This PA Week: Celebrate 117 Years of Progress

This PA Week: Celebrate 117 Years of Progress

Advancing the PA profession since 1908

September 29, 2025

PA Week is almost here! Join us from October 6-12 as we celebrate 117 years of history, beginning with the man who started it all: Dr. Eugene Stead. From the first graduating PA class to a growing profession that's now nearly 190,000 PAs strong, we have plenty to celebrate.

Dr. Eugene A Stead; courtesy of the PA History Society

An Innovator is Born
Dr. Eugene A Stead (1908-2005) is credited as the founder of the PA profession, making him one of the foremost educational innovators of the twenty-first century.

Based on his and his colleagues' growing use of ex-military corpsmen in the early 1960s to help run specialty units at Duke, Dr. Stead began to formulate his two-year curriculum to expand the prior education and experience of these corpsmen to become competent PAs.

With the support of the Duke faculty and administration, he launched the first formal educational program for PAs at Duke University in 1965. For the next seven years, Duke University and later the University of Washington (Dr. Richard Smith's MEDEX program) became focal points for the development of the PA profession.

Although not planned, it is only appropriate that National PA Day (now week) is celebrated each year on his birthday - Oct. 6.

The first class of PA graduates; courtesy of the PA History Society

The First Class of PAs Graduates
The first PA class - consisting of three Navy Corpsmen: Victor H. Germino, Kenneth F. Ferrell, and Richard J. Scheele - graduated from the Duke University PA program on Oct. 6, 1967. The PA concept was lauded early on, and gained federal acceptance and backing as early as the 1970s as a creative solution to physician shortages.

The medical community helped support the new profession and spurred the setting of accreditation standards, establishment of a national certification process and standardized examination, and development of continuing medical education (CME) requirements.

Introducing the First "PA Day"

Twenty years later, on Oct. 6, 1987, National PA Day was established.

Honorary PA Marilyn H. Fitzgerald, along with PA volunteers on the AAPA Public Education Committee - David Larson, Tom Berry, Susan Perdue, Donna Sewell, James Tanner, Kevin Bolan, and Susan Schwartz - came up with the idea to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the first graduating class of PAs.

AAPA designed a logo, created stickers for PAs to wear and a banner to hang from a building walkway close to AAPA headquarters in Arlington, Virginia, and drafted handouts to offer information about the profession.

The team reached out to the constituent organizations and suggested ways they and their members could celebrate this milestone, including sharing an AAPA-drafted press release that they could send to their local media. Meanwhile, AAPA staff reached out to the national media to raise awareness of the profession.

The First PA Week

In May 2004, the AAPA House of Delegates adopted policy changing PA Day to PA Week.

Today, PA Week is celebrated every year from Oct. 6-12. This is a time to celebrate all that PAs have accomplished, highlight the high-quality care they provide, and elevate the profession.

There are many ways PAs and PA students can show their PA pride and advocate for the profession this PA Week. From volunteering to spreading awareness of the profession, there is something for everyone!

[Donate to the Physician Associate Foundation's IMPACT grant to support PAs and PA students committed to making a difference through patient-centered, community-based health projects]

PAs and PA students advocating for the profession in Times Square during PA Week 2024

So Much to Celebrate!
In 2025, we have had several advocacy victories to be proud of. New Hampshire and Maine officially adopted "physician associate" as the legal title of the PA profession, bringing the total to three states. Five states adopted the PA licensure compact, bringing the total to 19! And many more states adopted crucial changes to modernize PA practice.

We can safely say: PAs have come a long way since 1967!

This year, AAPA has several resources available for those interested in joining in the celebration! You can join the crowd during PAs on the Plaza in New York City, host a Project Access event, share graphics on social media, highlight a fellow PA who goes above and beyond on AAPA's new Nationwide Physician Associate Impact Map, or reach out to legislators.

Visit PAweek.com to get started today!

Follow AAPA on social to see how PAs are celebrating across the country! Use hashtags #PAweek and #PAsGoBeyond to join the conversation.

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