Message from Board President Earley and Vice President Kidd

Timing is everything, and it has been an impactful year serving as President of the California Physician Assistant Board. Over the last 12 months, our Board has tackled the most significant agenda since 2020, when landmark SB 697 legislation was passed. Traditionally, the regulatory package is approved within 18 months. However, after four years, the goal was actualized, and our regulatory package was finalized, submitted, and approved. This was no small feat, but with the efforts of our impressive Board and senior legal counsel, we ensured that the Physician Assistant (PA) profession is on track for the future. During a spirited Board meeting, we addressed Supervising Ratios, which has been overlooked and considered off-limits for quite some time Additionally, our Sunset Review report is impressive, on schedule, and will continue our profession in the right direction for the next five years and beyond.

My heart is full as I close out my final term serving on the Board. I know this was the appointed time for us to accomplish so much. I have been so fortunate, and I express my deepest gratitude for working with such a dedicated, hard-working staff who are a joy to see and collaborate with. Our unwavering commitment to excellence is the driving force behind our remarkable achievements. I am genuinely proud of what we've accomplished this last year, and the future will tell the story of the full impact of our work.

Looking forward, I am excited about the new Physician Assistant Board leadership team, the set goals, and the potential to continue affecting positive change in our profession. It gives me great comfort to leave our team in such capable hands to continue the ambitious goals that were started. The California Physician Assistant Board is the best regulatory board in the state. Our mission to protect and serve California consumers through licensing, education, and objective enforcement of physician assistant laws and regulations is real and palpable.

I am grateful to former Governor Edmund Gerald Brown Jr. (Jerry Brown) for my initial appointment and Governor Gavin Newsom for renewing this appointment twice and entrusting me to serve on the Physician Assistant Board as Vice president and President in my final year. I acknowledge and understand the gravity and significance of the Board's work and the opportunity to serve California consumers for the past 12 years. This has allowed me to become a more conscientious and informed member of the profession and develop a skillset and professional disposition that I will carry with me.

There is no wonder why the PA profession is considered so great. Similarly, in 2024, the U.S. News and World Report ranked the PA profession the #2 best health care job and the #4 best STEM job. With the projection of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the PA profession will increase by nearly 26.5% by 2032; it wouldn't surprise me if the U.S. News and World Report ranking catapulted it to the #1 ranking. Time will tell.

Happy Holidays and a wonderful New Year to All.

Sonya Earley, PA-C President

Vasco Deon Kidd, PA-C Vice President