JAAPA Podcast – PA Week 2025 with AAPA President Todd Pickard

Date: October 6, 2025
Host: Kim and JAAPA Team
Guest: Todd Pickard, AAPA President

Episode Overview

This special PA Week edition of the JAAPA Podcast welcomes Todd Pickard, President of the American Academy of PAs (AAPA), to discuss his journey in the PA profession, his advocacy work, significant advances for PAs over the past year, and the vital role PAs play in healthcare. The conversation highlights the power of day-to-day leadership, the importance of PA Week, recent legislative wins, interprofessional collaboration, creativity within the PA community, and global advocacy efforts.

Todd Pickard's Journey: Becoming a PA and Leader

[00:05–04:14]

• Todd Pickard shares his path to becoming a PA, starting with inspiration from a family physician’s PA wife, Lily.
• He describes early career uncertainties—exploring EMT work and nursing school—before realizing his fit was as a PA.
• Emphasizes the importance of administration and advocacy roles, particularly after witnessing legal and policy changes impacting PA practice.
• Describes the dynamic, policy-driven environment of the AAPA House of Delegates and what led him to pursue the presidency.

Quote:
"As a PA, we always want to fix things and get involved... I always want to give back. I always want to leave things better than I found them." — Todd Pickard [03:35]

The Meaning of PA Week

[04:24–05:56]

• PA Week is a time to recognize the everyday contributions of PAs in the healthcare system.
• Often, PAs’ efforts go unacknowledged; Todd advocates for meaningful recognition beyond superficial gestures (e.g., T-shirts), stressing institutional and peer appreciation.

Quote:
"Just take a moment to say thank you. You are seen, you are heard, you're important because patients rely on us, they're dependent on us, and they recognize us... It’s a great time to celebrate who we are, what we do, and how critically important we are to healthcare in the United States." — Todd Pickard [04:40–05:35]

Advocacy: What We Can Do in the Waiting

[05:56–08:47]

• Reflecting on his JAPA article, Todd asserts the most powerful advocacy is excellent, compassionate everyday care, building the profession’s reputation.
• Shares the story of a high-level policymaker whose life was saved by a PA, demonstrating how personal connections can influence systemic change.

Quote:
"Be the best PA you can be. Connect with patients. Even if you can't change laws, you can change the lives of one patient at a time. And again, you never know who those patients are going to be or who they may know." — Todd Pickard [07:12]

Legislative & Regulatory Advances for the PA Profession

[09:07–10:31]

• Recent successes include several states adopting the “Physician Associate” title (Maine, New Hampshire).
• Practice modernization: states like South Dakota, North Carolina, and Oklahoma remove outdated supervisory requirements.
• Expansion of the PA Licensure Compact to 19 states, enabling license portability and workforce flexibility.

Quote:
"What we want is... patient-centered practice modernization so that PAs can do the things that we know how to do... not based on antiquated laws and regulations." — Todd Pickard [09:43]

Impactful Local Advocacy and Connections

[10:55–12:59]

• Todd describes the importance of direct, local action—helping a patient, supporting a teammate, engaging with local organizations.
• Shares how developing a relationship with Texas State Representative (and MD Anderson patient) Sarah Davis led to direct legislative channels for PA issues.

Quote:
"That is the power of PAs: connection. Not only do we connect with our patients, but we connect patients to the resources they need. We connect them to people who need to know what we're doing and why things are a problem and how to fix it." — Todd Pickard [12:00]

Interdisciplinary Collaboration

[13:25–15:19]

• Emphasizes healthcare as a team sport, necessitating partnership with nurses, doctors, social workers, pharmacists, and more.
• Collaboration with groups like the American Medical Association and American Academy of Nurse Practitioners is key, especially given nationwide provider shortages.
• The focus is on leveraging everyone’s top-of-license practice for maximum patient benefit—there’s “little time for competition.”

Quote:
"There are way more patients than we can care for. We need all hands on deck. We need everybody working in teams... and we need to get along because that's where we live." — Todd Pickard [14:00]

Creativity and Innovation Among PAs

[15:50–19:30]

• Todd shares PA-driven creative solutions:
  • Pediatric PA develops a special onesie for children with central lines, reducing complications.
  • PAs lead quality improvement projects: decreasing readmissions, optimizing chemotherapy delivery, and improving ER utilization.
  • Jared Wallace, a PA in rural Alaska, offers a wrap-around approach to diabetes care ("Blood Sugars and Beyond").
• Todd highlights taking time for meaningful patient conversations—both as innovation and as a powerful form of care.

Quote:
"I mean, sometimes that's just simply talking to patients. ... For that patient, I took time and I used my creativity to talk and question and listen. And I said, here's some simple things you can do that will make a change." — Todd Pickard [18:13]

Closing Thoughts & Global Advocacy

[20:42–21:59]

• Todd encourages all PAs to celebrate their work and share their stories using the "PAs Go Beyond" interactive map.
• Highlights global advocacy, with AAPA supporting the PA profession internationally in the face of legislative threats.
• Expresses gratitude for the opportunity to lead and support the profession.

Quote:
"Take a moment, celebrate, give your team a high five. Be proud of who you are and what you do. Knowing that you change lives on a day-to-day basis... And we are fighting for the PA profession not just here, but around the globe." — Todd Pickard [20:50–21:40]

Notable Quotes

• On Leadership:
  "As a PA, we always want to fix things and get involved... I always want to leave things better than I found them." — Todd Pickard [03:35]

• On PA Week:
  "Just take a moment to say thank you. You are seen, you are heard, you're important..." — Todd Pickard [04:40]

• On Everyday Advocacy:
  "Be the best PA you can be... you can change the lives of one patient at a time." — Todd Pickard [07:12]

• On Legislation:
  "We want patient-centered practice modernization so that PAs can do the things that we know how to do..." — Todd Pickard [09:43]

• On PA Spirit:
  "That is the power of PAs: connection." — Todd Pickard [12:00]

• On Innovation:
  "For that patient, I took time and I used my creativity to talk and question and listen." — Todd Pickard [18:13]

• On Global Advocacy:
  "We are fighting for the PA profession not just here, but around the globe." — Todd Pickard [21:40]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Todd’s Journey: [00:05–04:14]
• PA Week Significance: [04:24–05:56]
• Advocacy in Action: [05:56–08:47]
• Legislative Updates: [09:07–10:31]
• Local Impact & Relationships: [10:55–12:59]
• Interdisciplinary Work: [13:25–15:19]
• PA Innovation Stories: [15:50–19:30]
• Closing Thoughts/Global Perspective: [20:42–21:59]

Tone and Takeaways

The episode is energetic, passionate, and forward-looking, highlighting the PA profession’s adaptability, impact, and spirit of teamwork. Todd Pickard exemplifies approachable, mission-driven leadership, using anecdotes, actionable advice, and humor to connect with listeners and empower PAs to take pride in their daily contributions.