Conference for physician assistants, nurse practitioners targets allergy, asthma topics
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Key takeaways:
- The APA-AAI 15th Annual CME Conference will be in Park City, Utah, from July 28 to July 30.
- Topics will include the united airway, allergen introductions, environmental allergens, atopic dermatitis and more.
As demand for allergy and asthma care grows, physician assistants now have a greater role in providing that treatment. The Association of PAs in Allergy, Asthma & Immunology aims to support these professionals with its upcoming conference.
“There are very few specialists across the country,” Gabriel Ortiz, PA-C, MPAS, DFAAPA, treasurer, past president and cofounder of the APA-AAI, told Healio. “In many practices across the country, allergists employ PAs or nurse practitioners to help them see more patients.”
The organization’s origin
Ortiz, who is a clinical educator and clinical science liaison with Thermo Fisher Scientific, began his career as a PA in allergy and asthma in 1991. In 1998, a representative from Merck asked him if there was any national organization for PAs in allergy and asthma.
“I said no, I’m not aware of any,” Ortiz said. “So, I took it upon myself to investigate.”
Ortiz began writing a set of bylaws and recruiting other PAs to join him as officers in a new organization. The American Academy of Physician Associates approved their application for recognition in 1999.
This year, the APA-AAI will host its 15th Annual Allergy, Asthma & Immunology CME Conference in Park City, Utah, from July 28 to 30. This year’s meeting will feature more than a dozen speakers, in addition to dining, networking and entertainment.
As chair of the conference as well, Ortiz has had an active role in its planning throughout its history.
“I put on the first conference almost entirely by myself,” he said. “I did the first conference, believe it or not, with $77,000, for the cost of the hotel and the honorariums.”
Although the conference has grown in size and scope since those early days, Ortiz said that the APA-AAI’s more recent events have remained intimate compared with larger events from other groups.
“We have about a hundred attendees, which is really nice, and we always have a social event, which is good,” Ortiz said. “People can always go up to the speaker if they want to and get to know the speakers a little bit more.”
Ortiz also emphasized the opportunity that this conference offers PAs and NPs for continuing education, calling it the only conference made by PAs for PAs and NPs.
“Usually, the physician in the practice goes to the conferences from the College or the Academy. The PA or NP may not get to go,” Ortiz said. “But our meeting does have a lot of the same topics.”
The agenda
Ortiz praised the quality of the speakers and topics on the conference schedule, with up to 20 Category 1 CME credit hours for licensing and certification available, beginning with Andrew Liu, MD, of Children’s Hospital Colorado.
The allergy and immunology specialist and researcher will provide the keynote address, “Allergic Airway Disease: Past, Present & Future” and lead a second session on “Asthma, Does Allergy Matter?”
“We know the concept of the united airway. What happens in the upper airway happens in the lower airway,” Ortiz said. “That connection is very vital to what we talk about in allergic disease, because many primary care providers don’t really understand that connection.”
Among other topics, John James, MD, president of Food Allergy Consulting and Education Services, will present “Early Introduction of Food Allergens for the Prevention of Food Allergy.”
“By avoiding those proteins in pediatric diets, we’ve created a generation of more allergic individuals,” Ortiz said. “This audience pretty much knows that. But maybe we can get some more up-to-date information as to the value of recommendations for early introduction.”
Kim Stanger, an attorney and partner specializing in health law at Holland & Hart LLP, will present “Dealing with Patients: Creating and Ending Patient Relationships, Handling Difficult Patients and Avoiding Improper Inducements.”
“That’s probably a really good topic in any kind of medical field,” Ortiz said, adding that adolescent patients are particularly challenging in allergy care.
“Maybe they’re undertaking a lot of risky behaviors, maybe not carrying their epinephrine autoinjector, maybe just trying a little bit of peanut, maybe failing to follow the recommendations,” Ortiz said. “We’ll get some information about difficult patients in the allergy practice.”
Andrea M. Jensen, CHES, AE-C, public health educator with the Asthma & Allergy Network, will present “At Home Allergen Reduction: Environmental Changes That Impact Asthma.”
“There have been several landmark studies showing the value of at-home and, more specifically, bedroom interventions and improvements in the quality of life of patients with asthma,” Ortiz said.
Further, Ortiz noted the multiple sessions pertaining to dermatology, including a look at how other diseases may mimic atopic dermatitis from Keri Holyoak, PA-C, MPH, of the Dermatology Center of Salt Lake City, on the schedule.
“Dermatological diseases may not always be connected to allergy,” Ortiz said. “So many dermatological conditions may look similar, but they may not always be the same.”
Further, Ortiz spotlighted the exhibitor breaks, meals and other events sponsored by the APA-AAI’s corporate sponsors, including Blueprint Medicine, Novartis, Sanofi/Regeneron and Incyte, that are on the schedule.
“We’re extremely appreciative of our corporate sponsors,” Ortiz said, adding that these partnerships enable the APA-AAI to bring the latest information about pharmaceutical products to its attendees.
Open to all
While the conference is designed for PAs and NPs interested in allergy, asthma and immunology, Ortiz stressed that it is open to all health care professionals.
“They don’t have to practice in allergy or immunology,” Ortiz said. “Just getting that information and education as to those types of topics within the allergy and immunology community, we feel, is a good value for the money.”
Opportunities for PAs, NPs and other medical professionals who do not currently work in allergy and asthma to learn about the field and to network with people in it will abound, Ortiz said, as the need for PAs and NPs in the specialty grows.
“I had a friend working down in Corpus Christi, Texas, where there was a practice with one physician and 22 PAs and NPs,” Ortiz said. “They are becoming more and more utilized, and more and more necessary, because there are so few allergists.”
The conference gives all its attendees a chance to meet and learn about each other’s experiences, Ortiz said.
“The APA-AAI conference not only offers a great lineup of topics, it also offers plenty of time for networking,” Ortiz said.
Registration is open at aapaaai.org/events. Early bird registration ends on June 15.
For more information:
Gabriel Ortiz, PA-C, MPAS, DFAAPA, can be reached at aapaaai99@yahoo.com.