2021 NCAPA PA of the Year | Truett Smith, MPAS, PA-C

NCAPA is proud to announce that H. Truett Smith, MPAS, PA-C, DFAAPA, has been named the 2021 NCAPA PA of the Year!

Truett is a native North Carolinian, born in Kinston and spending most of his life in the Charlotte area. He attended Wingate University, graduating in 1986, and went on to the Bowman Gray School of Medicine (now Wake Forest School of Medicine), completing the PA studies program in 1989. In 2001, Truett completed his Masters of PA Studies (MPAS) from the University of Nebraska.

Truett has practiced in Family Medicine throughout his career, with the last 25 years at Atrium Health. He currently practices at Edison Square Family Medicine in Concord, NC and has served as the Fellowship Director of the Atrium Health PA Family Medicine Fellowship program since its inception. He takes time out of his busy schedule to educate PA students, Atrium Fellows, and is a mentor to many new PAs. NCAPA Past President, Alisha DeTroye, PA-C, states that “Truett demonstrates a true example of a PA working to his fullest scope in team-based care.”

Truett is a Distinguished Fellow of the American Association of Physician Assistants (AAPA) and currently serves as a member of the AAPA House of Delegates. He has held leadership roles in his local and state medical societies and is a Past President of the North Carolina Academy of Physician Assistants (NCAPA). Truett is an active member of the NCAPA Government Affairs Committee, as well as the Conference Management Panel. As Chair of the Optimal Team Practice (OTP) Task Force, Truett’s recent focus has been on the modernization of PA practice in North Carolina, to allow PAs to work at the top of their licensure and experience.  

Bethany Simpson, PA-C, a relatively new PA who was mentored by Truett through the Family Medicine Fellowship program, aptly expresses that “Truett Smith represents the PA profession well in every room he is in, whether a patient room, a zoom room, or the floor of the AAPA House of Delegates… I can think of no one worthier of this honor.”

Truett will be presented the PA of the Year Award onsite at Edison Square Family Medicine in the coming weeks.