From education sessions at the Forum, to workshops, to timely webinars, PAEA provides numerous opportunities for continuing education. Workshops are offered several times per year for new faculty, new clinical coordinators, and new program directors. These offerings are designed to give attendees the essential skills and tools needed to excel in their new roles.
PA educators, whether early in their career or experienced, will also benefit from virtual and in-person workshops on specific topics such as admissions, diversity and inclusion, assessment, leadership, and conflict management.
Upcoming workshops:
- New Faculty Jump Start (virtual, February 2024) – Workshop and Wait List are FULL
- Spring Workshops (in-person, April 2024) – Registration opening in 2024!
Workshops for New Faculty
Stepping into the role of faculty member is both exciting and challenging. Fortunately, you don’t have to figure it all out on your own. PAEA is committed to continued learning and helping PA faculty get the most out of their membership. The workshops below are designed for faculty who are new to education and looking for guidance in becoming acclimated to academia and the role of educator.
This virtual workshop is designed to help new faculty learn the essentials of their specific role in just one month, covering the most crucial topics for new PA educators as they take on the role of faculty member. This workshop is delivered in a series of four weekly virtual sessions, giving participants the opportunity to apply what they learn and reflect on their experiences in real time.
This eight-session virtual workshop is designed for faculty members who are new to PA education. Attendees will meet with the facilitators, invited guest speakers, and your colleagues to accelerate their transition into the role of PA educator. In addition to the session topics listed below, two of the sessions will be Virtual Leader Lounges, where attendees can meet and network with PAEA leaders. Because this workshop is designed to build upon foundational knowledge gained in a previous workshop, it is strongly recommended that attendees have already completed the New Faculty Jump Start.
In this three-day, in-person workshop, you will learn the basic techniques and tools required for effective teaching, while receiving timely, actionable guidance from experienced educators with a passion for helping new faculty excel. With the building blocks for becoming an impactful educator, you will walk away from this workshop equipped with new skills and knowledge for your role, as well as a network of supportive colleagues.
Workshops for New Clinical Coordinators
Leading clinical education and securing clinical sites is a critical responsibility. The following workshops are designed to equip new clinical coordinators with practical advice and a wealth of useful ideas to help them be successful in their new role.
This one-month virtual workshop provides the foundational skills that new clinical coordinators will need to succeed in their role. Comprised of four weekly live sessions, the workshop’s multi-week design allows attendees to incrementally apply new information to their work. The series of virtual sessions, led by facilitators who are clinical coordinators themselves, will cover the most essential topics to increase your skill set in this vital role.
Clinical Coordinators 101 is the perfect place to learn with other faculty members who are also new to the role. This three-day, in-person workshop is led by expert facilitators who are experienced clinical coordinators themselves and is designed to offer practical advice to help attendees become acclimated to their new role and begin to develop a personalized toolbox of resources and strategies.
Workshops for New Program Directors
Becoming a program director is an exciting step that comes with important responsibilities. As a leader, it is vital to acquire a diverse set of skills and knowledge to guide your program, students, and faculty in excellence. Development offerings for new program directors focus on helping you gain a network of supportive colleagues and the essential knowledge and skills needed to excel in your new role. These workshops are designed for PDs and associate directors with fewer than two years in their position or fewer than five years in PA education.
The New Program Directors Jump Start is designed to impart the essential knowledge and skills PDs need. The workshop is delivered in a series of four weekly virtual sessions, during which participants learn alongside fellow educators, ask questions, and discuss important topics. Our experienced facilitators, PDs themselves, will share their experiences and lessons learned, and will guide discussions around critical topics for new PDs. You will leave this workshop feeling more confident and prepared to begin or continue your work as a PD.
This five-session virtual workshop is designed for PDs and associate PDs with fewer than two years in their position or fewer than five years in PA education. You will meet with the invited speakers, small group facilitators, and your colleagues to accelerate your knowledge and skills to support your role as a PD. The workshop leaders, who are experts in their area, will share their information, experiences, and lessons learned, and will guide discussions around critical topics for new PDs. It is strongly recommended that attendees have already completed the New Program Directors Jump Start.
Program Directors 101 is an in-person, multi-day workshop that focuses on the enhancement of leadership, innovation, and excellence in PA education. Through a variety of dynamic sessions, facilitators will provide participants with venues for learning, skills development, networking, and mentoring. Interactive sessions include topics such as leadership and management, faculty recruitment and retention, financial management, assessment and program outcomes, and legal issues in higher education.
Topic-Based Workshops for All Faculty
PA educators at all experience levels are invited to participate in virtual or in-person workshops covering a variety of topics. Examples of topical workshops are listed below.
This workshop examines equitable recruitment, enrollment, and retention practices in PA education. Led by faculty with significant expertise and interest in this area across several unique PA programs, participants learn background information and data that supports these practices as well as practical tips for implementation. Specific topics covered include holistic review, interview practices, recruitment practices, and retention strategies. Participants also spend time in facilitated small group discussions to uncover individual and institutional barriers and develop solutions. Participants leave with tangible ideas to put into practice, as well as a useful toolkit of resources to help with implementation.
A curriculum map can provide essential functionality through curricular transparency and analysis. Creating a curriculum map affords programs the opportunity to collaborate and analyze curricular content while ensuring accreditation standards are met. This workshop explores principles of curriculum mapping and how to apply these in the context of individual programs. Participants collaborate both in small groups and with all participants to work toward identifying program goals, relevant data, reporting needs, user access, and implementation.
This workshop uses a needs assessment framework to support participants in identifying how and where to integrate sexual and gender minority (SGM) content into their program’s curriculum. This includes a brief review of the ARC-PA Standards (5th edition) which require programs to provide instruction on gender identity and sexual orientation, the PAEA new graduate competencies, the NCCPA Blueprint, and the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) recommendations for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) curricular inclusion. Through individual and group work, participants have opportunities to identify the strengths and needs in their respective curricula related to SGM content. Integration of SGM content is discussed across preclinical and clinical courses utilizing synchronous, asynchronous, didactic, case-based, and clinical learning opportunities. Existing curricular resources are shared. Participants leave the workshop with a plan for implementation of SGM content in their program, mapping content to the ARC-PA Standards, the NCCPA Blueprint, and the PAEA new graduate competencies, and with tools for measuring success. Faculty are then equipped to navigate potential challenges in implementing SGM content into the curriculum.
Test item writing is critical to the development of appropriate student assessments; however, it can be a difficult task. It is important to ensure that test items are culturally responsible with clinical vignettes inclusive and reflective of the patients that students will be called upon to treat and to reduce test-item bias that may contribute to an unfair test. The way race, ethnicity, culture, and identity are used in the construction of test items may introduce unconscious bias along with other test-related bias such item-selection bias, reinforcing hidden curricula that perpetuate bias in medical practice.
This workshop provides educators background and experience with writing test items that minimize bias by using best practices for developing culturally mindful test items. Additionally, participants practice the process of peer review to identify and correct bias in test items. This promotes test-taker success, inclusive test item writing, and advance the careers of all attendees by helping to reduce unconscious bias that can lead to systemic racism and negative outcomes.
Whether you are a seasoned PA faculty member or new to PA education, you will find new ideas, expand your connections, and have something to bring back to your program by attending the Leadership Lab. An introduction to The Leadership Challenge® model will share a practical, evidence-based leadership framework that is heavily reliant on team building, learning activities, and hands-on experiences that you can share with your faculty and students. The “unconference” portion of the workshop utilizes a participant-driven approach to tackling topics in leadership. Attendees will choose priority areas for discussion, and facilitators will guide conversations allowing participants to share experiences and use their collective knowledge to generate solutions to common challenges faced by PA educators. PA faculty will deliver “Ted Talk”-like presentations on selected leadership topics to round out the event.
Considered the gold standard for the care of patients living with opioid use disorder (OUD), medication-assisted treatment (MAT) is in high demand nationwide. To help meet this demand, PAEA, in partnership with the American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry (AAAP), offered PA faculty and preceptors the opportunity to participate in eight hours of live MAT waiver training while earning up to eight AAPA Category 1 CME credits, by completing the first eight hours of the 24 training hours required for PAs to obtain a waiver to prescribe buprenorphine in office-based settings. For more information on MAT waiver training or resources on chronic pain and OUD, visit https://pcssnow.org/ or contact pcss@aaap.org.
Overdose continues to be the leading cause of accidental death in the United States. The stay-at-home orders and economic stresses that are part of the COVID-19 pandemic increase the isolation and despair that, in turn, increases the risk of substance use disorders and mental illness. This workshop will enable faculty to develop realistic training scenarios using standardized patients to decrease stigma and increase students’ facility in addressing this vulnerable population.
Come join us as we explore personality styles and how they inform your ability to communicate and engage in healthy conflict. Through an introduction to Crucial Conversations® and Five Behaviors of a Cohesive Team®, we will examine how your DiSC profile and individual preferences impact how you manage and leverage conflict to communicate successfully. This introductory workshop is appropriate for all faculty, but especially for newer faculty or faculty who have not completed formal conflict training. This workshop is designed with a longitudinal focus to maximize participant engagement and integrated virtual connectiveness.
PAEA encourages all PA faculty and staff to participate in its programs and activities. If you anticipate needing any type of accessibility accommodation or have questions about the physical or virtual access provided, please contact Workshops@PAEAonline.org at the time of registration or at least one week in advance of the event.
Workshop Policies
We understand that there may be circumstances that require you to change your plans. If this happens, here’s what you need to know:
- PAEA encourages you to designate a substitute in your place if you cannot attend. Substitutions will be honored at any time up to the start of the workshop. No-shows are not eligible for refunds. To substitute one registrant for another, please email us at workshops@PAEAonline.org.
- Cancellations must be received by email (workshops@PAEAonline.org) by the stated cancellation deadline for the workshop in order to receive a refund (minus a 10% administrative fee). Refunds will be processed within two weeks of the workshop start date.
- No refunds will be issued for any reason for cancellations received after the cancellation deadline.
- If you need assistance, you can contact us at workshops@PAEAonline.org.
These policies apply to all registration types.
PAEA reserves the right to cancel any programming or session. In the unlikely event of cancellation of the workshop, PAEA will refund registration fees but is not responsible for any costs, damages, or other expenses of any kind.
Facilitators and speakers are subject to change without notice.
PAEA Workshop attendance is intended for and limited to those directly involved in PA and/or medical education. Vendors and third-party representatives will be prohibited from attending any of the workshops. If a vendor or third-party representative registers for a workshop, PAEA reserves the right to cancel the registration without reimbursement of registration fees.
For virtual workshops, you may choose to participate in the workshop visually or with audio only. If you participate visually, your image will be received by and available to all participants, and you are agreeing that your image may be used at any time, without further notification, in PAEA printed materials, websites, social media, and for other marketing purposes.
This code of conduct outlines the expectations for all attendees and participants, including all members, facilitators, speakers, exhibitors, sponsors, and volunteers. Cooperation is expected from everyone throughout the workshop and at all workshop events, whether or not officially sponsored by PAEA.
PAEA Workshops are offered to a national audience and are intended to provide education, networking, and collaboration in the PA education community. We value the participation of each member of the PA education community and want all attendees to have an enjoyable and fulfilling experience. PAEA is dedicated to providing a harassment-free experience for everyone, regardless of gender, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, or religion. Accordingly, all attendees are expected to show respect and courtesy to other attendees.
Violations are taken seriously, and event organizers will actively enforce this code.
Expected Behavior
PAEA expects workshop participants to communicate professionally and constructively, whether in person or virtually, handling dissent or disagreement with courtesy, dignity, and an open mind, being respectful when providing feedback, and being open to alternate points of view. Likewise, PAEA expects that any sharing of information about the organization or any event, attendees, or participants via public communication channels be shared responsibly and in a way that clearly distinguishes individual opinion from fact.
Be kind to others. Do not insult or put down other attendees. Behave professionally. Remember that harassment and sexist, racist, or exclusionary jokes are not appropriate for any PAEA event.
Unacceptable Behavior
PAEA does not tolerate harassment of workshop participants, facilitators, speakers, or PAEA staff in any form. Harassment includes offensive verbal or written comments and negative behavior, either in real or virtual spaces, including those that are related to or are based upon gender, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, or religion. Harassment also includes display of sexual images in public spaces, deliberate intimidation, stalking, following, harassing photography or recording, sustained disruption of talks or other events, and unwelcome physical contact or sexual attention. Workshop participants asked to stop any harassing behavior are expected to comply immediately.
Sexual language and imagery are not appropriate for any PAEA event venue, including education sessions, workshops, social gatherings, and within social media channels. Sponsors, exhibitors, and speakers may not use sexualized language, images, activities, or other material, or otherwise create a sexualized environment.
Be careful in the words that you choose. Remember that sexist, racist, and other exclusionary jokes can be offensive to those around you. Excessive swearing and offensive jokes are not appropriate for PAEA events.
If a participant engages in behavior that violates this code of conduct, the event organizers may take any action they deem appropriate, including warning the offender or expulsion from the event with no refund.
Thank you for helping to make PAEA Workshops welcoming, friendly events for all.
Reporting Inappropriate Behavior
If you are being harassed, notice that someone else is being harassed, or have any other concerns, please contact a PAEA staff member.
For in-person events, you may also contact venue staff and ask to be put in touch with the PAEA event manager. Event staff will be happy to help participants contact hotel/venue security or local law enforcement, provide escorts, or otherwise assist those experiencing harassment to help them feel safe for the duration of the event. We value your attendance.
Become a Workshop Facilitator
PAEA Workshops are an important part of professional development for many PA educators, including those transitioning into new roles. Apply to become part of the PAEA Workshop facilitator team and join your colleagues to co-lead one of our popular virtual or in-person workshops. Facilitators make valuable connections with colleagues while sharing their experiences with those new to the field.
Once per year, PAEA will contact the current facilitator pool to gauge interest and availability for upcoming workshops. Workshops are offered throughout the year, and each facilitator will typically lead only one or two workshops per year. Please note that curricula and materials for PAEA’s core workshops are the intellectual property of PAEA and may not be used in other venues.
Once assigned to a scheduled workshop, facilitators will participate in periodic virtual planning meetings with their co-facilitators and PAEA staff to prepare for the workshop. Workshop materials such as a facilitator guide, lesson plans, presentation slides, and other resources are provided to the facilitator team.
For virtual workshops, facilitators engage with their co-facilitators and attendees via videoconferencing. PAEA provides an honorarium for virtual workshop facilitation.
For in-person workshops, facilitators will travel to the workshop location and deliver the workshop along with their fellow facilitators and any guest speakers. PAEA provides an honorarium for in-person workshop facilitation and also covers air/ground transportation, hotel accommodations, and food/beverage costs on travel days and during the workshop.
PAEA members are encouraged to apply to become a PAEA Workshop facilitator for one or more of the core workshops for new faculty, new clinical coordinators, and new program directors. Experience requirements include the following:
- Current faculty at a PAEA member program
- Minimum of three years as faculty at a PA program
- Additional requirements for specific workshops:
- New clinical coordinator workshops: minimum of three years’ experience as a clinical coordinator/director; currently serving as a clinical coordinator/director
- New program director workshops: minimum of three years’ experience as a PA program director; currently serving as a PA program director
- Curriculum Vitae (3000-word text file with no identifying information, such as your name or contact information)
- Letter of interest including a brief description of your teaching philosophy (500-word text file with no identifying information, such as your name or contact information)
- Letter of recommendation from a fellow faculty member who is familiar with your teaching style
- Completion of PAEA’s conflict of interest, code of ethics, and disclosure forms
All finalists are required to participate in a virtual interview.
The 2023 call for applications closed on May 3, 2023.
