VOLUME 29, ISSUE 3 • SEPTEMBER 2025.

Welcoming advanced practice providers to the Allied Health Professionals Special Interest Group

The Allied Health Professionals Special Interest Group (AHP SIG) is delighted to welcome Advanced Practice Providers (APPs) — including nurse practitioners, physician associates, and Parkinson’s disease nurse specialists — into the SIG. Thanks to the advocacy of Kelly Papesh, DNP, APRN, FNP-C, CMRD, executive director of the Association of Movement Disorder Advanced Practice Providers (AMDAPP), the AHP SIG has recently welcomed a large cohort of highly trained and motivated APPs working across diverse clinical settings internationally.

The strength of our field comes from the ways we connect, learn, and advocate together. By welcoming advanced practice providers into the Allied Health Professionals Special Interest Group, we amplify the voices of those caring for people with movement disorders across the globe. Awareness, advocacy, and education are always most powerful when we pursue them in unison, and I’m thrilled to see APPs represented as part of this collaborative community."

— Kelly Papesh, DNP, APRN, FNP-C, CMRD

Well-established in the US and UK and growing throughout parts of Europe, Asia, and other regions of the world, APPs play a critical role in the long-term health outcomes of people living with Parkinson’s disease and other movement disorders. Their close coordination with neurologists and rehabilitation teams, combined with extensive and long-term patient care relationships, gives them a unique place on the interdisciplinary care team.

To recognize and support this pivotal role, the AHP SIG has established an Advanced Practice Provider Working Group, chaired by incoming vice chair Li Wei, APN (AOS, Singapore), with Kelly Papesh (PAS, USA) serving as co-chair. Collaborating with a handpicked team of international experts, the working group is developing guidance materials, informing best practices, and providing peer support to strengthen professional recognition and help to grow the APP role worldwide.

I am delighted to help lead this newly-formed Advanced Practice Provider working group. Together, we will strengthen the contribution to Movement Disorders care, enhance professional development, and promote global collaboration across healthcare disciplines.”

— Wei Li, APN

This collaboration with advanced practice providers is a milestone for the AHP SIG, representing the first new profession to be added to the nine allied health profession disciplines that have made up the ranks of the Allied Health Professionals Special Interest Group (AHP SIG) since its inception in 2012. Since those early days, the Allied Health Professionals Special Interest Group has grown to more than 3400 members and become a key constituency within the International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society, relying upon the MDS for education, advocacy, and an international network of expertise to advance clinical practice and further research.

Collaboration with Advanced Practice Providers brings new expertise and energy to our mission. Together, we are building a stronger, more dynamic allied health community, which only serves to enhance our collective impact for people living with Parkinson’s disease and other movement disorders.”

— John Dean, MA, CCC-SLP, Chair, Allied Health Professionals Special Interest Group (AHP SIG)

Please share this announcement with the APPs in your organization and your professional network so they can join their colleagues, contribute their expertise, and expand their professional connections.

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