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Physician Assistant Specialty Certification

The National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA) has been the only credentialing organization for physician assistants in the United States since 1975. They recently announced a plan to certify five physician assistant specialties in 2011.

To date, approximately 60,000 physician assistants have been certified by NCCPA, but the newly announced certification will be the first to formally test for and recognize expertise in a specialty area. Beginning in 2011, physician assistants will be eligible for certification in these specialty areas:

Other specialties may be considered in the future, but many have expressed concern that PAs may lose the ability to change positions among specialties, which has been a tenet of the profession.

According to the NCCPA, candidates for specialty certification will need to meet four core requirements. These include holding a current general PA certification plus an unencumbered state license: completing 25 hours of specialty CME, documentation of procedures and patient cases in the specialty, possessing 1-3 years of experience or formalized clinical training, and passing the specialty exam. PAs may accomplish each of the four cores in any order.

There are some concerns about the new certification program. Some PAs are concerned about the expense of certification and the potential to lose their compassionate bedside skills. Others see this as a natural progression for the industry and look forward to more formalization of specialty areas coupled with future career advancement.

For more information about PAs or PA recruitment, please contact us.