Positive Changes in PA Certification Greg P. Thomas, PA-C Emeritus, - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Positive Changes in PA Certification Greg P. Thomas, PA-C Emeritus, MPH Director of External Relations National Commission on Certification of PAs

 Contractor with NCCPA Faculty  No other financial relationships to Disclosure disclose

 About NCCPA Presentation  Initial Certification Outline  Certification Maintenance Process

Brief Overview of NCCPA

11 PAs, 4 physicians and 2 public members Physician & Public 2017 PA Members Members Board of • 6 PA Directors-at-Large Directors: • 1 nominee from AMA • 1 nominee from AAPA • 1 nominee from AOA • 1 nominee from PAEA Current • 1 nominee from ACP • 1 nominee from FSMB Composition • 1 nominee from AAP • Immediate past chair • 2 public members • President/CEO

Initial Certification

 Must be a graduate of an accredited PA program (single accreditation body = ARC-PA)  Physician Assistant National Certifying Examination (PANCE) is required for initial licensure in all states and US Territories where PAs are authorized to practice Initial  International medical graduates and US medical Certification graduates who have not matched are not eligible to sit for PANCE  300 question, 5-hour general medical knowledge exam  6 attempts to pass (within 6 years) and then lose eligibility

Certification Maintenance Process

 100 CME credits every two years - 50 Category 1 credits - Self-assessment CME and PI-CME are optional  Physician Assistant National Recertifying Examination (PANRE) every 10 years Certification  PANRE is 240-question, 4-hour core medical knowledge exam Maintenance  Announced in August 2016: PANRE will transition from Process “general” to “core” medical knowledge

 Decided in May 2017, NCCPA will pilot alternatives to the high stakes recertification exam no later than 2020 Pilot Alternative  Announced October 2017, pilot will be available in 2019-2020 to PANRE  All PAs due to take PANRE in 2018 or 2019 are eligible Coming Sooner  Current certification will be extended through the pilot Than Expected for those PAs who participate  Sign-up window is early 2018 through June 2018

 Longitudinal assessment of core medical knowledge  During each quarter, questions can be answered over time, from any device, anywhere Pilot Design

 More frequent assessment = more effective process Also Facilitates for gaining and maintaining knowledge Learning and  Immediate feedback on whether the question was answered correctly Maintenance of  Item critiques will explain why the correct answer was Current best and why the others were not Knowledge  List of references for those who want to learn more about the topic

 No travel to test center, no preparation, can be done on computer or mobile device  Follows models being piloted by physician specialty boards More On the  Participants will be required to provide feedback Pilot throughout the process  Same cost as PANRE ($350)  All the details on NCCPA website: http://www.nccpa.net/alternative-to-panre

 A number of physician certification boards are piloting or introducing similar assessment programs  Our discussions were informed by meetings with some A Larger of them: Movement - American Board of Anesthesiologists - American Board of Pediatrics - American Board of Medical Specialties (umbrella organization)

Thank you! Contact: gregt@nccpa.net www.nccpa.net www.PAsDoThat.net