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Dear AAPA Members,
2020 has certainly been a year like no other. As we near the end of the year, we hope you will take a few moments to renew your AAPA membership! Pathologists’ assistants have faced unprecedented challenges in 2020, and, thanks to AAPA members like you, we have risen to those challenges and have come out stronger as an organization and as a profession. We have seen countless examples of support, care, and sacrifice within the AAPA, and this year has made us prouder than ever of the members we represent and excited for the future of our field. But before looking forward to 2021, I would like to reflect on some of the incredible new accomplishments from our members, volunteers, and leadership just over this past year.
How we’ve responded to our members’ needs during the pandemic:
- Created the only PA-specific COVID-19 resource page available, with 70+ links and resources exclusively for our members
- Transitioned our major fall continuing education conference from in-person to a completely digital format, with virtual keynote lectures, presentations, posters, and member engagement
- Compiled a series of step-by-step, narrated grossing instructional videos for both students and institutional members with 13 completed videos and 20+ more under review, accompanied by a “Grossing at Home” social media series specifically for students and curated by the Student Committee
- Hosted a highly interactive two-day event for our 25 Student Delegates – the largest class of delegates in AAPA history – including small-group discussions, educational sessions, mock interviews, and much more
How we’ve represented our members and our profession to others:
- Released our new, professionally designed logo and branding campaign, “It Pays to Know”, which will boost our visibility and improve understanding of our profession by outside stakeholders such as pathologists, human resources departments, hospital administrators, patients, and the public
- Increased our engagement with The Pathologist magazine, leading to their publication of several PA-authored articles and a PA-focused roundtable discussion
- Had 8 PAs nominated for The Pathologist’s Power List and 2 PAs honored with ASCP’s 40 Under Forty campaign
- Continued developing our relationships with the American Joint Committee on Cancer, the Commission on Cancer, and the College of American Pathologists
How we’ve supported our members’ education and development:
- Provided high-quality, PA-targeted CE opportunities with 40+ quizzes, 36 articles, and now including webinars as an additional CE channel, overall allowing our members to claim more than 18,000 CE credits supplied exclusively by the AAPA
- Offered 20 free CE credits with your annual membership, enough to fulfill the new 60 credit recertification requirement over the course of three years, including automatic transfer of all AAPA-earned credits to the ASCP BOC on a routine basis
- Categorized all CEs offered for ease of certification renewal, including offering all required credits – Advanced AP, General AP, Medical Ethics, and Safety credits
- Published our first-ever condensed report of the AAPA Membership/Salary Survey, which highlights the most relevant content in a structured, practical format with concise figures and some analysis of the statistics
- Developed an official position statement on grossing technicians and are actively seeking member input in preparation to finalize for future release
- Expanded our Student Committee to include new officer positions and additional student-focused live webinar events
How we’re already benefitting our members’ future:
- Launched a Preceptor Program to create a one-of-a-kind curriculum for our PA educators and clinical instructors working with students and residents
- Explored the professional avenues, government bodies, and state-by-state regulations involved in mid-level practitioner licensure to address feedback, concerns, and questions from our members
- Introduced a 3rd annual continuing education meeting offering, beginning in Summer of 2021, with plans to incorporate more PA speakers at future conferences
- Pursued outsourcing our Membership/Salary Survey with a professional analytics firm to provide more powerful statistical tools, user-friendly results, and convincing reports to use with human resources or job negotiations
This may seem like a long list, but would you believe that these bullet points are only the highlights? The AAPA has a phenomenal team of devoted, motivated volunteers and leaders – from the Central Office to the Board of Trustees and Adjuncts to the Committees and Subcommittees – whose mission is to support YOU as a pathologists’ assistant, but we can’t do this without you. We look forward to having you renew your membership as we move forward together into 2021.
Thank you for making the AAPA the only professional organization built by PAs for PAs.
Sincerely,
N. Dominic Alessio, PA(ASCP)CM
Chair, Membership Committee
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