natl assoc. of pa's...about time....

[EMT2PA]

Here's the issue with google.
You have to have a lot of traffic going to your site in order to move you up in the search. The only other way is if you pay a company $4000-5000 per month to move you up in the search. We'll work on the issue as we go along. But thanks for your support.

This issue is not with Google, it's with the design of the site. Google optimizes its search results based on "theme" pages. The NAPA site is all jpeg's with no html content for the Google spider to crawl. There are also no viable meta tags installed in the web page. If anyone from NAPA has questions about this, pm and I'd be more than happy to explain the optimization process.

I would like to see more information about NAPA before making a donation. It would be great to see literature on the site about what initiatives are in place, how they plan to implement them, and when its going to happen.

[bsady]

I am glad to see this post tonight. I received the email announcing this new organization and am very interested in joining. I personally am tired of patients asking me "when I will graduate" and if I am going to "do what doc does" some day. I am anxious for more information, however. How does the organization plan to promote the profession and what benefits are included in becoming a member? Has the AAPA recognized this organization in any way? (not that they need to, I was just wondering if they plan to foster your goals) I want to personally thank you for taking the initiative to do this. I think that it is a fabulous idea and sorely needed.
RV

We have had many requests wanting more info about what we are working on. I think this is a valid point. We are going to work on a page for the website explaing in more clarity what we are doing and why with more specifics. As for the AAPA, we are going to work on a formal letter to reach out to them and their constituent organizations to explain our position and ask for their support in our endeavors. This is at the top of our list. Also please don't hesitate to go to the website and email us with ideas and offers to help. If you would like to help us please try to give us a specific idea as to how you could help. Remember guys this organization is for you. Steve and I can't make this a success without your support.
Brian

[RVacanti]

Thanks for your response. I will put some serious thought into this and help if I can. I do think that it will help to have short term goals and/ or a tentative plan posted on the website. You may have more people register if they have a better feel for how their money will be used. Feel free to send me PM. I am interested in what the short term goals are and am always up for a new challenge.

[Moonwalk]

I would be interested in finding out what the business plan is, so to speak of the NAPA. What would be the initial goals and methods in promoting the PA profession?

[rsqdvr]

Thanks for your response. I will put some serious thought into this and help if I can. I do think that it will help to have short term goals and/ or a tentative plan posted on the website. You may have more people register if they have a better feel for how their money will be used. Feel free to send me PM. I am interested in what the short term goals are and am always up for a new challenge.

I just got in to PA school and I think this is a fantastic idea! I signed up as quickly as possible, because I've already had a ton of people ask me..."So what do you want to do again??". I'm all for a large scale public education process. Sure, I'd love to see what you have in mind and how you plan on implementing it, but I didn't need to see it before I joined. It's only $50, which is nothing (I say now while I have a job!) Even $150 is worth the chance that you'll be able to inform even a few people. Best wishes and Good luck in the future guys. I'll be pretty busy for the next two years but I'm happy to help out when and where I can. BTW - where is the "Welcome" page someone mentioned?? I don't seem to see it. I'm curious to see how many others have joined and what states they are from.

[PACPhD]

I apologize for not being able to see the other members at this time. We originally started out with membership software that had that function but we were having a number of problems with the program integrating with Paypal. The software engineers could not solve the problem after 2 weeks so we replaced it for another company. It does not at this time have that function, but we are working with the company to add more features as we go. Lots of small details in running an organization and we are trying to keep everyone happy at the same time. We'll keep you updated as we go.

[PACPhD]

As we are a new organization, there are many of our colleagues who want more information about our beliefs and philosophies. We understand the concerns you may have for our short term and long term goals. We receive e-mails and phone calls every day asking why we are here and what it is we hope to accomplish. The philosophies of the National Association of Physician Assistants are simple. We believe in the utilization of public relations to further promote our profession to the public and professionals. Not politics. Not power. Not comparisons of our group to others. Our overall goal, is promotion of the PA profession. This needs to be done in multiple areas, including but not limited to the public, physicians, pharmaceutical industry and the insurance industry. So how does a newly formed organization tackle such a monumental task? We take one step at a time.

We would first like to explain the statement on our website regarding our representing physician assistants, and not "midlevel providers". There are only two midlevel providers, PAs, and nurse practitioners. We feel our education is vastly different as it is carried out in the medical model, similar to that of physicians, while NPs follow a nursing model. So we are looking for our organization to represent physician assistants, and only physician assistants.

We would next like to explain the fact that there are two national organizations. We are not blaming the AAPA. They do what they feel is the best for our profession, especially in legislation and many other areas. But there is a public relations gap. That is the void we have taken on the responsibility to fill. We will promote our profession through television, magazines, and other media venues, the way our colleagues have always hoped someone would promote it.

The other advantage we can offer is how our organization is run. We purposely set up our organization so that we can make decisions without the many miles of red tape and politics so ingrained in most other organizations. We do not have meetings to decide when to have the next meeting. We do not need members from the House of Delegates to ask us to research an idea or concern, and then meet back in 6 months to a year and then talk about it some more. We can act on it immediately. We can get things done without all of the complications usually associated with a large organization. Having been on many boards of directors, we have been so frustrated when 90% of our energy is put into the problem, and 10% into the solution. We hope to change that.

We need members. No one is going to take us seriously with 25, 100, or 1000 members. We need 10,000 or 30,000 members. Interest for our organization started from a posting on the physician assistant forums group www.physicianassistantforum.com . We had so many positive comments that we decided to jump in head first and carry out our idea. The Advance for Physician Assistants magazine picked up our story and Steve Cornell interviewed us. The interview was published in the February issue as well as on their website http://physician-assistant.advanceweb.com/ . From there, Michael Banuchi, founder of the PA forums e-mailed our new poster and announcement to 12,000 members. Bill from ******** placed an ad on his subscription e-mail service and has an exposure of over 35,000 PAS. Our numbers are slowly gaining momentum.

We have had an amazing number of people offer their assistance to help in our cause. The number of students offering was just as impressive. So with this wealth of manpower, we are starting our campaign. Out of the gate we are doing the following:

1-Brian is working with pharmaceutical companies. He is in the process of grant writing for monies to use for our initial media promotions. He is getting quotes for TV and print advertising as the pharmaceutical companies require this information to consider the grants. We need one, or a possibly a few large corporations as a partner to support our efforts.

2-I am working on getting the media in our arena for promotion of the PA profession from an angle of the upcoming shortage of primary care physicians and the ever increasing waiting times and overcrowding in the emergency departments.

3-We are both answering e-mails, getting all of the best people we can, and putting together the best team we can for our organization. We are working on a definition of what a PA is, so anyone looking to hire a PA can come to our site and quickly see what we have to offer. We are also working on a downloadable brochure with more detailed information and photographs to hand out. We are trying to keep our website simple and organized and easy to navigate.

4-Tina Esposito, our Pharm-D is starting our program of educating the pharmacy industry on what PAs do and how we prescribe. Tired of seeing your SPs name on the prescription bottle that you wrote? That is what we are working on. She is pursuing the pharmacy boards in each state to go over the regulations with them and to find out how we can get the message across to each individual pharmacist.

5-We are putting together our board of advisors with the best people we can find to help in our promotional efforts. We are bringing on students, an RN, other physicians, and educators. We have, what we feel to be, a well rounded mix of professionals with the same philosophies and goals.

6-The website is a work in progress. We need the site to be as functional as possible, not just for the membership, but especially for the physician or healthcare persons who will utilize our site to assist in the decision making process of hiring a physician assistant. We are working with our webmaster and our board to start adding more features to the site.

We always look forward to your comments, suggestions, and requests for involvement in our organization. We want ours to be an organization that is accessible to our members. We do not want ours to be an organization that is so filled with hierarchy that we lose sight in what our goals and purposes are. One member asked what benefits were we offering our membership. We assured her that we would not be offering her a credit card, cheap automotive insurance rates, nor a good deal on refinancing her home. What we are offering is something that has not been done in the past, and that is the education and professional promotion of our profession through PR and marketing. When the pharmaceutical companies, physicians and the public are educated as to exactly what it is we do, and understand how the public benefits, how the physicians make money because of us, and how the pharmaceutical industry make billions of dollars with the 280 million prescriptions we write a year, then things will change. We also offered her the opportunity to become a more important professional, and have more decision making abilities in the medical arena. And who wouldn’t be for that?

[laughing angel]

Thank you for that detailed explanation, and for your initiative! I am happy to support this cause, and look forward to being able to make a more substantial donation. I hope others will consider doing so as well, with this information. There's little to lose, but so much to gain....

[jmj11]

One area that I think is important for PA exposure is in the platform of Presidential contenders. My question for you , does it come under your statement of purpose or not. I am doubtful that the AAPA would take it on.

There is an overwhelming belief that the next president's main agenda (besides the wars) will be health care reform. Several, including Edwards, have already written their platform planks regarding what they want to do in health care reform. His of course is written from the perspective of a trial attorney.

I think the opportunity is now to contact all candidates and tell them how we PAs can be part of the solution. Of course, the candidate's platform would never become law as written, but whoever wins, will use their platform as the beginning point of discussion. I think it would be much easier to influence these platforms now, while they are being formulated, than after that individual is in office.

So I suggest that some group take on the challenge of writing a paper to each candidate telling them the role of PAs and how we are a very important part of the solution of providing quality health care at a reasonable cost. At this point in the race, most candidates are willing to kiss every baby and evey one's back side for support.

I know it is a little like going to the track and placing a bet on each horse. But we have very little to loose and possibly a lot to gain.

I would be willing to help.

Mike

[bsady]

Guess what everyone...the article in Advance about the NAPA organization got picked up on Google news! Check it out. Goto google home page, then news, type in physician assistant....
Awesome...

[bsady]

Just a small update...we're up to 35 members from 10 states in just 3 weeks. Very exciting. We are updating and adding more members to our board of advisers. We sent initial contact statements to the president of AAPA and to NCCPA. We have a formal contact letter that will also be sent to PA programs as well as constituent organizations. Also we have several board members working on our PA definition page, as well as other pages for our web content. I am also working on a budget proposal for a television campaign for PAS. I am in contact with a major cable company and conference company that are helping me prepare the budgets and proposals. Please spread the word for us. We are working so hard to help the profession. We hope that all of you will continue to support us. We need more members. And we need more volunteers to help us contact other PAS. We will be giving you further updates soon.
Brian

[bsady]

Another update..we now have members from 17 states! Here is the list of states represented. The first 5 states named have the most representatives.

1.Washington
2.New York
3.Virginia
4.Pennsylvania
5.Texas
6.Florida
7.California
8.Utah
9.New Mexico
10.Arizona
11.Wisconsin
12.N. Carolina
13.Ohio
14.Michigan
15.Georgia
16.Illinois
17.Nevada

[PISH]

Ditto. Let us know when we can contribute.
PISH.

[rdenney]

The following is the best description of a Physician Assistant that I have ever read.


CHARACTER and VALUE: Physician Assistants are by character compassionate advanced medical providers and team builders through individual professional excellence in collaboration and partnership with physicians, consultants, fellows / residents, nursing and other medical staff, achieving high quality outpatient and inpatient care, through medical problem solving, working interdependently and assuming responsibility for their patients. PAs are cost effective medical providers for patients, businesses, and insurance plans, contributing to a solid financial foundation for the whole health care system.

MISSION and SERVICE: The Physician Assistant’s mission serves in all medical and surgical specialties, operating as established medical authorities with their physician colleagues, hospitals, practices, and clinics. PAs are extended Hospital medical credentials and privileges.

MEDICAL COMPETENCY: Physician Assistants are trained in the same medical model as are physicians. PA's medical training advances their expertise in all areas of medicine in a condensed time frame-raining is roughly two-thirds the length of medical school with 108 weeks of general primary care education. PAs further enhance their chosen medical specialty in a structured residency program and/or hand in hand with their physician colleagues. Physician Assistants must also pass a national medical certification board and recertify every six years. In many cases, experienced PAs bring their patients a level of experience and care that often exceeds that of medical residents and less experienced physicians. Frequently MDs in one area of medicine defer judgment to a Physician Assistant in another specialty.

PHYSICIAN ASSISTANTs:Are rigorously medically trained and are licensed medical professionals as advanced medical providers who establish and build a medical practice diagnosing and treating their own patient roster, medically trained to serve in a variety of clinical settings, in all medical specialities including Cardiac care, Orthopaedics and Sports medicine, Pediatrics, Internal Medicine, Emergency Medicine, Occupational Health, Pulmonary Care, Neurology, Gastroentology, Neonatology, Family Medicine, Urology, Obstetrics and Gynecology, in primary care practices, geriatric long-term care facilities, hospitals, correctional institutions, Federal and community-based clinics. In short, PAs are trained and certified advanced medical practitioners giving complete and outstanding patient care.

DEGREES OF AUTONOMY: Physician Assistants are generally excellent team builders respecting the limits of their Physician colleague’s medical professional relationships and state laws. It's vitally important that the PA and MD are similar in their team approach! This successful continuum includes Physician Assistants practicing significant autonomy in their medical practice, exclusive of a physician's presence, while other PAs want a much closer professional relationship with a consulting MD who is more, often than not, physically present for practical direction and oversight.

PHYSICIAN ASSISTANT'S MEDICAL PRACTICE includes:

1. Physician Assistants provides comprehensive physical assessment.
2. Physician Assistants Evaluate, diagnose, and treat new and existing patient's medical and surgical conditions.
3. Physician Assistants Initiate and interpret labs and x-ray studies including CTs & MRIs.
4. Physician Assistants Perform medical and surgical procedures.
5. Physician Assistants Prescribe and refer patients for specialized consultation.
6. Physician Assistants Assist Physicians in medical and surgical procedures.
7. Physician Assistants Use prescriptive authority to write prescription medicines for patients.
8. Physician Assistants Write/Dictate medical notes in patients' charts indicating patient status, treatment & procedures.
9. Physician Assistants Conduct follow-up patient care.
10. Physician Assistants Provide health education to patients and families.
11. Physician Assistants Supervise and/or coordinate the activities of patient care and support staff within the clinic.
12. Physician Assistants Train and supervise medical residents engaged in specific clinical activities.
13. Physician Assistants Teach and train illness prevention.
14. Physician Assistants Actively participate in community health education.
15. Physician Assistants Perform emergency life saving procedures including cardiac arrest, respiratory arrest, massive hemorrhage.
16. Physician Assistants Are among front line medical providers in emergency disaster services.

PATIENT'S EVALUATION:Patients highly value Physician Assistants for their exceptional people skills in uniting their advanced medical expertise with outstanding quality patient care by:

• Physician Assistants have Excellent interpersonal and communication skills.
• Physician Assistants Give the patient quality compassionate and empathetic caring.
• Physician Assistants Give the patient more time through Active listening.
• Physician Assistants Give the patient more easily understood feedback and instructions,
• Physician Assistants Promote greater patient health and wellness.

1. resulting in patients often preferring medical treatment by physician assistants-associates...
   "Consumers seek a broader array of health services than physicians have time, inclination, or expertise to address. Interdisciplinary care is a more efficient and effective strategy for providing care of high quality since all providers contribute what they do best." Linda H. Aiken, PhD, RN Jan. 14, 2002 http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/447839 For patients with chronic illness, treatment by a multidisciplinary team represents the state of the art, with nonphysicians providing most of the routine care and ancillary services while physicians and PAs manage more acute and complex problems.

Physician Assistants KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS and ABILITIES INCLUDE:

1. Physician Assistants have the ability to perform medical examinations using standard medical procedures.
2. Physician Assistants have knowledge of drugs and their indications, contraindications, dosing, side effects, and proper administration.
3. Physician Assistants have expertise in clinical operations and procedures.
4. Physician Assistants have expertise in primary care principles and practices.
5. Physician Assistants have expertise in patient care charts and patient histories.
6. Physician Assistants have expertise in Surgery, pre-op and/or post-op procedures.
7. Physician Assistants have expertise in CPR and emergency medical procedures.
8. Physician Assistants have expertise in current and emerging trends in technologies, techniques, issues, and approaches in area of expertise.
9. Physician Assistants have expertise in clearly communicating medical information to professional practitioners and the general public.
10. Physician Assistants have expertise in maintaining quality, safety, and/or infection control standards.
11. Physician Assistants have expertise to observe, assess, and record symptoms, reactions, and progress.
12. Physician Assistants have expertise to make administrative and procedural decisions.
13. Physician Assistants have expertise in related accreditation and certification requirements.
14. Physician Assistants are professionals in reacting calmly and effectively in emergency situations.
15. Physician Assistants have expertise in supervising and training staff, including organizing, prioritizing, and scheduling work assignments.
16. Physician Assistants have expertise in preparing and maintaining patient records.
17. Physician Assistants have expertise in educating patients and/or families as to the nature of disease and to provide instruction on proper care and treatment.

Physician Assistants believe when each medical team member is honored and celebrated for their skills, abilities, and love of medicine and patients, the whole team benefits and patients received the best available medical care making the whole health cares system fundamentally sound.

[andersenpa]

This is from *******, I'm sure this is being included in the thinking on the NAPA website.....