Another year and another exciting conference for our students here at Augsburg! This year the AAPA conference was held in the grand state of Texas this past month. Student Society members Rachelle Pass and Hana Nguyen attended, gathering valuable insights and knowledge to share with their classmates.
The week-long conference provided聽 many learning and networking opportunities for professionals and PA students alike. From PA Night Out, where attendees got a taste of Texas BBQ, to conferences and main-stage presentations about Space Medicine, Rachelle and Hana gathered takeaways for their cohort. The information on space medicine highlighted many聽 issues that wouldn鈥檛 be considered when practicing within the confines of gravity – including the corneal abrasion risk of Pop Tarts! They also discussed how considering different supplies and storage practices for different locations and environments can play a role in any medical situation.
Space wasn鈥檛 the only harsh condition attendees had to consider, our students learned the realities of increasingly dangerous weather conditions that can lead to power outages, personnel shortages, injuries, and more, and how to tackle those as a provider in areas at risk of weather events (including the host city of AAPA which had a severe weather event the night before the conference).
Final takeaways included how to network in unlikely places, how to advocate for the profession, and how to search for a job as a student. Learning how to sort options into 鈥淢ust Haves鈥� 鈥淒eal Breakers鈥� 鈥淣ice to Haves鈥� and 鈥淓xciting & Skill Building鈥� categories for new applicants can take a lot of pressure off the choices for your first PA career. Additionally, learning how to navigate legislation to advocate for yourself and your peers as fellow healthcare providers is an invaluable skill for new and experienced PAs. An advocacy success was the recent approval of both the PA Licensure Compact, and the PA Practice Act, which aim to expand license portability across states and enhance the reach of PAs as providers for mental health, respectively.
We鈥檙e happy to have our student representatives able to show up for themselves and their classmates with these insights!
