From the Editor

THERE HAS BEEN AN INCREASING WILLINGNESS for society to be more transparent about past policies and actions that have negatively impacted individuals and minorities with less influence and power. The FSMB Board of Directors advocated for improved transparency about the FSMB's past actions and policies and acknowledgment of its role in systemic biases in the medical profession and regulation. In “Past Imperfect: Revisiting the History of the Federation of State Medical Boards,” (page 20) David Johnson reviews through a contemporary lens the impact that the FSMB policies and actions had on systemic biases on medical regulation.

The physician assistant/associate (PA) workforce has been rapidly growing to meet health care demands and access. There has been a dramatic increase in initial certification, significant shift in gender composition, and decreasing age of providers. Despite an increasingly diverse patient population, there has been a decline in the percentage of PAs who identify as Black/African American, American Indian/Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander. In “The Importance of Diversity in the Physician Assistant/Associate Workforce: Examining the Profession's Growth and Trends in Demographic Composition,” (page 7) Andrzej Kozikowski and colleagues point out the importance of recruitment and retention efforts to facilitate greater diversity in the profession.

In my commentary, “Artificial Intelligence: An Emerging Challenge for State Medical Boards,” (page 6) I report on the rapid growth of Artificial Intelligence in patient care, medical devices, and medical decision making. The increasing expansion of AI into healthcare management and decision-making presents new challenges for state medical boards and regulatory policies.