New Haven Mayor Toni Harp threw a celebration in October marking the 50th anniversary of physician assistant joining the ranks of doctor and nurse as a recognized medical profession.
Surrounded by faculty of the Yale School of Medicine’s Physician Associate program — one of the nation’s oldest PA programs — Harp took to the steps of City Hall on Oct. 6 where she read a proclamation designating the week of Oct. 6 to 12 as Physician Assistants Week in the city. A long time administrator at the Cornell Scott-Hill Health Center in New Haven’s Hill neighborhood before becoming mayor, Harp said she knew firsthand the key role that physician assistants play in the health care system.
“I have great respect for the work they do,” said Harp, who issued the proclamation on National Physicians Assistant’s Day.
Harp singled out Yale’s program for praise, noting the many benefits that New Haven receives from its presence in the city. “We’re grateful to Yale for understanding how important this profession is and helping to support and grow it,” she said.
Alexandria Garino, MS, PA-C, interim director of Yale’s physician assistant program, who attended the event, said she was gratified that Harp singled out the profession and Yale’s program for praise and recognition.
“I’m very honored that Mayor Harp took the time out of her busy schedule to recognize the profession,” Garino said.
Yale’s physician assistant program is the third oldest in the nation, Garino said. Developed in 1970, with its first students enrolled in 1971, the school graduated its inaugural class in 1973, she said.
The Yale program is called a physician “associate” instead of “assistant” program because the founders wanted to emphasize the collegial relationship between PAs and MDs, Garino said. PAs are trained as experts in general medicine, giving them the broadest scope of practice of any medical provider, she said. As a result, they are flexible healthcare providers, able to offer a wide variety of care and services in many settings, she said.
“PAs are flexible clinicians who can practice medicine in any medical specialty and fill gaps across health care,” Garino said. ”PAs improve access to care, reduce costs to the system, and improve patient outcomes. Most importantly, patients love PAs.”
The work that you do every day is what the rest of us rely upon.
Mayor Toni Harp
Harp noted the wide range of duties that PAs perform and their ability to meet almost any need. They work everywhere from emergency rooms to examination rooms to operating rooms, as well as providing preventive care and serving in the field, she said. The mayor singled out for praise the PAs’ work with the city’s homeless.
The mayor also took time to pay tribute to PAs who treated victims of the mass shooting in Las Vegas in early October 2017.
“I can’t help but shudder to think what your counterparts in Las Vegas endured,” She said. “The work that you do every day is what the rest of us rely upon.”
Since its inception, Yale’s program has minted more than 1,200 physician associates, Garino said. Its 28-month program enrolls about 40 students in each class and provides hands-on clinical training as well as extensive classroom instruction, Garino said. The emphasis is always on teamwork, she said.
“Team-based care is at the heart of our training,” she said.
The school originally awarded graduates a certificate in physician associate studies. That was upgraded to a Masters of Medical Science degree in 1999, according to the program’s website. To qualify for admission, students must have a strong science and math background, including successful completion of courses in organic chemistry, human anatomy, calculus, and similar disciplines.