Our Story
The PA profession was created to improve and expand access to healthcare. By the 1960s, the shortage of primary care physicians had reached critical levels. To help remedy this, Eugene A. Stead Jr., MD, of the Duke University Medical Center, assembled the first class of PAs in 1965. He selected four Navy Hospital Corpsmen who had received considerable medical training during their military service. Stead based the curriculum of the PA program on his knowledge of the fast-track training of doctors during World War II.
The first PA class graduated from the Duke University PA program on Oct. 6, 1967. Others followed Stead's efforts. The PA concept gained acceptance as a creative solution to physician shortages. The medical community supported the new profession and encouraged the setting of accreditation standards, establishment of a national certification process and standardized examination, and development of continuing medical education requirements.
Indiana passed PA practice legislation in 1979. Our state now boasts over 1,500 licensed PAs who contribute daily to the health and well-being of their fellow Hoosiers.
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