The Journal of the American Academy of Physician Assistants (JAAPA) is launching its first redesign in over a decade, with a more modern and scholarly look.

The monthly, which goes out to 72,000 of the nation’s 80,000 PAs, including AAPA’s 40,000 members, faced a conundrum. While its advertising-supported business model is more like that of a clinical magazine, AAPA members expect a serious scholarly magazine. “It’s the publication they hold up to the world when they want to show colleagues who they are,” said editor Tanya Gregory. “They have a very strong sense of ownership.”

So, AAPA and publisher Haymarket (full disclosure: MM&M is a Haymarket title) gave it a makeover aimed at making it look weightier and more journal-like while improving readability. They preserved clinical departments and CME articles while adding a drug information department, using content pulled from Haymarket’s PA Prescribing Reference, and a new quarterly feature called Research Journal which will feature two-page summaries of pertinent health services research, boiled down to make for more accessible reading. “PAs are looking to develop a presence in the literature,” said Gregory.

The new look “reflects what the journal really is,” said AAPA EVP and CEO Stephen Crane. “JAAPA is the standard for our field, and we’ve given it a look and feel consistent with the content.”