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By Kate Hunger

Meredith Quinene, DHSc, MPAS, PA-C, DFAAPA, has been elected by the Texas Academy of Physician Assistants (TAPA) as a delegate to the American Academy of Physician Associates (AAPA) House of Delegates.The AAPA House of Delegates is the national legislative body for the PA profession and has voting delegates from 58 chapters representing the 50 states, the District of Columbia, U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and five federal services.

“The PA profession is going through a lot of changes,” said Dr. Quinene, an associate professor who also serves as academic coordinator for the Department of Physician Assistant Studies at �����Թ�. “I feel like I have something to bring to the table considering where we are in history, and I believe that in my role as a faculty member, I can really provide a good voice.”

In her election platform, Dr. Quinene mentioned two issues facing the profession. One is the proposed change in the name of the profession from “physician assistant” to “physician associate” — a change AAPA has already made to its own name. The second change is optimal team practice (OTP), which allows state chapters to seek changes in state laws concerning requirements pertaining to relationships among PAs, physicians and other health care professionals.

The TAPA election also included PA Studies student Norina Hall, who was elected to serve as student director for TAPA — the second consecutive state-wide student director from the �����Թ� PA Studies program. Hall previously has served as a TAPA student representative for two years.

“As student director, I look forward to serving as a voice for all Texas PA students on the TAPA board,” she said. “But during my time, I also want to work to ensure PA students are able to take advantage of all that TAPA has to offer them, as well as ensure PA students throughout Texas are involved in helping our future profession continue to grow.”