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A Message From Your President

Posted almost 3 years ago by Amy Baird

A Message From Your President

Fellow PAs,

Seasons are changing and your Utah Academy of PAs is leaning in.  Our Board convened in August to formalize transitions in leadership and begin paving the way forward. Appointed officials participated in a robust discussion regarding our organization’s strategic priorities and goals for the 2023 legislative session and beyond, and I am pleased to share a few exciting next steps in this quarterly update.

As PAs, we complete our clinical training according to the medical model in a team-based learning environment.  The UAPA will continue to foster a strict culture of inclusivity as we strive to maintain strong physician-surgeon relations while naturally seeking to expand our clinical and social influence through pursuit of new partnerships.  This past week, I had the privilege of representing our Utah body of PAs at the One Utah Health Collaborative pledge-signing event hosted by Governor Spencer Cox.  As a professional organization, we are committed to supporting the Cox-Henderson Collaborative in the following ways:

  1. Focus on patient access by striving to address the national provider shortage through enhanced partnerships with Utah’s four academic PA programs- representative of growth directed towards improving our patient-provider ratio;
  2. Champion safe, quality, affordable healthcare through continued implementation of SB27 (PA Modernization Act) and SB28 (modernization of the Mental Health Practice Act) by engaging with key stakeholders to strengthen team-based care at the practice level- an absolute imperative for national healthcare reform;
  3. Drive enhanced clinical outcomes through structured onboarding and continuing education programs designed to elevate the clinical competency of PAs- vital for caregiver engagement and patient experience; and,
  4. Target Utah PA recruitment and retention efforts to mitigate inequities in care based on a comparative analysis of Utah patient-provider demographics- a paradigm of essentialism for achieving equity in care.

I look forward to leading the important work of our Committees in these endeavors while actively forging critical relationships with physician and nurse associations as well as with PA organizations outside of Utah in surrounding states like Idaho, Nevada, Colorado, Montana, Wyoming and Kansas.  At this time, I am also encouraging our members to participate in the upcoming American Academy of Physician Associates’ Leadership and Advocacy Symposium in Washington D.C. and our annual UAPA continuing education conference in St. George.      

Your personal engagement is foundational to our collective success both in the near future and years to come.  Visit our website and follow us on social media for frequent updates on employment opportunities, educational offerings, and ways to get involved with your professional community.

It is with great enthusiasm and in the spirit of National Advanced Practice Provider Week, September 26 – September 30, we move forward:

Together Towards Tomorrow.

 

Katie Swenson, DMSc, MBA, MSc, MPAS, PA-C

President

Utah Academy of PAs