Titles vs. Teams? How to Best Build the Future of Healthcare

APPAP Response to Joint Letter from Emergency Medicine Physician Organizations Regarding Postgraduate Training

The Association of Postgraduate PA Programs (APPAP) is the national representative of PA clinical postgraduate training programs and a constituent organization of the American Academy of PAs.  PA clinical postgraduate education has existed for nearly 50 years to accommodate the growing need for healthcare providers as well as the advancement and evolution of PA medical education.  APPAP, which was founded in 1988, represents 122 clinical postgraduate PA programs that provide training in a wide range of inpatient, outpatient, and surgical specialties.

Clinical postgraduate training for PAs provides a formal and structured educational experience that builds upon the initial PA education, which is founded in general medicine and primary care.  PAs who seek additional specialty training enroll in clinical postgraduate training programs after meeting the prerequisite NCCPA Board Certification and having obtained a state license to practice medicine as a PA.  Postgraduate programs are often referred to as Residencies or Fellowships.  This nomenclature in postgraduate medical education is used commonly across healthcare professions, including physician, physical therapy, pharmacy, podiatry, nursing, and dentistry.

APPAP believes that programs and PAs enrolled in clinical postgraduate training programs should be identified in a manner that denotes their profession and training status by using the title of either “PA Fellowship” or “PA Residency” and “PA Fellow” or “PA Resident.”  I.D. badges worn by trainees should identify their profession and training status.

Optimal patient outcomes are achieved by providing patient-centered care using a multidisciplinary healthcare team.  PA Fellowship and PA Residency programs will continue working closely with other clinical postgraduate training programs in other health professions so as to ensure that all trainees will benefit from a shared interprofessional education.  APPAP believes that each healthcare profession is responsible for developing the structure for its didactic and clinical training required to meet the needs of its postgraduate trainees.

APPAP Board Members