The AAPA held its State of the Association & Financial Report on January 21, 2024, live via GoToWebinar. The purpose of this meeting was to allow the Board of Trustees (BOT) and Committee Chairs to provide the AAPA membership with the current financial report, details of accomplishments from 2023, current updates, and goals for upcoming 2024. Additionally, there was time for the panelists to answer questions submitted by association members.
Moderator Emily Nangano, PA(ASCP)CM, began the meeting by introducing the panelists. The BOT presenters included: Jennifer Perez, PA(ASCP)CM, BOT Chair; Heather Gaburo, PA(ASCP)CM, outgoing Vice Chair/Secretary and incoming Chief Financial Officer (CFO); and Erika Paulsen, PA(ASCP)CM, incoming Vice Chair/Secretary. The financial report was given by outgoing CFO and board member Jesse McCoy, PA(ASCP)CM. The committee panelists included: Connie Thorpe, PA(ASCP)CM, Director of Professional Development; Lou Mendes-Kramer, PA(ASCP)CM, Forensic Task Force Chair; Chevanne Scordinsky, PA(ASCP)CM, Administration Committee Chair; Jenn Hudson, PA(ASCP)CM, Legislative Subcommittee Chair; Meghan Pickard, PA(ASCP)CM, Education Committee Chair and BOT Member, Education Committee Oversight; Marissa Spencer, PA(ASCP)CM, MarComm Committee Chair; and Shanice Bedassie, PA(ASCP)CM, Membership Committee Chair and BOT Member, Membership Committee Oversight.
Jennifer began the meeting with a review of BOT structure, highlighting the outgoing, incoming, and returning members. She mentioned the Board’s strategic plan and shared the theme of mentorship, which fueled many of our 2023 initiatives, including the introduction of four Special Interest Groups (SIGs), implementing mentorship between the Chair and Vice Chairs of each committee, and launching a formal mentorship program within the Student Committee. She closed her time by thanking all of our volunteers for their dedication and hard work. Heather highlighted the two awards presented at the AAPA Annual Conference in September: Juniper Fedor received the Rising Star Award and Niki Boisso received the BOT Award. Erika then highlighted the BOT Lifetime Achievement Award that went to Leo Limuaco posthumously. Jesse explained our 2023 Financial Report, highlighting increased job ad income, positive growth in our investments, and increased expense due to Annual Conference attrition and investing in the Grossing Guidelines. New member benefits, including the upcoming Preceptor Program, 4th edition of the Grossing Guidelines, and free access to the AAPA Inspection Readiness Kit, will be available soon in 2024.
Connie presented the Director of Professional Development Report, starting with a review of previous editions of the Grossing Guidelines, with the 3rd edition published this past year. Plans for the upcoming 4th edition, which include a collaboration with the College of American Pathologists (CAP), are underway. An Editorial Board has been created, and a Grossing Guidelines Working Weekend has been planned for March 15-17 in Chicago.
Lou provided an update on the Forensic Task Force. The Task Force had a significant increase in membership in 2023, so members were divided between an Autopsy SIG and the Task Force. She provided the most updated numbers of Pathologists’ Assistants working in forensics. The International Association of Coroner and Medical Examiners (IACME) has recently voted on new standards that fully recognize Pathologists’ Assistants working in forensic settings. The Task Force continues to educate physicians, Medical Examiners, students, and Pathologists’ Assistants on the value of our presence in forensics settings.
Chevanne explained the structure of the Administration Committee and its subcommittees: Governing Documents, Nominations, and Legislative. The goals for the committee for 2024 include: to help with the process toward licensure and increased recognition for our profession, to revamp the existing AAPA governing policies, and to encourage membership to be involved in leadership of our organization. She announced a call for volunteers for the Governing Documents Subcommittee in order for the subcommittee to be more active in the coming year. In 2023, the Nominations Subcommittee continued its work vetting nominees for the BOT and was able to fill a vacated seat late in the year. The Legislative Subcommittee had an increase in membership and a leadership transition, with Chair Liz Rizzo stepping down and Jenn Hudson stepping in. Chevanne then announced that she would be stepping down as Chair of the Administration Committee, but would continue as a member.
Jenn provided more details on the activities of the Legislative Subcommittee. She provided a summary of the states that currently license Pathologists’ Assistants and other laboratorians. The subcommittee monitors the Veterans Association (VA), which will be developing national standards for Pathologists’ Assistants working in the VA system. Many Pathologists’ Assistants have reached out to the AAPA regarding licensure in their states, and Jenn and her team have responded in various ways, including submitting a public comment to the state of California. The subcommittee also submitted a public comment relating to personnel amendments for CLIA ’88. In 2023, the “Why Licensure” document was finalized and will be released shortly in 2024 and presented at the Annual Conference. In addition to releasing the “Why Licensure” document, goals for 2024 include exploring licensure in states that license other laboratory personnel, monitoring relationships/developments regarding CLIA ’88, and involving additional members interested in pursuing licensure in their states.
Meghan spoke on the activities of the non-meeting side of the Education Committee, which is composed of 16 subcommittees and approximately 75 volunteers. The committee works extensively with students, providing a study guide, answering questions, procuring student delegates, scholarships, and travel grants. She talked about the activities of the Peer Review, Content Creation, and Quiz Writing Team Subcommittees, highlighting the availability of all necessary CE credits for recertification. In 2022, they released a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) webinar series, and in 2024, a Forensic webinar series will be released. New exciting news for 2024 is that a Learning Management System (LMS) has been chosen for implementation. The AAPA will be partnering with MapleLMS to provide CE credits, study materials, CE tracking, modules, and all things professional development, including the Preceptor Program and specialized training.
Emily, as Vice Chair of Education covered the meeting side, starting with discussion of upcoming meetings, including the 50th Annual Conference, which will be held in Denver in 2025. In 2024, the committee hopes to fill a few important positions, including Annual Conference Vice Chair, increase attendance and engagement at conferences, and add new sponsors/exhibitors. Input from membership has been assessed and will be used to inform the selection of future host cities.
Marissa, Chair of the MarComm Committee, announced the 2023 launch of the DEI Subcommittee, which has been active in spreading awareness on a variety of areas including neurodiversity in our community. 2023 saw the 10th Anniversary of PA Day where the committee promoted and highlighted ways in which our members were appreciated. All subcommittees had a successful year, adding volunteers and accomplishing many activities, including a Mentor Recognition Campaign, creation of QR codes to be used on promotional materials, presentation of a forensic poster at our booth, and a successful photo contest. In 2024, the DEI Subcommittee plans to create an AAPA DEI Statement, develop guidelines for gender-affirming specimens, and work on supporting neurodivergent Pathologists’ Assistants. The committee will also be reevaluating our marketing booth and exploring other ways the AAPA can be involved in other professional groups. In addition to creating additional resources to promote our profession, MarComm also hopes to increase its members in 2024.
Shanice presented the report for the Membership Committee, mentioning the launch of the Autopsy, GU, Management and Lab Safety, and Teaching SIGs, with GI, Perinatal, and Thoracic SIGs starting in 2024. She explained the AAPA membership breakdown and discussed the various surveys to be released in 2024, including the updated Membership Survey, a Member Needs Survey, and a Volunteer Feedback Survey. The committee will be exploring member recruitment and retention and creating a “Lessons Learned” project to draw upon the depth of knowledge of our more experienced members. 2023 saw the implementation of an official volunteer onboarding process and a large increase in member volunteers. In 2024, they hope to finalize a master list of volunteer roles and descriptions across all committees. The Student Delegate and Student Committees accomplished many goals, including the successful launch of their new Mentorship program. Lastly, Shanice reviewed the committee’s goals for 2024.