Accreditation Standards
(1.19.10)
Standards, 4th edition Timeline for Implementation: The Standards Committee continues its work and hopes to complete a Standards document for presentation to the full commission for adoption at its March 2010 meeting.
The effective implementation date for the 4th Edition could be as early as January 1, 2011.
Programs in the application process (on the March or September 2011 ARC-PA agendas) would be evaluated against the 3rd edition of the Standards. Those programs would need to complete a supplemental application document that would require the program to answer questions regarding its plans to comply with any new items that are specific to the 4th edition.
Programs being reviewed after September 1, 2011 will be expected to demonstrate compliance with the 4th edition and will be using new application materials.
A copy of the power point show presented at the fall 2008 PAEA meeting about the Standards Review Process is available here in PDF format. (Please note that if there are notes on the notes pages of the slide, you may see those by placing your cursor over the icon in the upper left corner of the slide.)
The Accreditation Standards (pdf), third edition, for entry-level programs became effective in their entirety for all programs as of September 1, 2006. These Standards resulted from an extensive multiyear process of review and revision. This revision process is an integral part of the ARC-PA’s ongoing business practice and Standards have historically been reviewed and revised every 5 years. This copy of the Standards has several clarifying changes, one regarding the qualifications for program directors and the others relating to supervised clinical practice.
A power point show titled "What DO These Standards Mean??" given at the PAEA October 2007 meeting in Tucson is available in the Accreditation Resources section of this site. This show addresses several of the standards that tend to result in questions, along with the new changes to the B7 standards. It is important to look at the "notes pages" section of this show to understand the content of the slides.
The Accreditation Manual has been reviewed and is updated as of October, 2007. It includes the Standards along with suggested evidence of compliance and performance indicators, and clarifying comments to help guide programs in their self assessment of compliance with the Standards. Polices related to the accreditation process are also included in this manual. This manual is in its third edition and changes will be made to it as feedback from programs is received.
Historical Note
The entry-level accreditation standards have undergone periodic revision and improvement since their initial development in 1971 when PA program accreditation was tied to the American Medical Association (AMA). The first set of changes to the "Essentials for the Education of Assistants to Primary Care Physicians," as the standards were first named, was made in 1978. In 1985, the standards were modified again and the title was changed to "Essentials for an Educational Program for the Physician Assistant". Early versions of the standards addressed curriculum for generalist and surgical physician assistant preparation. In 1990 the accreditation standards for physician assistants and surgeon assistants were consolidated to ensure that all students received a comparable base of knowledge and skill in primary care medicine. The Essentials, now termed Standards, were again reviewed and revised in 1996, and became effective in 1997. The current ARC-PA Accreditation Standards for Physician Assistant Education were developed in concert with the ARC-PA’s separation from the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP) and became effective January 1, 2001.
Competencies
The Competencies for the Physician Assistant Profession document was developed jointly by the ARC-PA, the AAPA, the NCCPA, and the PAEA and approved by all four organizations in 2005. A web site housed by the NCCPA has a copy of the Competencies, a self-evaluation tool for PAs, and a list of resources. The ARC-PA has prepared a tabular comparison of the Competencies to the accreditation Standards, 3rd edition, showing that many of the Competencies are addressed by PA programs as they comply with the Standards. The Competencies and their comparison to the Standards are available in pdf format.
Accreditation Standards for Clinical Postgraduate PA Programs
The ARC-PA approved accreditation standards for clinical postgraduate PA programs in March, 2007. Those interested in accreditation of clinical postgraduate PA programs should review the Postgraduate Programs section of the this website.