Timeline

1966  

Allied Health Professions Personnel Act (PL-751) promotes the development of programs to train new types of primary care providers.

Look Magazine article entitled "More than a nurse, less than a doctor" catapults the PA concept to national attention but undermines attempts to foster nurses' acceptance of PAs.

1967

Dr. John W. Kirklin, initiates first surgeon's assistant program at the University of Alabama in Birmingham, AL.

First Class of three PAs, Victor H. Germino, Kenneth F. Ferrell and Richard J. Scheele, graduate from Duke University on October 6th. The American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA) adopts the date later as "National PA Day."

1968

Dr. Hu C. Myers establishes first baccalaureate degree program for PAs at Alderson-Broaddus College in Philippi, WV.

Health Manpower Act (PL-490) funds the training of a variety of health providers.

Duke University hosts first of four national conferences on physician assistants to promote development and standardization of educational program curriculums, study and promote the PA concept to professional, private and Federal organizations, and develop model legislation for PAs.

American Association of Physician's Assistants (AAPA) is incorporated in NC to encourage its members to render honest, loyal and efficient service to the medical profession and quality care to the public whom they serve.

1969

Dr. Richard Smith launches MEDEX program at the University of Washington, Seattle WA to rapidly deploy ex-military corpsmen to rural primary care practices throughout the Northwest.

The American Hospital Association and Joint Commission on Hospital Accreditation release report on the "Utilization of Physician's Assistants in the Hospital."

First class graduates from the University of Alabama Surgeon's Assistant Program.

Dr. Henry Silver establishes Child Health Associate (CHA) Program at the University of Colorado. Students are allowed in the mid-1970s to take additional graduate school courses and earn a master's degree making the CHA program the first to offer advanced degrees to their graduates.

American Medical Association (AMA) Council on Health Manpower explores PA concept and the AMA House of Delegates adopts "Guidelines for the Development of New Health Occupations."

Board of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences release report classifying physician's assistants as Type A, B, or C according to degree of specialization and level of judgement.

1970

Kaiser Permanente becomes first HMO to employ PAs.

The American Registry of Physician Associates (ARPA) is incorporated in NC to grant and issue certificates to graduates of approved programs or others who could demonstrate by examination that they possessed the knowledge and skills of a graduate of an approved program. Later, the registry is absorbed into the Association of Physician Assistant Programs (APAP) and its certification functions are assumed by the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA).

AMA House of Delegates passes resolution recognizing physician's assistants.

1971

American Medical Association begins work on national certification and codification of PA practice characteristics.

Comprehensive Health Manpower Training Act (PL92-157) contracts for physician assistant education and deployment.

The American Association of Physician Associates publishes its first official journal, Physician's Associate . It is a quarterly publication printed by Charles B. Slack, Inc. with Russell F. Lawrence as editor.

Cartoonist Dick Moores introduces the general public to physician's assistants in his comic strip "Gasoline Alley." The main characters, the Wallets, have a son, Chipper, who is a Vietnam veteran and former military corpsmen. The local general practitioner, Doc, gives Chipper a pamphlet and gets him interested in becoming a physician's assistant.

AMA House of Delegates adopts "Essentials for an Educational Program for the Assistant to the Primary Care Physician."

Dr. Marvin Gliedman and Dr. Richard Rosen establishes first postgraduate residency program for PAs in surgery at the Montefiore Medical Center in Bronx, NY.

1972

The first book written about PAs, The Physician's Assistant: Today and Tomorrow, by Sadler, Sadler and Bliss, is published.

Alderson-Broaddus College graduates its first class of baccalaureate prepared PA students.

The American Medical Association forms a Joint Review Committee on Educational Programs for Physician Assistants (JRC-PA) to evaluate compliance with the "Essentials" adopted by the AMA House of Delegates. As the organization's first Executive Secretary, Lawrence M. Detmer develops policy and procedures for conducting accreditation site visits to existing PA programs.

Bureau of Health Professions Health Resources Administration awards first contracts to support the development of primary care physician assistant educational programs.

Nine sponsoring colleges of medicine located throughout the United States establish consortium of MEDEX training programs.

National Board of Medical Examiners begins the process of developing a certification examination to assess the knowledge of graduates of accredited PA educational programs.