:30 pm CST, to further discuss this topic. This will also give our members an opportunity to ask any questions they may have. We wanted to make sure to give you the survey first so you can see what kind of questions we are asking of you. You do not have to submit the survey right now. Instead, you can use the information in the survey to come to the town hall more informed and armed with any questions you may have. After the town hall is over, the survey will remain open for two weeks (closing on February 25th) so that our members have time to decide how they feel about exploring this issue.
Without our volunteers and our members, the AAPA would not be the organization that it is today. Now is the time for you to have a say in the future of our profession. I hope to see you all at the Title Change Exploration town hall on Thursday, February 10th. Please pre-submit your questions for the town hall to [email protected].
Thank you,
Cory Nash, MS, PA(ASCP)CM
AAPA Marketing and Communications (MarComm) Committee Chair
REGISTER FOR THE TOWN HALL
CHECK YOUR EMAIL FOR THE SURVEY INVITE. If you do not receive or cannot locate the email, please contact us directly at [email protected].
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