From the President

Association of Plastic Surgery Physician Assistants
President's Report May, 2008

Robert M. Blumm, MA, PA-C, DFAAPA

For those of you that were present at the APSPA Meeting at the AAPA Conference in San Antonio, you witnessed the accomplishments of this organization in the past year. When an organization has 25 or more accomplishments it means that someone is working. I think that the credit goes to this strong BOD and, in particular, the colleagues that I share this responsibility with. They are overachievers and committed almost to a fault. They have neglected other responsibilities to put this association on their front burner and are entirely dedicated to you, the plastic surgery PAs. I dedicate this report to their tireless efforts, their enthusiasm and their sense of perfection. They are awesome ladies, awesome PAs and awesome leaders. Without their efforts in every front we could have shared none of these successes or accomplishments. To Leah, our immediate past president, now a Mommy, I dub my hat in respect for your commitment to the APSPA. To Chrysa, our secretary, I believe that she has written the best Grant proposal that I have seen in any specialty organization besides her other countless contributions. And to Kris, our treasurer, the responsible party for much of our financial success as well as the website and the surveys, which make us an entity that the corporate world would want to partner with. All these are the lead players on the board. My role is to continue to encourage our efforts, reach out to other organizations and tell the team that I love them and their hard work.

I will take this opportunity to elaborate on an issue of great importance. Everything that is tangible today has its roots in history. The history of our great nation is replete with the stories of committed men and women who responded to the needs of an infant nation. These extremists were not from an elitist group, they were the common citizens who realized that they were responsible for the future of this democratic nation.

Paul Revere was one of the early patriots who chose involvement rather than apathy, a choice that secured our future. It was not the most convenient time to take a pony ride through New England. It was cold, dark and rainy. If his horse stumbled there would be no PA available to render medical care. This was an adventure that required his total faith that this dream of freedom was worth his total commitment. He was a "living example" of the maxim that you pay a price to gain a prize. His message: "The British are coming" awoke the countryside causing the Minutemen to go to arms.

This reminds me of the roots of our own PA profession. The early pioneers, mainly Medics and Corpsmen returning from Vietnam, required vision. Could this profession survive? Its early members were totally committed, they were involved wherever they were needed. They laid a foundation, formulated a plan and gave their all. This also reminds me of the history of APSPA. When we needed a George Washington we had a Leah Kenney. When we needed a Thomas Jefferson we had a Sandy. As the time went by we had other fine leaders like Kris and Chrysa; but, among the most important were the members. An organization without members does not have a heartbeat. Leaders cannot be leaders without followers. Organizations cannot expand unless every member realizes that they are a spoke in the wheel, we are interdependent, we need each other, we feed off each others successes and failures and we hope together. Yes, you are the heart and soul of APSPA and we need you now more than ever.

When crisis seems to pass in our lives we sometimes lose the vision. Let me assure you, crisis is not past. There will be and there are others with credentials that differ from yours and mine that would love to stand at the table in our place. They are there already but in smaller numbers. The surgical and plastic surgical PA can become history unless we are re-stimulated with the enormous understanding of what is happening and our role in preserving the position of the plastic surgery PA. We need each other, we need five times the membership and we need working, committed and positive thinking PAs to say to the BOD, "Where can I best help us to grow?" We need every member to get at least one new PA to join our ranks this year. Did you hear me? Everyone must win one and bring them to our association. We need every member to renew their membership in a timely manner and we need to recapture the vision. Can we do this task? I know we can! So get on your horse and ride through the countryside with your message of urgency and hope. Your future will depend on it!

Warmly and Fraternally,
Bob Blumm MA, PA-C, DFAAPA
President, APSPA