James Cawley, MPH, PA-C

James F. Cawley is a Professor and Vice Chair of the Department of Prevention and Community Health. He is also a Professor in the Department of Health Care Sciences at GW's School of Medicine and Health Sciences.

• Phone: (202) 994-6670
• Fax: (202) 416-0433
• Email: purljfc@aol.com

Professor Cawley and the profession of physician assistant (PA) have grown up together. For 30 years he has worked as a certified practitioner, an educator, a scholar and a leader, playing a pivotal role in moving his field forward. "I was fortunate to have entered the physician assistant profession in its early stages of development, and have been able to describe and analyze its history and evolution within the U.S. health care system," says Professor Cawley. He is director of the School's joint Physician Assistant/MPH program, which he founded and which was the first of its type in the US, training individuals for careers that bridge clinical practice and prevention.

At the invitation of the U.S. Bureau of Health Professions, he chaired the Advisory Group on Physician Assistants and the Work Force in 1993, and was principal author of its report to the Council on Graduate Medical Education. Professor Cawley also served as a member of the U.S. Public Health Service National Coordinating Committee on Clinical Preventive Services (1989-95) and as a Primary Care Health Policy Fellow in the federal Health Resources and Services Administration. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Physician Assistants and a former president of the PA Foundation.

Education

Bachelor of Arts (History/Political Science), St. Francis College, 1970
Bachelor of Science, Physician Assistant Program, Touro College, 1974
Master of Public Health (Epidemiology), Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health, 1979
Epidemic Intelligence Service Course in Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1988

Teaching

PubH 102-Biological Basis of Public Health, Department of Prevention and Community Health
PubH 103-Introduction to Preventive Medicine, Department of Prevention and Community Health
PubH 209.17-Physician Assistant/Masters in Public Health Seminar, Department of Prevention and Community Health
PA 219-Role of the Physician Assistant in Health Care, Department of Health Care Science, School of Medicine and Health Sciences
PubH 105-History and Philosophy of Public Health, Department of Prevention and Community Health

Research

Professor Cawley's principle research interests focus on the profession of physician assistant and on primary care and health work force policy. In addition to co-authoring three books on the PA field, he has published extensively in the areas of preventive medicine and the epidemiology of infectious diseases.

Community Service

Through his leadership positions in the field, Professor Cawley has worked to increase access to primary care through the use of physician assistants. In addition to his service to the PA Foundation, he has served on the executive board of the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants and is currently President of the Association of Physician Assistant Programs. His public health endeavors include a stint with the Epidemic Intelligence Service of the CDC, where he was a fellow of the Association of Teachers of Preventive Medicine.

Departments

• Prevention and Community Health

Institutes & Centers

• Prevention Research Center

Publications

• Clinical prevention and population health: curriculum framework for health professions
  Healthy People Curriculum Task Force. Clinical prevention and population health: curriculum framework for health professions, Am J Prev Med 2004;27(5):471-6.
• A history of the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants.
  Hooker RS, Carter RD, Cawley JF. A history of the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants. Perspect Physician Assistant Educ 2004;15:10-5.
• The IOM report on health professions education (editorial).
  Cawley JF. The IOM report on health professions education (editorial). J Am Acad Phys Assist 2004;7:15-6.
• Physician assistants in American medicine, 2nd ed.
  Hooker RS, Cawley JF. Physician assistants in American medicine, 2nd ed. Philadelphia: Churchill Livingstone; 2003.
• Physician assistant education and PANCE performance: A passing controversy?
  Cawley JF. Physician assistant education and PANCE performance: A passing controversy? Perspect Physician Assistant Educ 2003;13:79-80.
• Interest in physician assistant/public health dual-degree programs.
  Benzie K, Miller K, Cawley JF, Heinrich JJ. Interest in physician assistant/public health dual-degree programs. Perspect Physician Assistant Educ 2003;14:40-1.
• Physician assistants: Does the U.S. experience have anything to offer other countries?
  Cawley JF, Hooker RS. Physician assistants: Does the U.S. experience have anything to offer other countries? J Health Serv Res Policy 2003;8:65-7.
• The profession in 2002 and beyond.
  Cawley JF. The profession in 2002 and beyond. J Am Acad Phys Assist 2002;15;7-15.
• Physician assistants in the United States.
  Mittman DE, Cawley JF, Fenn W. Physician assistants in the United States. BMJ 2002;325:485-7.
• Research methods. In: Research foundations in physician assistant education
  Jarski RJ, Cawley JF, Bork C. Research methods. In: Research foundations in physician assistant education, Blessing JD, editor. Philadelphia: F.A. Davis; 2001.
• What makes the day: An analysis of the content of physician assistants' practice.
  Cawley JF, Andrews MD, Barnhill GC, Webb L, Hill IK. What makes the day: An analysis of the content of physician assistants' practice. JAAPA 2001;14:41-56.
• Malpractice issues.
  Ballweg R, Cawley JF, Lary M., Blessing D. Malpractice issues. Physician Assistant 2001;25:47-55.
• Unreliable predictions: The nature of the beast.
  Cawley JF. Unreliable predictions: The nature of the beast. Clin News 2001;5:23.
• Where are the physician advocates of NPs and PAs?
  Cawley JF. Where are the physician advocates of NPs and PAs? Clin News 2001;5:12-3.
• Writing and publishing. In: Research foundations in physician assistant education
  Cawley JF, Jones PE. Writing and publishing. In: Research foundations in physician assistant education, Blessin JD, editor. Philadelphia: F.A. Davis; 2001.
• A national survey of 1998 physician assistant graduates.
  Cawley JF, Simon AF, Blessing D, Link M. A national survey of 1998 physician assistant graduates. Perspect Physician Assistant Educ 2000;11:12-7.
• Ehrlichiosis: A new and emerging infectious disease.
  Donohue T, Cawley JF. Ehrlichiosis: A new and emerging infectious disease. Physician Assistant 2000;24:17-26.
• Health workforce issues facing physician assistants.
  Dehn R, Cawley JF. Health workforce issues facing physician assistants. JAAPA 2000;13:29-46.
• Prescriptive authority and the physician assistant. In: Pharmacology for the primary care practitioner
  Cawley JF. Prescriptive authority and the physician assistant. In: Pharmacology for the primary care practitioner, Edmunds MW, Mayhew MS, editors. St. Louis: C.V. Mosby; 2000.
• Primary care turf battle heats up: New study may intensify conflict.
  Cawley JF. Primary care turf battle heats up: New study may intensify conflict. Clin News 2000;4:16.