Congratulations to Karen Kushner, the 5th Annual Family Practice PA of the Year! She was awarded at the 11th Annual AFPPA CME Conference in Phoenix on Wednesday, November 4.

Kushner is shown below with Terri Schaefer of ADVANCE (L). Thanks to Michael Gerchusfky for sharing this photo with us!

We are having a fabulous time in beautiful Phoenix, and wanted to take a second to share these images that our Twitter friend @Retired_PAC has shared of his experience at the conference!

Conference attendees enjoy a coffee break between sessions.

One of our many educational sessions.

We'd like to thank the over 550 attendees that have helped to make this conference a huge success! Today we'll be hosting our Fun Run and Walk as well as our blood drive with the American Red Cross.

Welcome to AFPPA Fall Conference 2009!!! Phoenix is so beautiful this morning! This is one of the most beautiful times of the year to be in Arizona. Opening ceremonies are about to begin! Please join us. Tonight's Fiesta is going to be off the hook! More later....

The Association of Family Practice Physician Assistants is pleased to announce that seven student members have been awarded AFPPA scholarships. Two student members are the first-ever recipients of the Meeks Scholarship, which has been established recently in memory of the late Jim Meeks, who served as president of AFPPA in 2008-09. Additionally, there were two Senior Scholarship winners, two Junior Scholarship winners and one recipient of the Rose Lorfing Scholarship, sponsored by Daniel Wood in honor of his mother, a breast cancer survivor.

The Meeks and Senior scholarships are both valued at $1,500 each, and the Junior scholarship is valued at $1,000. The Rose Lorfing Scholarship is $500. We congratulate each of our scholarship winners, who have each demonstrated a special interest in primary care medicine, and are current in good academic standing.

By Terri Schaefer
Senior Associate Editor
ADVANCE for Physician Assistants

Hello to all the family practice PAs reading this post. I’m looking forward to seeing old friends and meeting new ones in two short weeks in Phoenix. This will be my fifth time at the conference, and I always enjoy each time even more than the last. The conference is truly a great opportunity to learn, network and have some fun. And ADVANCE is proud to be the official journal of the AFPPA.

Specifically, I’m preparing for the award presentation for this year’s Family Practice PA of the Year, Karen Kushner, PA-C, from Chico, Calif. You’ll learn more about her during the opening session on Wednesday, Nov. 4, at 9 a.m. I hope you’ll be able to attend. You can also read about her accomplishments in our October 2009 issue. The competition is co-presented by ADVANCE and AFPPA.

Also, please visit our booth in the exhibit hall, where you’ll be able to pick up an issue and find out more information about other services from our company. But most importantly, we are eager to talk with you. Stop by and tell us what you like about our journal and what you’d like to see in future issues. What professional issues are impacting you, and how would you like to see them covered?

Thanks for reading, and I hope to see you soon!