President's Column | September 2023

Sep 17, 2023

"Cultivating Unity and Advancement: SDPA's Initiatives for Dermatology PAs"

In today's fast-paced world, where work occupies a significant portion of our lives, Annie Dillard's words resonate: "How we spend our days is how we spend our lives." With an average of 90,000 work hours in a lifetime, our jobs profoundly influence our quality of life. As a seasoned PA with over three decades of service, I can attest to the immeasurable hours invested in patient care and medical education.

When you consider the significance of our profession in each of our individual lives, it becomes apparent that derm PAs must come together and collaborate to drive positive change for our profession. The SDPA recognizes the impact of Dermatology PAs on the healthcare system and has set forth a series of projects to enhance our members' value and strength. As president, I prioritize vision, values, and action. A solid organization will strengthen our members' offerings, positively impacting their profession and daily lives. As fall approaches, the SDPA volunteers are working on several projects to enrich the experiences of its members. A few of these include expanding distance education, rolling out our practice survey, engaging our advocacy partners, and broadening our reach to all derm PAs.

The SDPA's distance education team transforms learning in the digital era by offering webinars, online courses, and virtual resources. We recognize the importance of staying current with dermatology advancements and trends. Through distance education and our new, improved learning management system, we offer a multitude of educational resources that you can access from anywhere.

Our membership committee has given countless hours and meticulously crafted our Practice Survey. The backbone of any organization lies in understanding its members' needs, preferences, and expectations. The data from this survey serves as a resource for the SDPA, guiding its decisions and actions in alignment with the members' collective voice.  The compensation and clinical practice data will also be available to our members, providing data for research and advancing our profession.

Our benefits—networking, resources, and professional development—increase as our SDPA community grows, enriching our collective knowledge and influence within dermatology. Strength lies in numbers, and we recognize the importance of expanding our community.

Advocacy partnerships underscore the SDPA's commitment to collaboration. Our Board of Directors is opening lines of communication with patient advocacy groups. This alliance amplifies the SDPA's voice, raises awareness, and equips us with valuable resources to guide policy decisions for the betterment of clinicians and patients.

Leveraging a fresh approach through the communications committee, the SDPA hopes to connect with a broader audience, spotlighting dermatology PAs' significance. The SDPA will continue to raise awareness about dermatology-related issues and include more dermatology PAs through social media campaigns. Watch for posts and engage with our organization, leaders, and fellow members.

In summary, SDPA's impactful initiatives—Distance Education, Practice Survey, Advocacy Partnerships, and Broadening Our Reach through enhanced communication—fuel dermatology PA’s growth, reaffirming its commitment to its members. Through these endeavors and many others, SDPA will cultivate a stronger and more united community of dermatology PAs, enriching patient care and professional advancement.

We look forward to seeing you in Nashville!

Yours truly,

Laura Bush, DMSc, PA-C, DFAAPA