Physician Assistant Mission Statement

In 1968, American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA) formerly known as the American Association of Physician Assistants was established in North Carolina by the first graduate students of Duke University Physician Assistant program. Since then PA profession has grown to tremendous heights. The mission statement of the AAPA is, “To ensure the professional growth, personal excellence, and recognition of the physician assistants, and to support their efforts to enable then to improve the quality, accessibility, and cost-effectiveness of patient-centered health care.” The physician assistant profession has shown remarkable growth since its first PAs started practice in 1967.

A physician assistant is a highly skilled healthcare professional

Eugene A Stead established the first physician assistant program at Duke University, North Carolina in 1965. The first four students accepted into the program were ex-Navy medical corpsmen, (Kenneth F. Ferrell, Victor Hugo Germino, Jr., Richard John Scheele, and Donald Guffey). They had considerable experience in medical training during their medical service. The curriculum for the physician assistant program was based on fast-track training of doctors during World War II. The physician assistant was initially viewed as a substitute for a physician trained to provide medical care to rural and medically underserved populations in association with physician supervision. On October 6th, 1967, the first class of PAs graduated from Duke University on October 6th. In 1968, Duke University PA students and alumni came together to establish the American Association of physician Assistant (AAPA). Later on, the membership was extended to graduates from all around the country, thus becoming the true voice for the PA profession. This organization currently represents almost 100,000 certified physician assistants in all medical specialties (Milestones in PA history). Today, AAPA is a great support and learning central for physician assistants for acquiring CME credits and enhancing their career