Each year, thousands across the country celebrate National PA Week (October 6 – October 12), a time dedicated to recognizing the contributions that PAs make in health care every day.

This year there are more than 139,000 unique reasons as to why PA Week is important, but to keep it brief, we’ll share just three reasons to celebrate Certified PAs:

• Certified PAs increase access to high quality health care to millions of patients every week.
  

   

  Approximately 9.5 million patients each week are seen and treated by PAs. That works out to almost 500 million patient visits every year (half of a billion)!

          From making diagnoses to prescribing medications to managing chronic illnesses and assisting in surgery, Certified PAs are crucial to the health
          care team and can fill gaps wherever needed. Having PAs in the workforce can also help to decrease your wait time, thus enabling you to get the
          care you need when you need it.

• Certified PAs practice everywhere – in every specialty and in every setting.
  

   

          You could see a PA in your primary care office helping you manage your diabetes, in a pediatric office monitoring your child’s health and growth,
          or in the hospital assisting in surgery to remove a tumor. From routine medical services to intricate procedures, #PAsDoThat!

• This year especially, Certified PAs have stepped up to the front lines of health care.
  
  Certified PAs have been among the “health care heroes” we’ve all heard about who have sacrificed their own health and time with their families to care for patients impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. From testing, treating and monitoring patients, to helping patients video chat with loved ones when they couldn’t physically be with them, PAs have helped fill gaps during this public health crisis. Many Certified PAs even left their primary specialties or positions to go help in highly impacted areas around the country. They have truly answered the call to serve their patients and serve their communities, just as this profession has always done.
  
  
  

How can you celebrate National PA Week?

If you’d like to show your appreciation to all the Certified PAs there are several things you can do:

• Go to your social network of choice, and share the image and shout-out below:

        “Did you know October 6-12 is National PA Week? Certified PAs practice medicine on health care teams and make a difference in patients’
          lives every day. See what they do every day for you and me at PAsDoThat.net.”

• Add a PA Week profile frame to your Facebook profile picture!
  
  
• If you see your Certified PA between October 6-12 be sure to tell them Happy PA Week, and thank them for all they do!
  
  
• If you have a PA that you’re proud of and want to share a story of how they made a difference in your health care, email us and we may just share your story on this site!