Clinical Postgraduate PA Programs (page updated 5.21.08)

Revised Applications and Appendices now available on this site, as of 5.21.08! See Application Materials.

Special Note: Scheduling Site Visits (4.8.08)

The ARC-PA agenda for the March 2009 meeting is closed and the ARC-PA is not scheduling of any more site visits during the period preceding that meeting. The next opportunity for a visit would be between March 30 – July 10, 2009, for the September, 2009 commission meeting. Clinical postgraduate programs applying for initial accreditation should contact associate director Laura Stuetzer regarding the process (curriculum and administrative reviews) and timeline involved in being prepared to schedule a site visit.
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Clinical postgraduate programs are formal educational programs that offer structured curricula, including didactic and clinical components, to educate NCCPA eligible or certified PA's for a defined period of time in preparation for practice in a medical or surgical specialty. Programs typically involve full time study of 12-24 months duration and follow several models including fellowships, graduate degree programs, and residency programs. Graduate degree programs and masters completion programs without a strong focus on clinical education in a recognized clinical specialty discipline are not included in this definition.

The mission of the ARC-PA is to protect the interests of the public and PA profession, and welfare of the student by defining the standards for PA education and evaluating PA educational programs. At its March, 2006 meeting the commission voted to provide accreditation services for clinical postgraduate programs. At its September, 2006 meeting the commission approved the distribution of accreditation standards for comment. The commission approved accreditation standards in March, 2007.

Background

Accreditation of clinical postgraduate programs is voluntary. It serves to provide programs an external validation of their educational offering. Additionally the process offers prospective learners one means by which they can judge the quality of the educational experience offered by the program or institution.

The PA profession is based on the model of broad based, generalist medical education provided by accredited entry-level PA programs.  When supplemented with practice-based training and appropriate physician supervision, this preparation allows PAs to successfully integrate into medical specialties or practice settings throughout their careers.

The fact that PAs continue to refine their knowledge and skills via practice-based training is a hallmark feature of the physician assistant profession.  With ever changing health care needs, including changes in physician staffing, this model allows PAs to rapidly adapt to the medical needs of their communities.  Employers, physicians and patients, benefit from this model. 

Some PAs may elect to obtain additional specialty education and training by participation in formal post-graduate PA training programs or residencies. Such specialty training is not, however, required for successful physician-PA teams to provide specialty medical care and should not be mandated by employers or governmental agencies.

Accreditation Process

The clinical postgraduate PA program accreditation process conducted by the ARC-PA is a voluntary one entered into by institutions and programs that sponsor a structured educational experience. To be eligible to apply for accreditation, programs must be operational with at least one enrolled PA resident at the time of application. A PDF copy of the process (9.07) is available here.