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How Many PAs in San Antonio?

Published May 21, 2008 2:31 PM by Stephen Cornell
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Buried in the the AAPA's online (members only) House of Delegates reports, is the fact that attendance at last year's national conference in Philadelphia was a real disappointment for the academy.

About 5,900 PAs and students and 7,900 total attendees were in Philadelphia. That was more than 2,600 below projections, according to the AAPA.

It has been four years since AAPA conference attendance peaked at close to 11,000 in Las Vegas in 2004. I'm curious to see the turnout in San Antonio in a few days.

Just for kicks, here's a list of all the past AAPA conference sites. San Antonio will be my 12th.

1973  Shepherd AFB, Texas
1974  New Orleans
1975  St. Louis
1976  Atlanta
1977  Houston
1978  Las Vegas
1979  Hollywood, Fla.
1980  New Orleans
1981  San Diego
1982  Washington, D.C.
1983  St. Louis
1984  Denver
1985  San Antonio
1986  Boston
1987  Cincinnati
1988  Los Angeles
1989  Washington, D.C.
1990  New Orleans
1991  San Francisco
1992  Nashville, Tenn.
1993  Miami Beach, Fla.
1994  San Antonio
1995  Las Vegas
1996  New York
1997  Minneapolis
1998  Salt Lake City
1999  Atlanta
2000  Chicago
2001  Anaheim
2002  Boston
2003  New Orleans
2004  Las Vegas
2005  Orlando
2006  San Francisco
2007  Philadelphia
2008  San Antonio

posted by Stephen Cornell
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1 comments
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Any idea on the attendance numbers in relation to AAPA membership and practicing PA numbers?  Has AAPA membership and conference attendance has plateaued while numbers of PAs practicing increased?

It would probably be beneficial to compare these numbers to national economic indexes.  Do PAs stay home and rack up the JAAPA and state conference CMEs during an economic downturn?  Or does it not matter?  Is location more important?

Personally, I am located West Coast and attend have attended Anaheim, San Francisco, and Las Vegas.  I skipped San Antonio even though I was enthused about the location due to financial concerns.  The only reason I attended Philadelphia was due to a family reunion that coincided.

In addition, I have attended AAOS conferences in Las Vegas and San Francisco.

Location is important for two reasons:

         1) Money.  The cost of flying combined with jet lag (cost of a day of travel ante- and post-conference) and dealing with the TSA are inhibiting factors.  I am sure that I am not the only PA that calculates $/CME when deciding on conferences.  The California Academy of Physician Assistants conference in Palm Springs attracts out of state Pas, NPs, and MDs due to the value provided (quality and $/CME).

         2) Location.    Las Vegas is a FUN city.  I don't gamble but after a day of lectures, a night of VIP tickets to Cirque is FUN (even with this calculated in Vegas was cheaper $/CME than Philly).  San Francisco has great restaurants.  Philadelphia, not so much.  I am very much looking forward to San Diego due to the sun, beaches, Gas Lamp Quarter, and tacos de pescado en estilo de Ensenada.

And while I may have a West Coast bias (can you get sashimi, real sashimi, in Boston?) the AAPA needs to take a look at who their constituency is and what they want.

David Stewart, MBA, PA-C
David Stewart June 5, 2008 1:46 PM

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