Recently the Conference Planning Committee representing eight PA programs from across the country met in Omaha to set the agenda for the second Advancing Rural Primary Care Conference. Scheduled for March 23-24, 2017, in Omaha, the conference focuses on the effective utilization of physician assistants in rural primary care teams. Including support from a federal primary care grant, PA programs cosponsoring the conference with UNMC include Des Moines University, Duke University (NC), Lincoln Memorial University (TN), Union College, University of Iowa, University of South Dakota and Wichita State University.
Conference objectives include:
- Explore current models of health care delivery that build and sustain a rural primary care PA workforce.
- Describe the health care outcomes (including cost implications) related to primary care practices that effectively utilize PAs.
- Develop strategies to resolve barriers to team-based care utilizing PAs in rural primary health care.
- Advance instructional innovations to enhance student preparation for meeting rural health care needs.
- Create opportunities to collaborate with other health care stakeholders to maximize effective PA utilization. With the theme, “Come Home to Primary Care,” the conference promises to be a landmark in promoting high quality, team-based primary care. For conference updates, see https://unmc.edu/alliedhealth/resources/opportunities/pa-ce.html.