Comments on ARC-PA's Standards
On the topic of ARC-PA’s standards for PA programs, I have two questions.
One, why does a PA program director need to be a PA or a physician? It certainly should be a consideration, but not a requirement.
At least two terrific PA educators were not PAs: PAEA immediate past president and University of Colorado Child Health Associate PA program interim director Anita Duhl Glicken, MSW, and former Northeastern University PA program director and APAP past president Suzanne Greenberg, MS.
In fact, a review of past APAP/PAEA presidents reveals several non-PAs: Ronald D. Garcia, Jesse Edwards, Denis Oliver, Stephen Gladhart and David Lewis.
Isn’t the pool of talented medical educators shallow enough? Why exclude qualified people simply because they are not PAs?
Also, why must PA program directors be currently certified? Many program directors do not remain in clinical practice. Current certification is seems irrelevant to the ability to run a quality PA program.
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