The 1965 White House Conference on Health: inspiring the physician assistant movement.

The 1965 White House Conference on Health brought together the best minds and the boldest ideas to deal with the nation's pressing health provider needs. The Community Health Clinics Act and the Duke University physician assistant (PA) program were among the many initiatives announced at this conference. The authors explore the conference proceedings, link them with other historical documents and events, and suggest that this conference was a contributing factor to the contemporary PA movement.