The Society of Army Physician Assistants
Welcome to the Society of Army Physician Assistant's (S.A.P.A.) Home Page. S.A.P.A. is a constituent chapter of the American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA). S.A.P.A. is a civilian organization to represent and support the the U.S. Army Physician Assistant, including, Former, Active, Retired, Reserve and National Guard PA's. The Society's goals are to provide a forum for discussion, representation with the AAPA, and to provide high quality, low cost CME (continuing medical education) to the Society's members and the PA profession.
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Newsletter Updated March 10th 2008
29th Annual PA Refresher Course Information Updated March 10th 2008
SAPA Corporate Associate Program Updated May 8th 2007
SAPA Scholarship Program Added June 6th 2006
SAPA Conference Information Page SAPA Membership Page SAPA Links Page SAPA Corporate Associate Program
SAPA 2007 Scholarship Program and Application Newsletter Editor Board of Directors SAPA Chat Line SAPA Merchandise
28th Annual Conference Highlites General Membership Meeting Minutes April 26th 2007 The Captain Sean P. Grimes Physician Assistant Educational Scholarship Award
SAPA PA Jobs Page SAPA Mentor's Page
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The following was Adopted in 1995 and Amended in 1996 by the AAPA House of Delegates.
Physician Assistants are health professionals licensed or in the case of those employed by the Federal Government, credentialed to practice medicine with physician supervision. Physician assistants are qualified by graduation from an accredited physician assistant educational program and/or certification by the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants. Within the physician/PA relationship, physician assistants exercise autonomy in medical decisionmaking and provide a broad range of diagnostic and therapeutic services. The clinical role of physician assistants include primary and specialty care in medical and surgical practice settings in rural and urban areas. Physician assistant practice is centered on patient care and may include educational, research, and administrative activities.
The modern physician assistant profession officially began on October 6th 1967. This was the date the first Physician Assistant class of four students graduated from the Duke University PA Program. From this humble beginning, there are now over 35,000 graduate PA's and 96 accredited programs. The profession continues to grow.
As a profession, PA's can trace a similar history to the Middle-Ages. At that time, the name used was Barber -Surgeons. Barber-Surgeons were trained through an apprenticeship. During this time in history, formally trained physicians were available only to the rich and titled. Barber-Surgeons were the traveling care providers for all others.
The first use of non-physician care providers in the United States was during the Civil War. The term used for the profession during this period was "Surgeon's Assistants". The Union Army utilized these to the extent of making it's own branch called the Surgeon's Assistants Corp.
Each time the profession has reappeared, there was a physician shortage. The most recent shortage and rebirth was during the 1960's. The founding fathers of the PA profession saw this shortage and a potential solution. Dr. Eugene Stead and other physicians at Duke University saw a group of individuals with a tremendous amount of hands on experience, but lacked formal training and recognition.These were the combat medics from the Armed Services who had served in the Republic of Viet Nam. These physicians began the first formal Physician Assistant Training Program, at Duke in 1965.The program was developed, based on a medical model, similar to the way physicians were fast track trained during World War II.
The U.S. Army was also losing many physicians to civilian practice. They quickly saw the benefit of PA's. Congress authorized the training of four hundred Army PA's. The training began in 1971, with the first class graduating in July of 1973. The other services quickly followed the Army's lead and established their own programs.
Today, PA's work in all types of medical and surgical practice situations. Advanced training in the form of formal residencies are available in some of the specialties. October 6th has been designated as National Physician Assistant Day in honor of the first graduating class. October 6th 1997 will be the 30th anniversary of the profession. From 4 to 35,000 in 30 years, good growth. The future for the profession continues to look extremely bright.
The American Academy of Physician Assistants
The American Academy of Physician Assistants was founded in 1968 to provide a national professional society to represent all physician assistants in every area of medicine and to promote the profession to the public. The AAPA is structured to provide a chartered constituent chapter for each state, the District of Columbia, Guam, Veteran Affairs and each of the Uniformed Services. The AAPA House of Delegates, consisting of delegates from each chapter, is the policy making branch of the AAPA. The Society of Army Physician Assistants is one of these chartered chapters. Visit the AAPA Web site at aapa.org.
History of the Society of Army Physician Assistants
During the summer of 1976, a group of Army PAs, stationed at Fort Hood, Texas, saw the need for a civilian organization to represent the Army PA. The first recorded official meeting was on September 24, 1976. A proposed Constitution and By-Laws were adopted at this meeting. These documents were forwarded to the AAPA for approval. Mr. Woodrow Ace, PA-C was notified on November 26, 1976 by Martha L. Wilson, Executive Assistant of the AAPA, that SAPA's application had been received and forwarded to the Constituent Chapter Committee Chairman, Mr. James Konopa, for approval. SAPA was approved as a chartered constituent chapter of the AAPA on April 4, 1977. The official charter document was received on July 25, 1977. The SAPA Board of Directors during the application process were as follows: President-Woodrow Ace, Vice President-Danny Englund, Secretary-Phillip Cordova, Treasurer-Michael Newman, and Student Representative-Michael Williams. A new Board of Directors was appointed in April 1977 concurrent with the approval of The Charter.
The 1st SAPA Board of Directors, as a chartered chapter of the AAPA, were: President-Rafael Oscar San Juan, Vice President-Robert A. Jones, Secretary-Paul Cephus, and Treasurer-Charlie Mitchell. Committee chairmans were CME-Francisco Bernal III, Public Affairs-Timothy Davis, Conus Coordination-Donald Mangarelli, and Overseas Coordination-Christopher Luck.
Due to the frequent movement of military personnel, SAPA struggled throughout the 1970's and early 1980's. The Society planned and held a small CME in 1979 at Ft. Belvoir, VA. This initial meeting was well received by all who attended. The U.S. Army Surgeon General, in 1980, indicated that he wanted an annual medical conference for the Army PA. The first was held in Fayetteville, N.C. in 1980. The first Army Annual PA Refresher Course was attended by about 60 Army and Air Force PA's. This started a relationship that lasted until 1994. Throughout this time, the conference was known as "The Office of the Army Surgeon General, in conjunction with the Society of Army Physician Assistants Annual PA Refresher Course." The annual conference provided a vehicle to conduct the Society's business and have formal meetings in conjunction with the high quality, low cost CME.
The mid-eighties brought new life to the society. This was the latest proposal for commissioning of the Army PA's. During this period, membership grew to over 800. The commissioning of Army PA's began in February 1992. After this peak, the society's membership has stabilized at around 600.
Starting in 1995, the society assumed full responsibility for the annual conference. This conference is the 2nd largest PA conference in the US, drawing attendees from all branches of the uniform services, retired, and civilian PA's. The Society of Army Physician Assistants Annual PA Refresher Course remains the most cost effective, high quality CME available. Visit our conference web page for more information.
Other benefits of membership include a high quality, bi-monthly newsletter. With membership spread worldwide in peace and war, interesting articles are available. See the newsletter web page for more information. Members are also provided with a lapel pin and a membership directory. There are membership categories for all PA's and other groups. See the membership page for more information.
The vision a few dedicated Army PA's had in 1976 has grown beyond anything that they imagined possible. The Society is a dynamic, healthy, and exciting organization. The future for the Society is extremely bright. Make yourself part of the Society's future, visit our membership home page.
Annual Continuing Medical Education (CME) Conference
The 28th Annual Conference was held from the 23rd of April 2007 thru the 27th of April 2007, in Fayetteville, North Carolina, with 527 medical professionals, numerous exhibitors and over 50 guests with a total of nearly 900 people in attendance. The 28th was a tremendous success. The Society of Army Physician Assistant's is proud to announce the 29th Annual SAPA PA Refresher Course. The 29th Annual conference will be from Sunday, April 20th thru Friday April 25th 2008, in Fayetteville, North Carolina. The Hotel Location will be at the Holiday Inn at I-95. This conference has became known as the "Best Bang for the Buck" , We offer the most cost effective CME available. See the Conference Pages for more information. In addition, this year, the Society will have the 10th Annual Scientific Poster Contest for SAPA members. Go to CME Page for the latest information. The conference is open to all, both Military and Civilian, active, retired, reserve.
GO TO NEW PAGE LISTING CONFERENCE HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE 28th ANNUAL PA REFRESHER COURSE.