Awards

2025 LIFETIME ACHEIVEMENT AWARD

Anthony Brenneman Honored With Lifetime Achievement Award!


Anthony Brenneman was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the IPAS 2025 Fall Conference in recognition of his outstanding contributions to clinical practice, interdisciplinary education, PA advocacy, and service. Beyond his professional accomplishments, PA Brenneman is known for his kind-hearted, supportive, and genuinely empathetic nature—qualities that embody the very spirit of the Physician Assistant profession.


Anthony Brenneman started his educational journey completing a bachelor’s degree in psychology and piano performance from Linfield College in McMinnville, OR in 1984. He then completed a Master’s in Social Work degree from Portland State University in 1987. During his time as a Social Worker, he served patients with borderline personality disorder, worked at the VA with unhoused veterans and later assisted patients in Emanual Hospital’s trauma and rehabilitation centers in Portland. He moved to Iowa in 1990 where he worked as a Social Worker in the Neurology Department. 

During his time at the University of Iowa in the early 1990s he was introduced to the PA profession and worked to complete pre-requisites at the University of Iowa. He trained at the University of Iowa and earned his Master of Physician Assistant Studies in 1996. PA Brenneman was selected as a teaching fellow at the University of Iowa PA Program following his graduation. 

PA Brenneman carried on his dedication to excellence through his work as a PA in Bone Marrow Transplant. He was instrumental in updating hospital policies to allow PAs to practice at the top of their license. He supported the expansion of PA policies to include ordering blood products, expansion of prescriptive authority and ability to pronounce and eventually sign death certificates. He served on numerous hospital committees helping to advance PA presence and understanding. 

In 2004, PA Brenneman joined the University of Iowa PA Program as the Clinical Coordinator. He was promoted to Associate Program Director and eventually Program Director in 2012. He subsequently became full professor at the Carver College of Medicine in 2014. PA Brenneman has worked to expand the PA presence through integration of the PA students into the medical curriculum. In 2016, PA students were fully integrated into the medical school curriculum, marking the first 100% combined PA/MD didactic curriculum in the nation. He continues to serve as a Course Director for one of the major courses within this curriculum.

PA Brenneman continues to expand the PA presence within the Iowa Healthcare System through his role as a Facilitator in Healthcare Communication trainer for faculty, staff, fellows and residents at Iowa Healthcare. In this role, he trains faculty in improving communication techniques to enhance patient experience. 

Not only has PA Brenneman been a pillar of the University of Iowa PA Program and Iowa Healthcare, but he has also been an advocate for PAs at the state and national level. He has served in roles including President of PAEA, President of the Iowa PA Society, Chair of State Society Meetings for the Iowa PA Society, committee positions within the AAPA including being an inaugural member of the Clinical and Scientific Affairs Council, CDC/OID/NCRID Vaccine Workgroup, Governor appointment positions within the State of Iowa for Clinical Education of Direct Care Workers, multiple roles within ARC-PA. Furthermore, he has authored chapters on “Professionalism” and “The Physician Assistant Relationship to Physicians” in the most recent edition of the textbook “Physician Assistant: A Guide to Clinical Practice”. He has been recognized with the Rising Star Faculty Award by PAEA in 2008, Distinguished Fellow of the AAPA in 2009, President’s Award from PAEA in 2012, CCOM Collegiate Teaching Award in 2019. 

As outlined above, Anthony Brenneman exemplifies what it means to be a PA in clinical practice, interdisciplinary education, PA advocacy and service. In addition to all of this, PA Brenneman is a kind-hearted, supportive, empathetic, and truly genuine human being. 

2023 LIFETIME ACHEIVEMENT AWARD

Mike Farley Honored With Lifetime Achievement Award!


Mike Farley was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the IPAS 2023 Fall Conference in recognition of his many years of service to Iowa PAs and to IPAS. He has been a constant source of support on PA initiatives, he could always be relied on to come through with a prompt and persuasive approach for rational PA policy especially on short notice.


During the 2023 legislative campaign to increase access to care by allowing PAs to practice autonomously, he persuaded the physician legislator on the House committee that had the PA bill (HF 424) to support it. He testified effectively at subcommittee hearings in both the House and the Senate, on the PA bill where it passed in each subcommittee with a unanimous vote. In fact when he learned that one wheelchair bound subcommittee member was thinking about voting against the bill. Mike met with him, established rapport, noting that he served as a clinical coordinator of the VA hospital spinal injury clinic. Subsequently the legislator voted for the bill in the subcommittee and in the committee and in the full House. When Mike learned that his own Senator had voted against the bill in committee, Mike provided him with correct information about the bill. And his senator voted for the bill on final passage.


Mike attended multiple legislative forums, crucially persuaded many PAs to contact their legislators, and wrote many letters to legislators about the PA bill. Without Mike’s timely and effective efforts, HF 424 might never have passed. Mike may be a retired PA but he never retired from his efforts to get better care to more people by allowing PAs to use their skills.


As Mike noted, HF424 is a great victory for patients and the PA profession. “I believe PAs practicing without needless regulations means that more people will have ready access to the high-quality care we provide. That’s huge.”


Mike Farley was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the IPAS 2023 Fall Conference in recognition of his many years of service to Iowa PAs and to IPAS. He has been a constant source of support on PA initiatives, he could always be relied on to come through with a prompt and persuasive approach for rational PA policy especially on short notice.


During the 2023 legislative campaign to increase access to care by allowing PAs to practice autonomously, he persuaded the physician legislator on the House committee that had the PA bill (HF 424) to support it. He testified effectively at subcommittee hearings in both the House and the Senate, on the PA bill where it passed in each subcommittee with a unanimous vote. In fact when he learned that one wheelchair-bound subcommittee member was thinking about voting against the bill. Mike met with him, and established rapport, noting that he served as a clinical coordinator of the VA hospital spinal injury clinic. Subsequently, the legislator voted for the bill in the subcommittee and in the committee and in the full House. When Mike learned that his own Senator had voted against the bill in committee, Mike provided him with correct information about the bill. And his senator voted for the bill on final passage.


Mike attended multiple legislative forums, crucially persuaded many PAs to contact their legislators, and wrote many letters to legislators about the PA bill. Without Mike’s timely and effective efforts, HF 424 might never have passed. 


Mike may be a retired PA but he never retired from his efforts to get better care to more people by allowing PAs to use their skills.


As Mike noted, HF424 is a great victory for patients and the PA profession. “I believe PAs practicing without needless regulations means that more people will have ready access to the high-quality care we provide. That’s huge.”

2014 LIFETIME ACHEIVEMENT AWARD

The Iowa Physician Assistant Society (IPAS) is proud to announce the first recipient of the IPAS Lifetime Achievement Award. This special award is given to an individual selected by the IPAS Awards Committee and recognizes outstanding support of accessible, quality medical care and the highest level of impact to the Physician Assistant profession.


On October 7th at the Annual IPAS Business Meeting, IPAS honored James (Jim) Blouse, PA.


Jim was nominated for his outstanding leadership, as he was one of the founding members of IPAS in 1974, and has tirelessly worked towards increasing access to care over the course of his career.


PA Jim Blouse has provided medical care for the people in the small eastern Iowa town of Wilton (population 2800) for the past 36 years. After graduating from the Duke University PA Program in 1973, Jim practiced in Muscatine until 1979 when he began practicing as the sole full time medical care provider in Wilton. In 1980, he was joined by a full time physician.


In 1974 Jim and several PAs founded the Iowa PA Society. At that time there were 15 PAs in Iowa. While the statute recognizing PAs passed in 1971, Iowa PA practice rules were not enacted until 1974.


Jim was a key player in helping to make Iowa a state that allows PAs to use their skills to provide better care for their patients. When remote site PAs were leaving Iowa due to an unfriendly regulatory environment Jim pitched in by arranging a meeting with his state senator Dick Drake in 1988, gaining the key legislator’s crucial support for establishing an independent Iowa PA Regulatory Board with PAs on it. Due to his outstanding PA skills Jim’s reputation in the community continued to grow. In 1991 when Iowa PAs gained prescribing privileges Jim secured his state legislators’ support for that successful effort. His legislators said, “If Jim is ok with it, so am I.”


Upon his retirement in March of this year after 41 years of practice in Iowa, Jim was honored by the people of Wilton with an outstanding rural medical care award presented by State Representative Bobby Kaufmann, Jeff Kaufmann’s son. And Wilton is now has the services of another PA in Jim’s former position, Jason Thornburg.


Jim was always there for his patients and for his profession whenever he was asked to help. His pioneer work included educating legislators about the PA role in bringing medical care to Iowans. Thereby, he made Iowa a better place for PAs to practice. Most importantly, Jim made quality medical care more accessible to patients in Wilton and across the state.