October 31, 2024
Physician Associate Workforce Diversity
October, 2024
Hello Social Mission Allies! My name is Kiara Marmolejos. I’m a Physician Associate (PA) at Fair Haven Community Health Center, and I am honored to serve as the Guest Editor for the October 2024 issue of the Social Mission Alliance newsletter. The topic of this edition is Physician Associate Workforce diversity.
My journey with the Social Mission Alliance (SMA) began through my affiliation and leadership in the US Health Justice Elective Course which was created by Dr. Robert Rock.
I joined SMA as a Health Justice Fellow in 2023 and have actively contributed to the Health Justice Council. In this role, I helped administer the Health Equity Scholar Guide at the Social Mission Alliance Conference. This survey aims to accurately capture students’ perceptions of their health professional training institutions (particularly for MD, DO, PA, Dental, and Residency). I now serve as the Project Lead for the Health Equity Scholar Guide as we continue to capture students’ assessments of how well their training programs align with social mission values.
As a family medicine PA at a Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC), I recognize the societal barriers that contribute to adverse health outcomes. It is essential for Physician Associate students to understand that addressing patients’ needs goes beyond the exam room or hospital bed. During patient interactions, the intangibles matter. Building rapport and putting patients at ease are just as essential as formulating a differential diagnosis. PA programs must educate students on the social determinants of health to ensure that their graduates can genuinely empathize with, counsel, and treat a diverse range of patient demographics.
Organization Spotlight: NCCPA
It was an honor to present the Health Equity Scholar Guide with Angel Adams at the NCCPA Represent! Summit in Atlanta. While the NCCPA, as the certifying body for physician assistants, is not mandated to address diversity issues, it is vital for our national organizations to advocate for inclusion and equitable admissions. We extend our gratitude to President Dawn Morton Rias for prioritizing this important conversation among Physician Associate leaders. Here is the link to our social media recap of events at the NCCPA Represent Summit and a link to photos from the conference.
Similar to the Social Mission Metrics Self-Assessment, which surveys institutional leaders on how effectively their programs embody social mission, our Health Equity Scholar Guide gathers feedback from students on their perceptions of their training programs.
In order to reach more PA programs, we were ecstatic to present our Health Equity Scholar Guide at the conference. Our goal is to create a comprehensive guidebook for health professional training students, providing insights into the social and cultural dynamics within various institutions. This survey was designed by students, for students, to foster support systems and connect individuals to broader organizations like SMA.
Trailblazer Spotlights
Howard Straker
Director, Physician Assistant/MPH Program at GW (bio)
Quote from Howard Straker as a graduation speaker at the Yale PA program commencement in 2023…
“Lead from service. Leadership is about service. Servant leadership is an influential behavior that places the wellbeing of others above one’s own self interest. Servant leaders are attentive to the concerns of the community, or team. They value interdependence of the team, and help nurture and empower team members. Servant leaders are inclusive, and they serve with a social responsibility; And believe that those less privileged than themselves, are important to take care of and pay attention to. And I feel that PAs can easily fit into the servant leadership role
As a PA- recognize your privilege and use it to help others. Your education at (a) PA program is accompanied with the expectation that you will provide quality. It will open doors for you. Your status as a PA gives you a social privilege, societal privilege, into the lives of patients and into their communities -so use this privilege to help forward their lives.”
Daytheon Sturges, PhD, MPAS, PA-C, DFAAPA, MCHES (bio)
When speaking about retention and holistic admissions in the current political landscape…
“At Medex, Department of Family Medicine, we are successful because 1) we have found ways to reach a younger generation of kids/students, and 2), we’ve improved retention in PA education by removing barriers. We’ve found a way to actually look at applications holistically; For example at medex we are 68% underrepresented in medicine….We understand that different lived experiences, or different struggles can affect someone’s GPA…We actually know how to look at an application and look at personal markers. And just by doing that your composition of your cohort changes without looking at race. There are ways in which to accomplish what we want to; we can understand the laws that are trying to be passed, and still remove barriers to people getting into their programs.”
Dawn Morton-Rias, EdD, PA-C, ICE-CCP, FACHE (bio)
When speaking about social responsibility in the context of historical injustice…
“Society has continued ascribing value to certain attributes, to certain individuals and certain communities and less value to others. We were not there when any of that started- so we should relieve ourselves of the burden or guilt associated with that. We didn’t start it but we are here now. We have to acknowledge that this is a very firmly established and deeply baked system that we live in that still ascribes value to certain attributes and less values to others. We see that day to day in our profession, in the news, and everywhere we are. I implore those who are not necessarily part of the receiving end, those who haven’t suffered the inequities or lived the realities that some of us have lived; I encourage all of us to give voice to what we see. This is not a problem that we can solve alone. It will take all of us regardless of your title, your role and your privilege to speak up. None of us were there when it started, but we all have a responsibility now.”
Selected Readings + Podcasts
On physician associate and healthcare workforce diversity:
- Assessing the Racial and Ethnic Diversity of Physician Assistant/Associate Program Graduates from 2010 to 2012 and 2019 to 2021
- Underrepresentation of Black Men in Physician Assistant and Associate Training
- A Few Doctors Will See Some of You: The Critical Role of Underrepresented in Medicine (URiM) Family Physicians in the Care of Medicaid Beneficiaries
- The Importance of Diversity in the Physician Assistant/ Associate Workforce: Examining the Profession’s Growth and Trends in Demographic Composition
On race in clinical algorithms, research, and guidelines:
- On the use of race in clinical algorithms (podcast)
- From Race to Racism: Teaching a Tool to Critically Appraise the Use of Race in Medical Research
- Differences in Hypertension Medication Prescribing for Black Americans and Their Association with Hypertension Outcomes
Upcoming Events
Saving Primary Care in the United States: An Interdisciplinary Dialogue
Tuesday November 12, 8-9pm (Eastern)
Join the Social Mission Alliance for an interdisciplinary panel featuring the work of multiple groups taking different approaches to resuscitate primary care and primary care access in the United States. Register to attend.
AMA National Health Equity Grand Rounds “Rewrite the Script: Narrative Transformation for Equity in Health”
November 21, 1:00pm (Eastern).
Narrative, or the collective stories that shape our beliefs as society, plays a powerful role in how we think about health care. During the next National Health Equity Grand Rounds event, “Rewrite the Script: Narrative Transformation for Equity in Health,” we will explore this topic and better understand our role as health care professionals in shaping health in our communities. Register to attend.
PA Workforce Diversity Webinar hosted by the African Heritage PA Caucus in February
The African Heritage PA Caucus is a constituent organization of the AAPA that offers scholarship, mentorship, and leadership opportunities to PA students, and seeks to diversify the PA profession. The African Heritage PA caucus and LGBTQ caucus will be hosting a webinar on PA Workforce Diversity in February. Follow their Instagram page for more updates about this fascinating Webinar led by Camile Dyer, MS, PA-C, AACC, DFAAPA in collaboration with SMA’s Clese Erikson, MPAff. and Dr. Anushree Vichare, PhD, MPH, MBBS.
Follow on Instagram: @africanheritagepacaucus.
