I sent out a tweet not too long ago reminding all the PAs on Twitter of what the hashtag for IMPACT 2010 was (for the record it's #aapa10), well I made a mistake & was promptly corrected by an Atlantan who is a fellow association pro.

My mistake was that I called Atlanta, HOTlanta. A phrase I have used many times on this blog, oops!

So I stand corrected. I vow that I will no longer call Atlanta HOTlanta, though I cannot be responsible for the other bloggers on The PAnel... ;)

So do you call it Atlanta, HOTlanta, The ATL, A-Town, The A, something else?

Also if you'd like to find out more about this anti-HOTlanta movement, check out the Facebook group and read about what one radio station is doing.

Update - Was also sent this post by a colleague. Seems like HOTlanta is used by those not from Atlanta, but outsiders (like myself) throw it around.

I'm not sure how many are aware of this, but Atlanta is the home of the largest aquarium in the world. The Georgia Aquarium opened in 2005 after a generous donation from Home Depot founder Bernie Marcus as well as many other corporate partners.

AND the IMPACT 2010 Opening Reception will be held there on May 29th from 8pm to 11:30pm. (that's so cool to me)

To learn a little more about this awesome destination, visit the Georgia Aquarium all over the web:

• The Georgia Aquarium's website
• Follow @GeorgiaAquarium on Twitter
• Become a fan on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/GeorgiaAquarium
• Read more about the Aquarium's history and origins on their Wikipedia entry
• The Georgia Aquarium encourages guests to post pictures of their experiences on Flickr
• See tons of video footage from the Aquarium on YouTube and don't miss the Georgia Aquarium's divers playing football!
  
• Import the Georgia Aquarium's RSS feed into your Reader or Outlook and keep up-to-date on all fishy happenings
• Even *catch* them on Myspace at http://www.myspace.com/georgiaaquarium

Oh! And one last thing, the reason for my title... If you feel so inclined you can actually swim or dive with a whale shark!

Find all the special discounts to the Aquarium and other attractions here.

Make your IMPACT on The PAnel!

Are you attending IMPACT 2010 in Atlanta? Do you like to write, take pictures or shoot video? Interested in sharing your opinions about conference before, during and after?

Well then you just might be what AAPA is looking for!

Last year we had an amazing time in San Diego & our bloggers covered it all. From nightlife, to tourist activities, to CME sessions, to breaking news, The PAnel was an all-access pass to everything IMPACT. Well we're doing it again this year, but asking for a slightly bigger commitment as we are expanding how long the blog will be active.

You will be asked to do one post some time between January & March, at least one post in April & then blog like crazy during the month of May!

We'd also love a follow-up post or two once you get home & let everything soak in.

Don't worry if you've never blogged before, if you have a unique opinion, insight to what happens at conference or if it's your first time, then you are who we are looking for. Last year we had many first-time bloggers & they did an awesome job. We'd love to have you join us!

Here's what we are asking for to help determine who our 2010 Bloggers will be:

• Write a sample post about something conference related. (If you are a photo or video blogger, get creative!)
• Submit your entry, along with all your contact info and a few short sentences about yourself, to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it by November 30, 2009

We will consider all types of bloggers (video, photo, text, etc.) and announce our decisions by December 4th, 2009.

So what will you get out of this?

• Recognition - You'll be known as one of the few invited to provide their insights & opinions on all thing conference. We'll also give you a ribbon for your conference badge so that everyone knows that you're a member of The PAnel!
• Insight - You'll start seeing the conference in a whole new light!
• Freebie - We'll give you an exclusive gift that recognizes you as one of The PAnel, only bloggers for the conference receive this great gift!

Hope you will consider lending your mad blogging skills to AAPA!

Brand Republic in the UK is reporting that Atlanta based Coca-Cola is trying to find the happiness in the world. What I mean by that is they are hiring 3 people to travel to 206 countries and find out what makes people happy. In return for their world travel, these individuals will be blogging, tweeting, caputring video & taking pictures about their quest and it will all be featured on the Expedition 206 website. Voting to pick the Expedition 206 team closes November 6, so visit http://www.expedition206.com to vote for your fave.

So what exactly does this have to do with IMPACT 2010?

Well Coca-Cola is based and Expedition 206 will be concluding on December 31, 2010 in Atlanta. Coca-Cola has always embraced happiness as integral part of their advertising, remember I'd Like To Teach The World To Sing or the Happiness Factory?

So my question to readers of this blog is, how are you going to capture your happiness and share it with the world at IMPACT 2010?

P.S. My apologies to Pepsi fans for the bias in this blog post. ;)

Well it's October. It's a time when people's thoughts drift to the spooky happenings around them. Maybe you're going on a ghost tour, or maybe you're creating your very own Haunted House this Halloween, some of you may not believe in any of it.

For those of you that do believe in the supernatural, I want to call out a few of Atlanta's most haunted places. Some of these are not open to the public and are patrolled by security guards. In no way is this post telling you to visit places that you are not allowed into, it's just a way of informing you of all the spooky happenings in Atlanta. Please investigate whether or not you are allowed to visit these places BEFORE you try to go. :)

1. Devil's Turnaround Cemetery - From reports on the internet from various paranormal groups, visitors to this cemetery have been attacked by it's ghosts. They turn violent--scratching, hitting and having objects thrown at them when approaches with crosses or bibles. This is a small cemetery with graves dating back to the 1800's and is located outside of Atlanta in Marietta, Georgia. It's officially the Noonday Extension Cemetery, but was nicknamed the Devil's Turnaround because of all the paranormal activity.
2. Oakland Cemetery - Supposedly this cemetery is haunted by the ghosts of confederate soldiers. The Lion of Atlanta guards almost 3,000 unknown soldier graves. Some noteable residents are Carrie Steele Logan (an ex-slave who established the first Afrian American orphanage in Atlanta), Margaret Mitchell (author of Gone With the Wind), Joseph Jacobs (his pharmacy was the first to sell Coca-Cola as a beverage) and Maynard Jackson (Atlanta mayor for three terms, and the first African American mayor of any major U.S. South city). In one section of the cemetery there have been reports of a disembodied voice giving the "Roll Call of the Dead", calling out the names of the soldiers who died.
3. Antebellum Plantation at Stone Mountain - We've mentioned Stone Mountain on this blog before in the Family Fun in the ATL! posting, but this time we're mentioning the Antebellum Mansion and the cemetery at the end of Main Street. Supposedly there is a teenage boy, dressed in period garb, that sits on the stairs and stares at you as though you are an intruder. Currently they do a Tour of Southern Ghosts in cooperation with ART Station which will pair you with a story-telling guide to hear the best ghost tales of the south. This tour only runs in October though, so check out an option for May and June at the end of this post.
4. The Masquerade - Currently it's a night club that is being sold to developers, but there are stories of a vampire living there. That might be stretching it a little, but if you believe in ghosts, are vampires the next step? Anyways, I've read reports of employees seeing individuals hanging out backstage or in the storage room. The site was originally an old mill where multitudes of tragic accidents and deaths have occured.
5. Anthony's - Orginally the Pope-Walton house, this antebellum masterpiece was moved into the heart of Atlanta, just 15 minutes from downtown. It now currently houses a fine dining restaurant, but sightings of on Mrs. Annie Barnett Bean occur on a regular basis. She supposedly died in child birth and was married in the house back in 1822, but her spirit still lingers, mainly being spotted on or around the grand staircase. Many employees have quit after working alone in that home. If you visit the website of Anthony's and click on "Ghost", you can reread the tale of one writer who was determined to spend the night.

There are many haunted spots in Atlanta. Too many in fact to cover in one blog post, but should you be interested in a ghost tour of your own while in Atlanta, I've found a one company that may be able to help you out. Please note that I have no person experience with this company, nor do they have any affiliation with AAPA.

Atlanta Ghost Tours - This 2 1/2 hour tour runs from March to November according to their site, originating and ending at Atlanta's Underground. You guide will either be a grave digger, southern belle or soldier!

Happy Hauntings!

So I have a special effects make-up artist friend who used to live Atlanta and she informed me of this really interesting thing they do called a Zombie Walk in early October, and it's all for a good cause!

Basically a bunch of people dress up like zombies and walk around Atlanta. It's like something straight out of a Romero film.

The Atlanta Zombie Walk is held as a part of the Atlanta Horrorfest, described as a 3 day festival of "Zombies, Movies & Bands". Zombie Walk participants also have on-hand make-up assistance and are allowed to participate free of charge if they bring 2 non-perishable food items to the event. All food donations are given the Atlanta Community Food Bank to help those in the Atlanta area.

I've always thought it was kind of cool since I happen to be a fan of zombie horror flicks, especially since the proceeds of the walk benefit the local community food bank. It's not everyone's cup of tea, but it's definitely an interesting way to usher in the Halloween season!

View a video set to an old school hip hop song of the 2008 Atlanta Zombie Walk. You don't start seeing portion of the actual walk until about a minute in.

WARNING: If the picture makes your squeemish, I wouldn't suggest partaking in the video

Need a way to beat that Atlanta sun in May?

Try checking out Atlanta's Underground.

What's that you say? It's the heart of the former downtown Atlanta. All through Atlanta's history, the site that is now known as Atlanta's Underground was a hub for merchant activity, being located near the rail lines. In the 1920's construction of concrete viaducts elevated the the street level to permit a better flow of traffic. Store owners moved their operations to the second level, leaving behind their original storefronts to use for storage and service. In 1968 it was declared a historic site, and after closing in 1980 because of public trasit construction, it reopened in 1989 through a joint venture between the City of Atlanta and private industry.

Now Atlanta's Underground is filled with specialty & gift shops, fine restaurants and various forms of entertainment! Shopping, dining, nightlife and family fun are awaiting you at Atlanta's Underground.

I think of Atlanta's Underground as similar to San Diego's Gaslamp District. I'm looking forward to all the neat little shops to poke my head into and it's only a short ride from the Georgia Dome. If I have this right, you can take the MARTA from the Georgia Dome to the Five Points stop and it's right there!

When you think of Atlanta, what images come to mind?

For me I think about...

• A city bustling with underground hip-hop artists,
• Gone With the Wind (one of my favorite movies),
• Peaches & Coca-Cola, though I don't know if those would be good together,
• The Olympics, though that was quite awhile ago,
• And though I hate to admit this, The Real Housewives of Atlanta (thanks Bravo).

Well Atlanta is much more than just those things. It's a family friendly city, the perfect host for IMPACT 2010! Look at some of what Atlanta has to offer:

• Six Flags Over Georgia - Who doesn't love a good amusement park? The thrill of your first rollercoaster is something you'll never forget. But if the thrill rides aren't your cup of cola the Six Flags Over Georgia website categorizes their rides so you can find what suits your thrill level and they have a special section of the park just for your littlest ones! Six Flags is also concerned about the safety of your and yours, so they offer something called a "SafetyTat" for your children; it's a stylish temporary tattoo that features your cellphone number just in case. It's better to be safe than sorry! Wondering what else they offer your youngest? Check out their list of 40 Fun Things for Kids! while planning your time in Atlanta.
• Stone Mountain - From their SkyHike to their Laser shows, Stone Mountain features attractions to keep you active, indoors and out. They also have an Antebellum Plantation and Farmyard, where you can pretend you're a Southern belle or gentleman and your children can have fun at the Farmyard petting farm animals like goats and sheep, while learning about livestock's role in early Georgia life. Stone Mountain will give you a taste of South that is focused on family activites.
• Atlanta Zoo - Though last year a lot of PAs got to experience the world-famous San Diego Zoo, Atlanta can hold it's own with their very own Zoo. They even have a Panda, as well as 1,000 other animals in naturalistic habitats. They even maintain a Keeper Blog where you can find out all the animal keepers are doing!
• SciTrek - If you have a future technology wiz in the family you might want to consider visting SciTrek. With it's interactive exhibits clustered into theme areas, it will inspire your children to be the innovators of tomorrow. SciTrek is located adjacent to the Atlanta Civic Center and is near the Civic Center MARTA (ATL's public transportation system) stop, making it easy cross town ride from the Georgia Dome.
• Atlanta Braves Game - For the baseball fans, of course you have to check out a game at Turner Field. Watch the Braves mainstay, 3rd baseman, Chipper Jones swing for the fences or if you're lucky catch on of their many postgame concerts. The 2010 schedule hasn't been released yet, but be sure that when it does we'll get some information on possible games for you to attend while in Atlanta!

These are just a few of the MANY attractions Atlanta offers. In the coming months we'll be featuring more ATL hotspots both for kids & adults, so keep checking back with us!

With all that happened in San Diego, we wanted to make sure you didn't miss anything. Though The PAnel bloggers did an amazing job this year, we wanted to make sure we recgonized other PAs and sources who were blogging or writing about the conference on the web. Here's what we've been able to dig up, but if you know of any other, please comment with the link below!

* Advance blog for PAs highlights all that they would be doing during the AAPA Annual Conference

* Jim Anderson chronicles his time at conference over on the JAAPA website

* Missy Novak talks about the heart of the PA profession

* Timothy Loerke invites you to step back and take a look at the big picture

* Advance blog for PAs recaps the Town Hall Meeting (archival video of the Town Hall Meeting is available on our YouTube Channel)

* Advance for Physician Assistants also created an audio slideshow about their time in San Diego

We also wanted to invite you to revisit this post:

* The late Steve Cornell shows his excitement back in February for the Annual Conference

We hope everyone had an amazing time in San Diego! Though this blog will become a little more dormant in the off months, we'll be trying to keep you updated on new things as we move forward to IMPACT 2010 in Atlanta!

~Lynn

The Town Hall footage has been uploaded to our YouTube Channel!

To help make the footage a little easier to digest, below you will find a breakdown of the questions in each part, as well as a timestamp for each question.

Should you have any problems, please feel free to comment or email us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it !

Town Hall, Part 1

3:15 - Question #1: We see other medical organizations, like the AMA, being invited to high profile meetings at the White House. Why isn't AAPA ever invited?

5:13 - Question #2: In regard to the clinical PA doctorate, in light of the Board endorsement of the Masters level education, does this mean that the Board essentially believes that 3200.1.4 about unique mission driven programs is no longer relevant?

6:23 - Follow-up to Question #2: Under the heading of "curious omission", the education council omitted one section of current AAPA policy that deals specifically with programs that are not Masters degree programs, and ion their policy they specifically recommended going to a new entry-level Masters degree, which the AAPA has never supported. And for those of us that were in the House [of Delegates] in 2007, there was a lot of teeth mashing about that, so I'm kind of confused, is the Board basically saying that they are supporting a Masters degree as the only entry level degree?

Town Hall, Part 2

0:40 - Question #3: In answer to the need of PAs in primary care and the realization that a lot of MDs/DOs are not going into primary care, does the leadership have any leaning or inkling towards supporting PA ownership, either complete or partial ownership in practices in a way of answering the needs of primary care?

3:34 - Question #4: I would like to see the AAPA address the dis-allowance or the inability to accommodate children at large meetings. I know in the AAPA information this year for this meeting that it says no children allowed in the Exhibit Hall or any of the CME sessions, etc.

Town Hall, Part 3

0:36 - Question #5: Has the House of Delegates become an anachronism? Is there a better way now in this new millenium to be able to deliver the same type of democratic information electronically or without having to seat a bunch of people in one large room?

Town Hall, Part 4

0:33 - Question #6: Curious with the strategic plan and looking forward as an Academy, what steps or more specifics do you see your role from AAPA in assisting the state constituents and so on, in developing future leaders, but also a thing that we struggle with is membership, an active membership as well as just passive membership.

6:44 - Question #7: Does the Academy still have lobbyists at their disposal and what sort of work are they doing for us especially now that everything is snowballing in terms of Healthcare reform and keeping things from getting away from us?

Town Hall, Part 5

0:37 - Question #8: We need help developing some type of a mechanism where we [constituent organizations] can have people that we can call on to come in and take over some of these things during the day that volunteers just can't get to anymore.

3:41 - Question #9: I have a question regarding giving an update on where we are with specialties, doctorate PAs and bridging.

Town Hall, Part 6

1:42 - Question We've talked a lot at this conference about the need for research in the profession, I'm wondering how the research agenda for the Academy is being prioritized and what you see as the critical issues that we need to research at this point to move us forward.

Town Hall, Part 7

0:40 - Question #11: I worry as physicians are abandoning primary care, [...] how are we going to keep the physician supervisor model at a same time when we don't have sufficient number of physician supervisors to do that.

4:37 - Question #12: When you find a part of the Academy is not working the way it should what are your avenues of appeal?

Town Hall, Part 8

0:43 - Comment about whether or not we have enough research about the healthcare settings in Puerto Rico and the PAs role there.

3:57 - Question #13: I think it's great what we're doing today, but I do have some concerns. One is that most of the people I am seeing here are from the House. Number two, I think it's great that you're moving into the 21st century electronically with Twitter and Facebook, however, again, unless you're going to replay this nobody outside of the delegation is going to hear your message and I think it needs to get out there.

Town Hall, Part 9

0:07 - Comment about how one of the greatest things we can offer is an opportunity for dialog.

2:03 - Question #14 from Twitter: What about a "Meet the Candidates" for all Board members at the conference? Bring the election to the conference and increase voting.

6:25 - Questions #15: With this new effort and an effort to bring our profession into the limelight, can you share with us some of the things that we can expect to see that might enhance our profession in the public and other professional areas?

Town Hall, Part 10

0:07 - Comment about how the low voter turn out might be an indication of how satisfied members are with the services they are receiving.

5:50 - Question #16: How do you incentivize these kids to consider family practice as a practice at least for a couple of years before they start going for the big bucks?

Town Hall, Part 11

0:08 - Comment about how the problem with election turn out might have to do with complacency and people not feeling a threat or a need to engage with the association.

1:43 - Question #17: There is a growing need for PAs and physicians nationally as a whole, is the Academy doing anything in order to encourage preceptorship?

4:08 - Question #18: What are the plans to continue to work with the health literacy issue?

6:26 - Question #19: I would love to completely a family practice residency if one were available. What is the current situation and future of PA residencies?

Town Hall, Part 12

0:06 - Comment about how health literacy should be an integral part of education in America's schools.

03:18 - Question #20: We're looking at a little more difficulty with our CME at the local level with the loss of funding from the drug companies, etc. Personally I kind miss my pens, but I think we have to look at that and what are you guys doing?

Town Hall, Part 13

0:11 - Question #21: As the healthcare reform train gains more momentum, more participants are getting on board, and I was realizing maybe some had value for the AAPA to form relationships with. What is the AAPA planning to do in regards to that process?