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FAPA NEEDS YOU AS A MEMBER! The Florida Academy is the main reason
we are where we are today in Florida as a profession. The Board of Directors
and many other dedicated PAs in Florida have been working to make practicing
in Florida a beneficial experience for the PA and for our patients. FAPA has
an excellent reputation in Tallahassee now and is looked upon as a leader in
the health care field. The Academy has played a major role in
all PA legislation passed for over 25 years. It is through the efforts of the
Academy that we have prescription rights; a negative formulary; improved reimbursement;
improved rules and regulations for practice;
and more to come in the near future. So much goes on behind the scenes in
these matters that you are never aware of until it happens. FAPA has been at
the forefront of the unlicensed medical graduate issue and has been the main
guardian in protecting our professional rights and will continue to do so. We
remain vigilant to protect the profession from other "PA wanabes"
who are not graduates of accredited PA programs, and from others who may seek
to discredit us or restrict our professional rights. In addition, FAPA represents the PAs in
Florida on a national level with the American Academy of Physician Assistants
(AAPA). Many of our state PA leaders are AAPA current and former leaders and
are well known and respected. The Academy presents two CME conferences each
year to provide you with the required CME for maintaining NCCPA certification
and state licensure requirements. We keep the membership informed with a
newsletter, The PAper;weekly email FAPA Grams; and we have the premier website of all the AAPA
constituent chapters. You are reading this article on our website so you can
see the changes we have been making here. FAPA is doing its' part to help you
be the respected professional you are today. Being a member of FAPA has never
been more advantageous for you. And FAPA has won the prestigious AAPA Chapter
Excellence Award three times now in 1994, 2002, and 2003 so we must be doing something right.
We need your help now to help us
continue to fulfill our goals and responsibilities. I realize that not all of
you can serve on committees or take an active role in FAPA due to your family
and job responsibilities. But the one thing you can do with minimal effort on
your part is to be a member of the organization that protects your
profession, and seeks to advance and protect your professional rights in this
state and on a national level as well. When FAPA representatives approach
legislators for assistance in legislative matters they listen to two things.
First is money, and second is in the numbers of constituents represented. We
have a strong Political Action Committee (PAC) that seeks out responsible
legislators who are sympathetic to our causes. Being financially supportive
to the PAC is very important. Exerting influence in Tallahassee is not an
inexpensive task. Money talks. Likewise, having a high percentage of
practicing PAs (voting constituents in the legislator's eyes) as Academy
members is most helpful. Also the FAPA Foundation is the charity arm of the
Florida Academy and needs your yearly support in contributions. And we have our
P.R.I.D.E. (Practice Rights Immediate Defense Effort) fund which pays for our
public relations efforts when needed to defend our practice rights and promote
our profession to the public. Supporting the Academy with your membership
strengthens the profession now and in the future. Help yourself and your
profession. Join the Florida Academy of Physician
Assistants now! I am not asking you to become a member of a committee or help
out in any other way unless you really want to put forth the time and effort.
However, at the least give those of us in the Academy leadership your support
by joining the Academy and maintaining that membership in the future. The
main person who will benefit is YOU. You can download and print an
application online, complete it and send it to the FAPA office, or you can go online and
easily submit your membership application there. Thank you for your time and your
consideration. If you wish to discuss any matters pertaining to FAPA or the
PA profession, all the members of the Board of Directors are willing and readily
available to speak with you. You can look up our contact information on the Board of Directors information page.
(This article was originally written in February 2002 and was updated in
January 2004.)
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