CHCS - Perspectives Winter/Spring 2016

64 • NOVA SOUTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY READ ALL ABOUT IT! Physician Assistant ORLANDO FAPA TIMES Promoting the Profession One of the most important things a profession can have is proper representation in its state. Physician assistants in the state of Florida are lucky to have an outstanding organization known as the Florida Academy of Physi- cian Assistants (FAPA) representing the profession. FAPA is an organization that promotes the PA profession and is recognized by all the major organized professional medical and health care groups in the state. As FAPA representative of the Student Government Association at NSU’s Orlando Campus, it is my job to promote all the breaking news the academy has to offer my classmates. I wanted a forum where I could highlight important FAPA news, events, and education with easy online accessibility, so I developed a newsletter called the FAPA Times to inform classmates about current events. There are many benefits to being a FAPA member as both a PA student and a PA-C. The academy hosts two nationally respected continuing medical education (CME) conferences each year that provide all CME needs for state licensure and National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants’ certification and recertification. These conferences are not just for licensed PAs, but also physician assistant students and undergraduates who are interested in the profession. This past August, five of my classmates and I attended the FAPA 2015 Summer Symposium at the historic Boca Raton Resort & Club. We had just finished our first semester of PA school and were excited to see the information we had studied come to life in the speakers’ presentations. We were able to further our medical knowledge by participating in Orlando PA students (from left) Jennifer Cardenas, Jade Ramadan, and Margaret Klusman take a stand regarding the importance of students playing an integral role in the FAPA. BY JENNIFER CARDENAS, SGA FAPA REPRESENTATIVE, CLASS OF 2017