Code of Conduct for Certified and Certifying PAs

Preamble

The National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants endeavors to assure the public that certified physician assistants meet professional standards of knowledge and skills. Additionally, NCCPA attempts to ensure that the physician assistants it certifies are upholding appropriate standards of professionalism and ethics in practice. The NCCPA’s Code of Conduct for Certified and Certifying Physician Assistants outlines principles that all certified or certifying physician assistants are expected to uphold.

Breaches of these principles may be cause for disciplinary review. Disciplinary actions taken at the conclusion of that review may include formal censures, fines, revocation of certification or eligibility for certification and/or other actions as deemed appropriate by NCCPA. Some disciplinary actions are reported to the state licensing authorities and the National Practitioner Data Bank. This Code of Conduct represents some, though not necessarily all, of the behaviors that may trigger review under NCCPA’s Disciplinary Policy.

Principles of Conduct

Certified or certifying physician assistants shall protect the integrity of the certification and recertification process.

• They shall not engage in cheating or other dishonest behavior that violates exam security (including unauthorized reproducing, distributing, displaying, discussing, sharing or otherwise misusing test questions or any part of test questions) before, during or after an NCCPA examination.
  
• They shall not obtain, attempt to obtain or assist others in obtaining or maintaining eligibility, certification, or recertification through deceptive means, including submitting to the NCCPA any document that contains a misstatement of fact or omits a fact.
  
• They shall not manufacture, modify, reproduce, distribute or use a fraudulent or otherwise unauthorized NCCPA certificate.
  
• They shall not represent themselves in any way as a Physician Assistant-Certified (PA-C) designee unless they hold current NCCPA certification.
  
• When possessing knowledge or evidence that raises a substantial question of cheating on or misuse of questions from an NCCPA examination, fraudulent use of an NCCPA card, certificate or other document or misrepresentation of NCCPA certification status by a physician assistant or any other individual, they shall promptly inform the NCCPA.

Certified or certifying physician assistants shall comply with laws, regulations and standards governing professional practice in the jurisdictions and facilities in which they practice or are licensed to practice.

• Certified or certifying physician assistants shall respect appropriate professional boundaries in their interactions with patients.
  
• Certified or certifying physician assistants shall avoid behavior that would pose a threat or potential threat to the health, well-being or safety of patients apart from reasonable risks taken in the patient’s interest during the delivery of health care.
  
• Certified or certifying physician assistants shall recognize and understand their professional and personal limitations.
  
• Certified or certifying physician assistants shall practice without impairment from substance abuse, cognitive deficiency or mental illness.
  
• Certified or certifying physician assistants shall maintain and demonstrate the ability to engage in the practice of medicine within their chosen areas of practice safely and competently.

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Process for Submitting a Complaint Against a PA-C Designee

Physician assistant certification, as awarded by the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA), indicates that an individual has successfully met NCCPA eligibility requirements and other established criteria for certification by the NCCPA. Certification is not a guarantee of continuing competence, ethical behavior, or successful outcomes for individual patients. Nevertheless, NCCPA does expect Physician Assistant-Certified® (PA-C®) designees to uphold the principles outlined in the Code of Conduct for Certified and Certifying Physician Assistants and may take action when there is clear and convincing evidence that one or more of those principles have been violated.

This document sets forth NCCPA’s policy for responding to complaints from individuals or organizations that have evidence that a PA-C® designee has violated those principles.

Complaint Procedures

1. All complaints must be submitted to the address below in writing and signed by the complainant. To the extent practical, the complainant should provide details, specific facts and documentation of the allegations.
   
   
2. The complaint must also include the following statement:
   
   I authorize NCCPA to release this complaint and all other supporting material I have provided or may provide in the future to the subject of the complaint, members of NCCPA’s Board of Directors, attorneys and others as deemed appropriate by NCCPA or as required by law.
   
   
3. The receipt of complaints submitted in compliance with procedures 1 and 2 above will be acknowledged by postal mail within 30 days.
   
   
4. NCCPA has the sole discretion to determine which complaints should be pursued, how they should be pursued, and what action, if any, should be taken. NCCPA has no obligation to investigate the professional standing of any applicant or PA-C® or to refer any information to an outside body. However, when deemed appropriate by NCCPA, matters may be referred to state licensing authorities or other third parties.
   
5. The outcome of NCCPA’s review of a complaint may or may not be made public.

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