Initial Certification
Graduates from physician
assistant programs
accredited by the Accreditation Review Commission on
Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA) or its
predecessors are eligible to seek NCCPA certification by
taking the Physician Assistant
National Certifying Examination (PANCE). The
multiple-choice test comprises 360 questions that assess
basic medical and surgical knowledge. Advance registration and fee payment are required, but candidates may choose from over 200
testing sites.
After passing PANCE, physician assistants are issued NCCPA certification, entitling them to use of the PA-C
designation until the certification expiration date (approximately two years). In addition to meeting the continuing education and evaluation requirements, NCCPA's Code of Conduct for Certified and Certifying PAs illuminates the ethics and professionalism expected of all PAs seeking or holding NCCPA certification.
Certification Maintenance
Your initial certification marks the beginning of a six-year certification maintenance cycle. To maintain your certification and retain the right to use the PA-C designation beyond the date of certification expiration, physician assistants must follow a two-pronged process, including documentation of continuing medical education (CME) and successful completion of a recertification exam.
The six-year certification maintenance cycle is divided into three
two-year periods. During every two-year period, PA-C designees must earn and log a minimum of 100
hours of CME and submit a certification maintenance fee to
NCCPA by June 30 of their certification expiration year to avoid
additional fees. The CME hours required for each
two-year cycle must have been earned during the cycle to
which they are being applied, with the date of completion
no later than June 30 of the certification expiration year.
By the end of the sixth year of the
certification maintenance cycle, PA-C designees must have
also passed a recertification exam.
Offered at testing centers throughout the U.S., the Physician Assistant National
Recertifying Exam (PANRE) comprises multiple-choice
questions designed to assess general medical and surgical
knowledge.
NCCPA also offers an alternative to the traditional PANRE – Pathway II, a Web-based, take-at-home examination. Physician assistants electing to take this "open book" exam are encouraged to use reference materials as needed to complete it. However, to be eligible for the take-home exam, PAs must meet an additional requirement – the accumulation of 100 points through completion of activities within nine categories of education and experiential activities. Activities claimed to satisfy this secondary 100-point requirement may not also be used to meet the primary 100-hour CME requirement, but the Pathway II points may be earned throughout the six-year recertification cycle prior to the exam deadline.
PAs who fail to maintain their certification must take and pass PANCE, PANRE or Pathway II, to regain it. (Other eligibility requirements will apply.)
Following the completion of the sixth year requirements, the certification maintenance process begins anew.
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