02/27/2026

Ohio PA Advocacy: Who Owns the PA Profession?

This is an important question because, after 60 years, we’re still working to define ourselves. It’s not a competence or training issue, and it’s certainly not a capability issue. In my opinion, it’s an ownership issue.

For decades, our profession has operated inside structures designed for us, not by us. It's in how we’re described in statute. It's in how job descriptions are written. It's in how we’re introduced in meetings; is it with an apostrophe "s"? All of it shapes professional identity. And identity shapes confidence.

This doesn’t mean all PAs lack confidence. But when your role is legally or culturally framed as an extension of someone else, it subtly affects how you see yourself, even if you’re highly trained, nationally certified, and practicing at a high level every day.

That matters because confidence isn’t ego, it’s clarity.

Ownership changes everything. When you understand who you are on your own terms, not in comparison to physicians, not in contrast to APRNs, not in reaction to criticism, you show up differently. You speak, advocate, and lead differently. And yes, the legal framework you operate in matters.

In some states, including Ohio, elements of our statute still reflect original practice models. If we want PAs to think and act like modern medical professionals, our laws should reflect modern medical practice. This means that professional identity isn’t just cultural, it’s structural.

But ownership doesn’t start in the legislature with a select few advocates. Ownership starts with how you answer, “What’s a PA?” It shows up in whether you speak in meetings. It shows up in whether you step into leadership instead of waiting to be invited.

Ownership is maintained when you understand why you’re a member of your state organization. It looks like contributing to your state PA association's political action committee (PAC) to protect and advance the profession. 

It looks like showing up whenever the profession calls for it. Whether that’s running for a board position within your state PA association, participating in lobbying day, attending committee meetings, or supporting modernization efforts.

You cannot fully own a profession that you are not invested in. And a profession cannot evolve if only a select few are shaping its future. Knowing who we are, clearly, confidently, and without comparison, is powerful.

The PA profession doesn't need permission to be confident. It needs PAs who are willing to own it and shape what comes next.

So I’ll ask again: Who owns the PA profession? Is it you?

Matthew Freado, MBA, PA-C, is the Government Affairs Committee Chair of the Ohio Association of Physician Assistants.

The Government Affairs Committee supports the profession through advancing PA legislative priorities and removing barriers to practice. Please consider sharing your story about how PA practice law impacts you and providing financial support to advance PA advocacy via the OAPA Legislative Fund or OAPA Political Action Committee.