Before PA school, I was only familiar with the idea of national organizations for our profession. Now, I not only belong to them as a student member, but I am actively taking roles... these roles may be small, but they are a small step toward making a difference in our career.
As many of you have read from this blog, I attended the NYSSPA conference this October with a few of my classmates to not only network but to learn from seminars and have fun! I hope to help out with the NYSSPA Conference next year as part of the planning committee. We will see how well that pans out. As of right now... its just a thought. In addition to my involvement in NYSSPA, I also was fortunate enough to be (randomly) selected to be part of a SAAPA committee. What is SAAPA? Well, the AAPA (American Association of Physician Assistants) has a student board who reach out to PA schools all over the US. They send out news letters, conduct fundraisers and find all different ways to get the students involved in the AAPA. I applied for the leadership committee because out of the variety of committees, I believe that this one suited me the best.
On this committee we work with a director from our side of the US (for example, I am working with the Mid-Atlantic Director) to edit, review and discuss issues or ideas for the newsletter and any projects they start. Like I said, this role is small, but I still feel active in the PA community. At first, I was just reviewing flyers and papers. And, honestly, I did not feel like I was contributing much to the SAAPA committee. But, I am happy I hung in there, because this month, I am responsible for writing a blog post about being active in PA school. (I mean... what a fitting role for me... to write a blog post... when I already have a blog about PA school!!) Clearly, you can see my excitement. I now feel as though I am actually active in the PA community! I may post a copy of it here when I am finished.
Due to this role in the SAAPA committee, I will be attending the AAPA Conference in San Antonio Texas this May! I am extremely excited to meet PA's and PA students from all over the US, learn from the different seminars and even attend a few hands-on workshops! Luckily, I have the first two weeks of my rotation schedule as my "floating vacation" so that I can attend this conference without missing any rotation days. (Unfortunately, that means that I will not have a real floating vacation, but I am going to make it worth while and absorb everything I can from the conference.)
I honestly, could not be happier with the way this involvement in the PA community has worked out for me. And the best part is... this is the just the beginning! I strongly believe that I will continue my involvement in the AAPA and whichever state organization I am a part of!
As many of you have read from this blog, I attended the NYSSPA conference this October with a few of my classmates to not only network but to learn from seminars and have fun! I hope to help out with the NYSSPA Conference next year as part of the planning committee. We will see how well that pans out. As of right now... its just a thought. In addition to my involvement in NYSSPA, I also was fortunate enough to be (randomly) selected to be part of a SAAPA committee. What is SAAPA? Well, the AAPA (American Association of Physician Assistants) has a student board who reach out to PA schools all over the US. They send out news letters, conduct fundraisers and find all different ways to get the students involved in the AAPA. I applied for the leadership committee because out of the variety of committees, I believe that this one suited me the best.
On this committee we work with a director from our side of the US (for example, I am working with the Mid-Atlantic Director) to edit, review and discuss issues or ideas for the newsletter and any projects they start. Like I said, this role is small, but I still feel active in the PA community. At first, I was just reviewing flyers and papers. And, honestly, I did not feel like I was contributing much to the SAAPA committee. But, I am happy I hung in there, because this month, I am responsible for writing a blog post about being active in PA school. (I mean... what a fitting role for me... to write a blog post... when I already have a blog about PA school!!) Clearly, you can see my excitement. I now feel as though I am actually active in the PA community! I may post a copy of it here when I am finished.
Due to this role in the SAAPA committee, I will be attending the AAPA Conference in San Antonio Texas this May! I am extremely excited to meet PA's and PA students from all over the US, learn from the different seminars and even attend a few hands-on workshops! Luckily, I have the first two weeks of my rotation schedule as my "floating vacation" so that I can attend this conference without missing any rotation days. (Unfortunately, that means that I will not have a real floating vacation, but I am going to make it worth while and absorb everything I can from the conference.)
I honestly, could not be happier with the way this involvement in the PA community has worked out for me. And the best part is... this is the just the beginning! I strongly believe that I will continue my involvement in the AAPA and whichever state organization I am a part of!