Today NCCPA named the PA students that have been selected to attend the 2022 REPRESENT! Summit in September.

The selected student are as follows:

• Caroline Henry- University of Southern California
• Dua Abbas- Yale University
• Ashley Murchison- Brenau University
• Reginald Southall– University of Southern California
• Indira Plaisimond- University of Southern California
• Jordan Beckley- Ithaca College
• Sydney Driscoll Whitcomb- Wake Forest University
• Ted Parker- University of Washington, MEDEX, NW- Seattle Campus
• Amanda Chow- Southern Illinois University
• Akousa Gyamfi- University of Southern California
• Monica Gomez- Wake Forest University

Student applications were received from PA programs in: New York, Connecticut, North Carolina, California, Washington, Illinois, Georgia and South Carolina.

Students seeking to attend the Summit were asked to complete an application, and provide responses to the following questions:

1. What role do you believe a diverse PA workforce plays in the delivery of patient care?
2. Please list any prior work you have done, or are currently doing related to increasing racial/ethnic diversity in the PA profession.
3. What do you hope to learn from attending the Represent Summit?

Personally identifiable information and PA program information was redacted from the applications before they were provided to the Summit steering committee for review. Steering committee members reviewed the applications and graded the student responses using a standardized rubric and three-point scale. The students with the highest scores were given invitations to attend the Summit.

“We are thrilled to have these students join us for the inaugural REPRESENT! Summit,” said NCCPA President and CEO Dawn Morton-Rias, Ed.D., PA-C. “We believe that everyone has a part to play in increasing diversity, equity and inclusion in the PA profession, and the student perspective is an assuredly critical component to consider when undertaking these efforts. Each of these students already have a foundation in doing this work, and we look forward to their unique contributions to this meaningful dialogue to be had in September.”

The REPRESENT! Summit is a 1.5 day in-person NCCPA summit on increasing racial diversity, equity and inclusion in the PA profession. The inaugural event will take place September 8-9, 2022. The Represent Summit is by invitation only, and will be attended by clinically practicing PAs, PA faculty, PA students, leaders of PA organization, physicians and employers.

Comprised of discussions, guided activities, panels and poster exhibitions, REPRESENT! attendees will explore strategies to:

• Develop/sustain DEI efforts in PA organizations, workplaces that employ PAs and/or PA programs
• Promote inclusivity within PA educational and workplace communities
• Diversify the PA workforce and address health equity gaps

Additional information about the event can be found here.