July President's Message

7/8/2011

The President’s Corner

By David Wilson, PA-C

President’s Project

A belated happy 4^th of July to everyone. I had the pleasure of spending the holiday working at a literacy tent at a local Independence Day celebration. For the second year in row I enjoyed handing out free books (many provided by our academy) for kids to read over the summer. I had a great time watching the children as they found just the right book to take home with them. The joy on their faces as they showed the book off to others was priceless.

If children miss out on being read to when they are young, it becomes much more difficult for them to catch up to their peers when learning to read. Studies quoted by the Children’s Literacy Foundation have shown that children with strong reading skills are more likely to be successful in school and into their adult lives. The national commission on reading has shown that the single most important activity for building the knowledge required for eventual success in reading is reading aloud to children. Fifty-five percent of children who receive a new age-appropriate book of their very own had an increased interest in reading and the percent of young adults with a "high interest in reading" jumped from 23 percent to 61 percent.

My President’s project this year is to promote literacy as an organization. I challenge our members to be active in encouraging reading aloud whenever the opportunity arises. As a member of WAPA, I hope you can find the time to sit and read with a child. Encourage parents of your young patients to do the same when discussing their health needs. Over the next couple of months I hope to put together a package of books and materials that you may share in a school, preschool, daycare or church group setting. I hope that members of this academy will see this as a chance to read aloud to kids and share the enjoyment and success that comes with learning to read well.

Regional Representation

Regional Representation is a new structure the WAPA Board is looking to implement on a test basis starting this year. This idea first surfaced several years ago and has slowly grown to a concept of better representation of all WAPA members.

The WAPA Board currently consists of two directors at large. This year we will test a structure that consists of 5 regional directors at large. Although for this year, until we can vote on a bylaws change, this will only be in a test phase, I look at this as providing a better presence of a WAPA board member in each area of the state. These regional directors will be responsible for hosting a town hall style meeting to provide updates on academy activities. This is a developing plan and currently I am looking for a volunteer who would be interested in serving as a Western Wisconsin representative. Contact me with questions about the position.

Fall CME Conference

Mark your calendars for the fall CME conference to be held October 12-14 in Appleton at the Radisson Paper Valley Hotel. Our CME committee, led by Kathy Majewski, is in the process of finalizing the conference schedule. Rooms are available at the Radisson Paper Valley Hotel at the special group rate of $108 for a standard room. To guarantee this rate, and to ensure a room will be available, reservations must be made by September 13. To make a reservation, please call the Radisson Paper Valley at 800.242.3499 and request the Wisconsin Academy of Physician Assistants room block.

WAPA Foundation Golf

Golfers are needed for the annual WAPA Foundation golf event. This year we are returning to Trappers Turn, site of some of the event’s greatest turnouts. We will be teeing it up on September 15. This is an enjoyable event no matter your skill level. One hour of category 1 CME will be provided. Cost for the event is $150, with the proceeds used for scholarships and grants.

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