Highlights Include Magic, Recognition and So Much More!
SDPA President Lauren Miller, MPAS, PA-C, kicked off the 20th Annual SDPA Fall Dermatology Conference Thursday, Nov. 17, with a warm welcome to conference attendees. In addition to thanking the numerous staff, volunteers, and SDPA leaders, President Miller acknowledged the hard work and dedication of the CME Committee. She praised them for achieving their Fall 2022 goal of offering a diverse conference lineup “to foster new speakers and keep the content fresh and fun.” She encouraged each of the attendees to find their “why” in their practice in medicine and as DermPAs™. President Miller charged attendees to learn clinical pearls and take them back to practice, meet someone new, and have fun.
Coverage: SDPA 20th Annual Fall Dermatology Conference Nov. 17-20, 2022, in Miami
While tracing her journey to leadership within the SDPA, President Miller emphasized her leadership path started right where audience members sat—in a conference session. She encouraged attendees to discover how they might become involved in the SDPA, challenging everyone to step out of their comfort zones. She concluded her remarks by awarding Ted Rosen, MD, with an honorary lifetime SDPA member award for his 50 years of commitment to dermatology education and physician assistants. A beloved educator of the SDPA community, Dr. Rosen accepted the award with the kind words, saying “This is a special group to me—always willing to learn and ask questions…PAs make life golden!”
Next began a thrilling keynote presentation by Jason Latimer, a world champion magician, curator of the iconic Fleet Science Center, and co-host of the Science Channel series SciJinks. His unique take on the age-old magic trick of a deck of cards helped him illustrate how wonder changes the world and our ability to think outside the box. Eloquently connecting the worlds of magic, science, and healthcare, Latimer told the audience “Dust off your sense of wonder” and realize how that wonder can accomplish great feats such as curing disease. The crowd was eager to volunteer in assuring the audience the objects used on stage—a solid pane of glass and a regular bowl of water—were indeed what they appeared to be before transforming them. He finished with an exciting laser show, bending light and leaving the audience asking “how” one last time.
Pictured: Board President Lauren Miller walked onstage donning “shades” for the bright Miami sunshine!
Byline: Sarah B.W. Patton, PA-C