ADVANCE Blog for PAs : ARC-PA

12 Physician Assistant Moments for 2008

Stephen Cornell — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 15:07:00 GMT

This is the 448th and final post to the ADVANCE Blog for PAs in 2008. Check back on Jan. 2 for the first blog post of 2009.

Until then, here's a quick look back at some of the notable PA stories of the last year.

***

January
Annals of Family Medicine publishes a study that concludes, “Family practices employing NPs performed better than those with physicians only and those employing PAs.”
Link

February
Bill Leinweber officially joins the AAPA as its CEO and executive vice president.
Link

March
For the first time, ARC-PA grants accreditation to two clinical postgraduate PA programs: the MD Anderson Cancer Center postgraduate PA program in oncology and the Johns Hopkins Hospital Department of Surgery postgraduate PA surgical residency.
Link

April
The Society of Emergency Medicine Physician Assistants draws a record 400 PAs to its annual conference in Tucson, Ariz. Despite the shaky economy, many PA state and specialty conferences continue to draw crowds.
Link

May
PA Karen Bass is sworn in as the first African-American woman to serve as the speaker of California’s General Assembly.
Link

June
The Society of Dermatology Physician Assistants launches its Distance Learning Initiative to provide advanced training to experienced dermatology PAs.
Link

July
The NCCPA posts information about the new practice-focused PANRE on its Web site. Beginning in March 2009, PAs will be able to take recertification exams with some of the content focused on one of three areas: adult medicine, primary care or surgery.
Link

August
The Journal of Physician Assistant Education publishes a study about PA perceptions regarding entry-level doctorate degrees for the profession. The authors conclude that PAs participating in the study “do not favor the profession moving toward offering a DPA degree.”
Link

September
The number of accredited PA programs reaches an all-time high of 142.
Link

October
The Association of Family Practice Physician Assistants and ADVANCE name Washington PA Tom Hughes as the fourth Family Practice PA of the Year.
Link

November
AAPA president-elect Paul Robinson dies suddenly while returning from a meeting in Florida.
Link

December
California PA Steve Hanson wins a special election held to fill the vacant position of president-elect.
Link

Comments on ARC-PA's Standards

Stephen Cornell — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 15:47:00 GMT

On the topic of ARC-PA’s standards for PA programs, I have two questions.

One, why does a PA program director need to be a PA or a physician? It certainly should be a consideration, but not a requirement.

At least two terrific PA educators were not PAs: PAEA immediate past president and University of Colorado Child Health Associate PA program interim director Anita Duhl Glicken, MSW, and former Northeastern University PA program director and APAP past president Suzanne Greenberg, MS.

In fact, a review of past APAP/PAEA presidents reveals several non-PAs: Ronald D. Garcia, Jesse Edwards, Denis Oliver, Stephen Gladhart and David Lewis.

Isn’t the pool of talented medical educators shallow enough? Why exclude qualified people simply because they are not PAs?

Also, why must PA program directors be currently certified? Many program directors do not remain in clinical practice. Current certification is seems irrelevant to the ability to run a quality PA program.

Link

An ARC-PA Invitation to Physician Assistants

Stephen Cornell — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 13:39:00 GMT

The Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant invites PAs to suggest changes to the accreditation standards for entry-level PA education programs.

The ARC-PA is soliciting comments on the standards as part of its regular updating and revision process. Provide your thoughts on changes that would improve the standards by using a Web-based survey available here. The deadline for responding is January 15, 2009.

Link

Is PA Postgraduate Program Accreditation a 'Danger' to the Physician Assistant Profession?

Stephen Cornell — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 18:09:00 GMT

Now that ARC-PA has granted formal accreditation to three postgraduate PA programs, it's interesting to go back and read the AAPA's vigorous warnings against an accreditation process.

The American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA) recognizes the value that voluntary participation in postgraduate clinical training programs may have for physician assistants (PAs) who seek additional knowledge and skills. However, the AAPA does not believe that there should be an accreditation system for these programs. This paper discusses why accreditation of postgraduate clinical training could jeopardize the role and mission of the PA profession and suggests other ways to promote quality and protect participants. ...

Link

ARC-PA Accredits Postgraduate PA Program No. 3

Stephen Cornell — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 21:06:00 GMT

At its recent meeting, ARC-PA also granted accreditation to a third postgraduate physician assistant program.

Duke University Medical Center's postgraduate PA surgical residency earned accreditation.

Previously accredited were M.D. Anderson Cancer Center's postgraduate PA program in oncology and Johns Hopkins Hospital Department of Surgery's postgraduate PA surgical residency.

Link

(Note: I believe the accreditation dates are incorrect on ARC-PA's site. MD Anderson and Johns Hopkins received accreditation in March. Duke received accreditation this month. Update: It's fixed now. I guess ARC-PA is reading this blog.)

ARC-PA Accredits PA Program No. 142

Stephen Cornell — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 20:47:00 GMT

Mount Union College in Alliance, Ohio, is the 142nd accredited physician program in the United States and the sixth PA program in Ohio. ARC-PA granted provisional accreditation to Mount Union at its recent meeting.

Sharon Luke, MSHS, PA-C, is the program director.

Link to Mount Union PA program Web site

Link to ARC-PA's list of accredited PA programs

PA Postgraduate Program Accreditation

Stephen Cornell — Mon, 12 May 2008 18:58:00 GMT

ARC-PA has created a page to list accredited clinical postgraduate PA programs. There are currently two.

The surgery residency at Johns Hopkins and the oncology residency at MD Anderson Cancer Center received ARC-PA accreditation in March.

Link

141 PA Programs

Stephen Cornell — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 17:24:00 GMT

There are actually now 141 PA programs accredited by ARC-PA. That is an all-time high, according to this excellent ARC-PA graphic.

PA program No. 141 is at Bethel College in Bethel, Tenn. The previous Bethel College PA program had lost its ARC-PA accreditation effective Dec. 1, 2006.

Link to ARC-PA's list of accredited PA programs

Link to ARC-PA graphic tracking the number of accredited PA programs since 1991

Link to the Bethel College PA program Web site

No. 140

Stephen Cornell — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 21:54:00 GMT

Wingate University is PA program is No. 140. ARC-PA granted provisional accreditation to the Wingate program in March.

Our goal is not to just develop a good program—but to help nurture outstanding mid-level health care providers. Our stated mission is “to educate Physician Assistants to become competent, compassionate and comprehensive health care providers, leaders in the health care community, continuously striving for excellence in their professional endeavors while compassionately providing for the health care needs of those they serve.”
Gary R. Uremovich, DMin MPAS PA-C DFAAPA
Program Director

Link

ARC-PA Accredits Postgraduate PA Programs

Stephen Cornell — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 17:08:00 GMT

Earlier this month, the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA) granted accreditation for the first time to two postgraduate PA programs.

The M.D. Anderson Cancer Center postgraduate PA residency program in oncology and the Johns Hopkins Hospital department of surgery postgraduate surgery residency for PAs received ARC-PA accreditation.

Link to M.D. Anderson oncology PA residency information on the APPAP Web site

Link to Johns Hopkins surgical PA residency Web site

New ARC-PA Commissioners

Stephen Cornell — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 20:38:00 GMT

Three new commissioners joined ARC-PA this month.

Hank Lemke, MMS, PA-C, Phillip Marcus, MD,MPH, FACP, and James Van Rhee MS, PA-C began their first terms as commissioners on the ARC-PA January 1, 2008. Mr. Lemke was nominated by the American Academy of Physician Assistants, Dr. Marcus was nominated by the American College of Physicians, and Mr. Van Rhee was nominated by the Physician Assistant Education Association. Each will serve a 3-year term and be eligible to serve a second 3-year term.

Link