AAPA Executive Leadership Conference 2025

Key Takeaways from AAPA Executive Leadership Conference 2025

Chelsea Shaw, PA-C

The American Academy of Physician Associates (AAPA) held their annual Executive Leadership Conference (ELC) in the Washington D.C. area on March 3-5, 2025. As the 2025 recipient of the MAPA leadership scholarship, I was able to attend this 2.5-day conference to further develop my leadership skills. Below are selected daily highlights that apply to all PA-Cs, regardless of current leadership role.

Day 1: Want to be a successful leader? Learn how to handle “hard” better:

Jennifer Orozco-Kolb, DMSc, PA-C, DFAAPA, and former president of AAPA, gave a talk on resiliency in leadership. She played a clip from Kara Lawson, Duke women’s basketball coach, talking about handling “hard” better. If you have not seen this clip, I highly recommend viewing. Essentially, she talks about how we often are waiting for things to get “easier.”  In reality, we need to learn how to work through hard times because it will never be easy.  This feels especially applicable now as healthcare faces many challenges. 

Day 2: Unlocking your full potential: Leveraging the use of mentors, coaches, and executive sponsors

Trish Anen, RN, MBA and Emilie Davis, PA-C presented this session which dove into the differences between coaches, mentors, and executive sponsors as well as the importance of having these key people in your life. Not sure what each of these are? Below you will find brief definitions as well as scenarios where they may be helpful:

Mentor- A mentor is someone who guides and advises. They often share stories to help you grow as a leader. Mentorships can be informal or formal as well as internal or external. Consider seeking out a mentor to help develop a specific skillset. One of the speakers shared this definition: “Every person has two stories. The story in front of you and the story behind you. The story behind you is what you mentor on; it is your shared experience that you can give to a mentee. The story in front of you is what you as a mentee are hoping to shape through a mentoring relationship.”

Coach-A coaching relationship is “an ongoing relationship that helps people produce extraordinary results.”  The goal of coaching is to maximize potential in a safe, confidential space. Coaches will ask questions and challenge you to help you think in ways you may not have on your own; sessions are “hard work.” A coach may be helpful if you are looking to: improve/develop new skills, transition into a new role, or find a safe place for personal reflection. One of the speakers shared this comment on the importance of coaching which really resonated with me: “We only get more like ourselves without help.”

Executive Sponsorship- Defined as someone who holds sufficient organizational power and/or influence and can leverage that power and influence to drive change. There are two types:

• Change management sponsor – leader in your organization (CEO, COO, CFO, etc.) who can offer influence and power (often in the form of resources) to have greatest impact on your proposed change. Helpful if you are trying to make a change in your organization, but it is not going anywhere.

• Career sponsor- a leader in your organization who will advocate for your career progression, i.e., someone who will “always have your back” and promote you even when you are not in the room. May not be your direct leader.

Day 3: Getting Comfortable with Conflict

Speakers Martha Howell, EdD and Rebecca Lyon MS, PA-C shared key tools for use during conflict. Several tools that resonated with me were: 

1. Listen to understand, not to respond

 2. Respond with empathy and be sure empathy is genuine 

3. Try to use “and” in conversation rather than “but”

4. Check for clarity

One of the speakers then explained that communication is a two-way street, and you cannot control how the other person will respond. You can, however, use the tools above to communicate as clearly and effectively as possible.

Overall, I found this conference beneficial and am grateful to MAPA for supporting the cost of my attendance. In my lead APP role at Hennepin Healthcare, I have already put some of the concepts learned into practice. Additionally, I am excited to further develop the connections made with fellow APP leaders.