AAPA History
The American Association of Pathologists' Assistants (AAPA) was founded and incorporated as a not-for-profit organization under the statutes of Ohio in 1972. The objectives of the organization, then and now, are to:
Benefit and further the profession by promoting and maintaining high standards of ethical conduct.
Provide continuing medical education for its members and work for the development of additional Pathologists' Assistant training programs.
Inform the public and medical profession as to the goals and professional capabilities of the Pathologists' Assistant.
Implement new programs that will help maintain the status of the AAPA and its members as a vital link in the health care chain.
The Pathologists' Assistant profession as we know it today began with a pilot training program at the Veterans Administration Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina (Duke University), in 1969. Additional programs were established in Veterans Administration Medical Centers in Birmingham, Alabama (University of Alabama), and West Haven, Connecticut (Quinnipiac College), a short time later. These baccalaureate degree programs were the first to formally train men and women to assume responsibility for functions originally performed by anatomic pathologists and other anatomic personnel.
The AAPA held its first annual convention in Atlanta, Georgia, in the fall of 1975. The convention continues to be held annually and combines educational seminars with association business meetings.
The AAPA now has more than 1100 members, composed of graduates of accredited pathologists assistant training programs and "on-the-job trained" (OJT) individuals who have successfully met membership requirements. The remaining members include training program students, Honorary and Sustaining members. The AAPA established an affiliation with the National Accrediting Agency for Clinical Laboratory Science (NAACLS) in 1993 and together developed an accreditation process for pathologists' assistant training programs. At present, six programs are accredited including Duke University, Quinnipiac University, University of Maryland, Ohio State University, Wayne State University, and Finch University to Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science. A Master of Science degree is offered at all programs except Wayne State, which awards a Bachelor of Science degree. The Ohio State program will admit students for Fall 2002 following a one year hiatus for reorganization.
Since its founding, the AAPA has continued to grow and develop on a national level, publishing a quarterly newsletter, developing and establishing a web site, providing continuing educational opportunities to its members, and informing the public, medical community, and other pathology organizations of its goals and benefits.