Crafting a Strong Nomination for a PAEA Award
The goal of the PAEA Awards is to recognize excellence. In our profession, there are people doing excellent work or providing excellent support or setting an example of excellence for their peers and the latest generation of PA educators. There are so many who care deeply about the work we do and choosing just a few people who can be awarded every year is no easy task.
The PAEA Awards & Honors Review Committee has intentionally attempted to simplify the process by making information available on our website that helps people create strong nominations. We don’t want to see award-worthy work go unrecognized because a nomination letter is incomplete, unclear, or ineligible.
We’re asking you to help us and the people or programs you’re nominating by following the established guidelines as explained on the awards page.
In this article, we won’t be able to explain everything you need to know to submit strong nominations. There is a list of FAQ’s available, and we encourage you to take a look. But we want to provide some hints and tips that will help make your nomination letters rise to the top.
Please visit the awards page and find the award for which you believe the candidate you would like to nominate is best suited. The categories are the Administrative Award, Article of the Year, Clinical Education, Excellence Through Diversity, Leadership Development, Lifetime Achievement, Master Faculty, New Faculty, Partnership, Research Achievement, and Rising Star.
There could be some crossover in your mind. Someone could have provided a lifetime of service to the PA profession and this could be a year that person has written an important article.
However, there are different criteria for different awards. Decide which you think is the best fit for a candidate you want to nominate and follow the criteria associated with that award. And remember, you can nominate the same person or in some cases, the same program, for more than one award. A number of factors will go into selecting the recipients of each award, but a strong nominating letter will play an important role in explaining exactly how the candidate meets each of the criterion outlined.
The committee does not limit the length of the nomination letter nor require a minimum length but the letter must address each of the criteria associated with the award fully.
Most awards also require letters of support. We appreciate that many people feel strongly about those doing great work in the PA profession but neither students nor PAEA board members can nominate or provide letters of support. If they are included in the application, the candidate will, unfortunately, be automatically disqualified. Letters of support should address the strengths of the nominee above and beyond the call of duty. Each letter should be no more than two pages in length and at least one must come from a PAEA member.
A candidate may not submit a nomination in her own name and nominations cannot be accepted after the due date.
Once a nomination is received and found to have all the necessary elements for consideration, the PAEA Awards & Honors Review Committee will use a standardized scoring rubric that correlates with the outlined award criteria to evaluate and score each nomination. The Awards & Honors Review Committee is comprised of PA educators who are dedicated to identifying and recognizing the outstanding contributions within PA education. The committee reviews the compiled scores and reaches a consensus for the official determination of award recipients.
Please consider submitting a nomination if you know someone who you think is worthy of one or more of the PAEA awards. Remember that for some awards, Article of the Year, Partnership, and Excellence in Diversity, a person or program can be nominated – and awarded – more than once.
Submit a Nomination
Don’t miss your chance to nominate a colleague. Learn more about award categories, deadlines, and nomination and selection processes.
