Since graduation, I've had plenty of reminders - good and bad - that I am no longer a student. There is the ''PA-C'' behind my name and my shiny new state license. A paycheck arrives every two weeks like an airplane dropping supplies on a desert island. And, of course, I now hold myself to an even higher professional standard. While these ...

Have you visited our blogs lately? Last week, new NPs and nurse veterans battled on the value of floor experience. Our NP & PA Student blogger Terry Clarke, currently enrolled in a fast track NP program, expressed his views on what experienced nurses have going for them and what they still have to learn. Here are a few of the comments your ...

This week, we are celebrating PA Week 2012! The festivities kicked off on October 6 for PA Day, remembering the father of the profession, Eugene A. Stead Jr., MD. We would love to hear how your facility is celebrating. Send your pictures of all the fun to assistant editor Kelly Wolfgang and we'll share with other PAs and NPs on our Facebook page ...

So now that the basic tenets of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act are moving forward, who is going to provide all that primary care? A lot of people are counting on you to do it. But recent studies and surveys show that NPs and PAs are shifting to specialties and subspecialties at a fast clip. In response, thought leaders and family ...

On Facebook this week, we shared some photos from the AAPA IMPACT 2012 conference in Toronto. Our fans loved to ''meet'' NP &PA Student Blog blogger Caroline Pilgrim, a first-time AAPA conference attendee. Caroline wrote about her experience at the conference and shared some of her own great photos in her blog post this week. Did you ...

Last month, after spending 12 hours in a compact car driving north to Toronto, Ontario, I attended the AAPA annual conference with 11 of my classmates. (I hope you enjoy the photos depicting this experience!) The conference was filled with highlights such as meeting the delightful editors of ADVANCE for NPs & PAs, Michelle and Jennifer, and ...

The House of Delegates (HOD) of the American Academy of Physician Assistants consists of voting delegates from state chapters, officially recognized specialty organizations, the Caucus Congress and the Student Academy, who are elected by their constituents. Each year at the AAPA IMPACT conference, the HOD convenes to hear ...

The 40th annual conference of the American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA) got under way this morning in Toronto, and the opening session featured Canadian entertainers as well as AAPA leaders. Tim Ralph, president of the Canadian Association of Physician Assistants, officially opened the meeting with a warm welcome message, noting that ...

As NPs & PAs approached the holiday weekend (and with any luck, a few days off), and editor Michelle Perron Pronsati and senior associate editor Jennifer Ford arrived at the AAPA IMPACT conference, our social networks, community pages and articles buzzed with thoughtful comments and many heated opinions. Always a controversial topic ...

If you're not chatting with us on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, ''like'', ''follow'' and ''connect'' with us and start sharing in the conversations! If you are, keep following and spread the word! This week, our social media sites exploded with great comments from our readers. Here are some of the highlights, copied verbatim and without ...