2024-BOD 1. Position Policy: Certification to Practice
Background/Rationale: PAEA position policy #1, Certification to Practice, is scheduled to sunset in 2024. The Board recommends reaffirming the Association’s position policy on certification to practice.
Motion: Be it resolved that the PAEA position policy #1, Certification to Practice, be reaffirmed.
CERTIFICATION TO PRACTICE
PAEA supports the entry-level certification examination administered by the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants as the only examination requirement for PAs to obtain state licensure and to qualify for employment as a PA.
2024-BOD 2. Position Policy: Clinical Training
Background/Rationale: PAEA position policy #2, Clinical Training, is scheduled to sunset in 2024. The Board recommends reaffirming the Association’s position policy on clinical training.
Motion: Be it resolved that the PAEA position policy #2, Clinical Training, be reaffirmed.
CLINICAL TRAINING
PAEA supports policy, federal financing, and regulatory actions that ensure an adequate supply of high-quality clinical training sites for all PA students and encourages the development of sites committed to educating interprofessional teams of health care providers.
2024-BOD 3. Position Policy: Expansion of Stafford Loan Program
Background/Rationale: PAEA position policy #3, Expansion of Stafford Loan Program, is scheduled to sunset in 2024. The Board recommends reaffirming the Association’s position policy on expansion of Stafford loan program.
Motion: Be it resolved that the PAEA position policy #3, Expansion of Stafford Loan Program, be reaffirmed.
EXPANSION OF STAFFORD LOAN PROGRAM
PAEA supports reform of the Federal Direct Stafford Loan Program to ensure that borrowing limits for PA students are sufficient to assist in the financing of their education and commensurate with other health care professions.
2024-BOD 4. Position Policy: Generalist Education
Background/Rationale: PAEA position policy #4, Generalist Education, is scheduled to sunset in 2024. The Board recommends reaffirming the Association’s position policy on the expansion of Stafford loan program.
Motion: Be it resolved that the PAEA position policy #4, Generalist Education, be reaffirmed.
GENERALIST EDUCATION
PAEA supports a generalist framework and comprehensive approach to entry-level PA education. PA education prepares graduates to meet the primary care workforce needs of the nation and provides the PA graduate with flexibility in career choices.
2024-BOD 5. Position Policy: Graduate Medical Education
Background/Rationale: PAEA position policy #5, Graduate Medical Education, is scheduled to sunset in 2024. Given structural differences between how physician residency training is funded relative to entry-level training for both PA and other health professions students, significant growth of existing funding streams under Title VII of the Public Health Service Act is a more feasible approach to expanding federal support for PA education. The Board recommends sunsetting this position policy.
Motion: Be it resolved that the PAEA position policy #5, Graduate Medical Education, be allowed to sunset.
5. GRADUATE MEDICAL EDUCATIONPAEA supports the modernization of graduate medical education (GME) in a manner that promotes and funds PA-physician interprofessional educational experiences designed to prepare effective teams that provide high quality health care.
2024-BOD 6. Position Policy: Loan Repayment for Faculty
Background/Rationale: PAEA position policy #7, Loan Repayment for Faculty, is scheduled to sunset in 2024. The Board recommends reaffirming the Association’s position policy on loan repayment for faculty.
Motion: Be it resolved that the PAEA position policy #7, Loan Repayment for Faculty, be reaffirmed.
LOAN REPAYMENT FOR FACULTY
PAEA supports an expansion of loan repayment programs for PA faculty, especially those designed to improve the recruitment and retention of a diverse PA education workforce.
2024-BOD 7. Position Policy: Loan Repayment for Students
Background/Rationale: PAEA position policy #8, Loan Repayment for Students, is scheduled to sunset in 2024. The Board recommends reaffirming the Association’s position policy on loan repayment for students.
Motion: Be it resolved that the PAEA position policy #8, Loan Repayment for Students, be reaffirmed.
LOAN REPAYMENT FOR STUDENTS
PAEA supports an expansion of student loan repayment programs for PA graduates linked to service in medically underserved populations and rural communities.
2024-BOD 8. Position Policy: Pathway to Practice
Background/Rationale: PAEA position policy #10, Pathway to Practice, is scheduled to sunset in 2024. The Board recommends reaffirming the Association’s position policy on the pathway to practice.
Motion: Be it resolved that the PAEA position policy #10, Pathway to Practice, be reaffirmed.
PATHWAY TO PRACTICE
PAEA supports graduation from ARC-PA accredited programs and certification by the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants as the sole pathway to practice as a PA in the nation.
2024-BOD 9. Position Policy: Technology
Background/Rationale: PAEA position policy #12, Technology, is scheduled to sunset in 2024. The Board recommends reaffirming the Association’s position policy on technology.
Motion: Be it resolved that the PAEA position policy #12, Technology, be reaffirmed.
TECHNOLOGY
PAEA supports the increased utilization of technology within PA programs, to include electronic health records, patient simulators, and other innovations, that prepares graduates for entry into the health care system and supports patient safety.
2024-BOD 10. Position Policy: Title VII Reauthorization and Updating
Background/Rationale: PAEA position policy #14, Title VII Reauthorization and Updating, is scheduled to sunset in 2024. The Board recommends revising the Association’s position policy on reauthorization and updating Title VII. This revised language signals the Association’s support for a significant expansion of available resources for PA education under Title VII rather than solely updates to existing programs.
Motion: Be it resolved that the PAEA position policy #14, Title VII Reauthorization and Updating, be revised as follows:
TITLE VII REAUTHORIZATION AND UPDATING EXPANSION
PAEA supports the reauthorization and expansion of Title VII as a vital source of federal funding for PA programs.
2024-BOD 11. Position Policy: Diverse Workforce
Background/Rationale: PAEA position policy #15, Diverse Workforce, is scheduled to sunset in 2024. The Board recommends reaffirming the Association’s position policy on a diverse workforce.
Motion: Be it resolved that the PAEA position policy #15, Diverse Workforce, be reaffirmed.
DIVERSE WORKFORCE
PAEA supports policies that ensure a diverse PA health care workforce sufficient to meet the current and projected healthcare needs of the nation and reflect the population it serves.
2024-BOD 12. Position Policy: Optimal Team Practice
Background/Rationale: PAEA position policy #16, Optimal Team Practice, is scheduled to sunset in 2024. The Board recommends revising the Association’s position policy on optimal team practice. This revised language more directly reaffirms PA education’s commitment to preparing graduates for team-based practice as state laws and regulations are modernized to reflect the depth and breadth of PA education.
Motion: Be it resolved that the PAEA position policy #16, Optimal Team Practice, be revised as follows:
OPTIMAL TEAM PRACTICEPAEA supports the goal of optimal team practice to reduce administrative burdens on PAs by establishing collaboration at the practice level.
Acknowledging the evolving landscape of rules and regulations, PAEA continues to support the goal of optimal team practice (OTP) and encourages all PA programs to align their curricula to prepare graduates to succeed in “contemporary team-based healthcare.”
2024-BOD 13. Bylaws Revision
Background/Rationale: The first PAEA Bylaws were written in 1974 and have been periodically updated throughout the years. It has been over 10 years since an outside governance expert provided a comprehensive Bylaws review in conjunction with a systematic plan to update the Policies and Procedures Manual (P&P Manual) as well.
While revisions over the years have reflected changes to follow the DC Tax Code as well as decisions of the Board and membership – increasing the number of Board positions, extending Board terms from 2 years to 3 years, or allowing for a virtual Business Meeting (as was needed during the global pandemic) – they have led to inconsistencies between the Bylaws and P&P Manual. The most recent Bylaws amendment occurred in October of 2023 and focused on just one issue, granting serving Board members who have a change in program status to be able to continue their service (see Article 4.05 Terms).
During the July 2023 Board Meeting, the Board recognized that it was time for a comprehensive review of PAEA’s Bylaws and Policies & Procedures. At the Board’s request, PAEA undertook a full legal and procedural review to modernize and update the Bylaws to ensure legal and procedural best practices. Peter Wolk (outside legal counsel with non-profit governance expertise) joined PAEA staff members to carry out this multifactorial activity in a methodical, careful, and thorough way.
This group was guided in their work by the following:
- Complying with DC law
- Respecting member rights
- Following best practices
- Modernizing language to operate with efficiency and effectiveness in the fast-paced, technology-enabled environment of today
- Organizing the Bylaws by categories related to Membership, Board, and Officers to make them easy to follow
Succinct Review of Legally Required PAEA Bylaw Provisions
Under Mr. Wolk’s guidance, the proposed Bylaws were revised to ensure that PAEA, as a District of Columbia nonprofit corporation, complies with the DC Nonprofit Corporation Code.
The DC Code dictates the content for only a limited number of Bylaw provisions, including provisions pertaining to:
- Board Duties
- Officer Duties
- Unanimous agreement required for directors to act without a meeting
- Removal of directors
- Aspects of indemnification
The Code requires many other Bylaw provisions but does not prescribe their content. Those provisions have been drafted into these Bylaws with best practices in mind as most applicable to PAEA.
The proposed revisions to the Bylaws are designed to include most Association policies and procedures in the P&P Manual to allow the Board and staff the flexibility to adjust according to the changing needs of the Association and its membership. Once the Bylaws are adopted by the membership, the staff will begin a comprehensive review of the P&P Manual.
The most extensive change to the proposed Bylaws is the reorganization and renumbering of the Articles, which preclude a one-to-one comparison of the current and proposed versions of these documents. To support the membership’s review, a summary and rationale of the major changes to language and policy and a link to the current Bylaws have been provided below.
Motion: Be it resolved to adopt the proposed Bylaws revision.
- Article I
- Article II: Membership
- Article III: Board of Directors
- Article IV: Officers
- Article V: Advisory Bodies
- Article VI: Indemnification, Liability, and Insurance
- Article VII: Miscellaneous Provisions
- Article VIII: Bylaw Amendments