PA Week

PA Week is an October observance honoring physician associates (also known as physician assistants) and the profession’s contributions to health care. Its roots lie in the mid-20th-century response to changing medical needs, particularly shortages of physicians and the need to extend access to care. In 1965, Dr. Eugene A. Stead Jr. established the first physician associate educational program at Duke University, enrolling former military corpsmen whose clinical experience could be developed through focused medical training. The first class graduated in 1967, marking the beginning of a profession designed to practice medicine collaboratively with physicians.

As the profession expanded, physician associates organized nationally and developed formal educational, certification, and regulatory structures. The American Academy of Physician Associates, founded in 1968, helped promote professional standards and public understanding of the role. Early observances focused largely on recognizing physician associates and their service, while later PA Week grew into a broader period for education, advocacy, recruitment, and appreciation. Medical organizations, educational programs, hospitals, and professional societies now use the week to highlight the history and continuing development of the field.

The observance also reflects the increasingly wide range of settings in which physician associates work. They provide care in primary care, surgery, emergency medicine, rural and community health, specialty practices, hospitals, and other clinical environments. PA Week gives patients an opportunity to learn how physician associates contribute to diagnosis, treatment, prevention, and care coordination, while also acknowledging the profession’s emphasis on teamwork and access to care.

Culturally, PA Week serves both as a professional celebration and as a public-awareness campaign. Educational institutions may hold panel discussions or career events, health-care employers may recognize their PA teams, and professional groups may share stories about service and patient outcomes. Held during a week in October, it connects the profession’s present-day visibility with the historical experiment that began at Duke and developed into an established part of modern health care.