An Insider's Perspective
Editor's Note: Below is a blog post from Randy Danielson, PhD, PA-C, DFAAPA, on the subject of PA specialty certification, which was originally published in Clinician Reviews. An excerpt is included here; you can read the complete article by clicking on the link at the end. Check back each Monday for a new post, and please feel free to leave comments. If you would like to contribute a blog entry, e-mail assistant editor Heather Simons at hsimons@advanceweb.com. Thanks.
This past month, the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA) notified all its stakeholders of a new voluntary specialty certification program for PAs in emergency medicine, orthopedic surgery, cardiovascular surgery, nephrology, and psychiatry to be launched in 2011-with the expectation that other specialties will follow. Many PAs have applauded this event; others have been critical of its potential effect on the profession.
Since I am the chair of the NCCPA's workgroup on specialty certification and have been intimately involved for the past 3+ years with this topic, this editorial is written from that experience. As with most editorials, it is biased. A further disclaimer: These are my thoughts and experiences and should not be construed to be the policy of the NCCPA. I speak only for myself and offer my apologies to my NP colleagues for focusing on a PA-specific topic this month.
Read the rest of Danielson's thoughts here and listen to a podcast on the subject he recorded with Lisa Dandrea Lenell, MPAS, PA-C, on ReachMD. Then let us know what you think below.