Summary of NCCPA Board Actions and Issues

print

The NCCPA Board of Directors met on Friday, July 31, 2009 in Alpharetta, Georgia. The following summary describes the actions taken and issues addressed at that meeting.

Specialty Certification Model Approved ___________________________________

In a momentous action that represents a significant body of work, the Board of Directors approved a model to issue voluntary, time-limited specialty certification to PAs. The model requires as basic eligibility criteria that PAs are currently NCCPA-certified and have an unencumbered license (or comparable authorization to practice under federal authority). Eligible PAs then complete the model's four-part core, which includes specialty CME, experience in the specialty, a patient-procedure log, and a specialty exam. These requirements may be completed in any order, and the Board approved the creation of a time-limited status that would allow PAs to demonstrate that they have initiated this process. (The process for specialty certification maintenance is to be determined but will require re-testing, likely at the same interval as the current PA-C credential.)

The Board recognized that variability in and between specialties creates a need for additional input to resolve the specific requirements for the selected specialties; and the Board approved convening advisory committees, which will include PA and physician organization representatives and NCCPA-appointed PAs, to assist in that effort. The Board further approved that the following specialties should be included in the program's December 2011 launch: emergency medicine, cardiovascular surgery, orthopedic surgery, nephrology, and psychiatry. The Board also agreed in principle that additional specialties would be added based on an ongoing assessment of need, feasibility, interest and other factors.

The Board approved a phased implementation for the specialty certification program. The specialty certification exams and an audited self-attestation based system for the other requirements will be in place for the program's initial launch in December 2011. Subsequently, NCCPA will develop more rigorous and robust systems to support the model's remaining components by no later than the end of 2015.

Finally, the Board charged standing NCCPA committees to bring recommendations regarding an appropriate fee structure and corresponding governing policies in 2010. The Board also directed that appropriate steps be taken to allow for the formation of a standing specialty certification committee.

Other Issues & Decisions _______________________________________________

  • The Board had a moment of silence to commemorate the deaths of NCCPA Board members John Coombs, MD, and Larry Simonsmeier, JD, who passed away earlier this year.
  • The Board approved minor changes to NCCPA's governing policies related to certification and eligibility.
  • The Board approved minor changes to the policies that govern the selection and election of PA and public directors at large.
  • The Board approved revisions to the policies that govern NCCPA's research and test development areas to reflect changes that have taken place as a result of our transition to in-house testing.
  • The Board approved the discontinuation of the practice that allows examinees to “bank” additional break time – above the set 45 minutes allotted – should they complete a block of exam questions early.
  • The Board received a report from management regarding an error in the exam assembly process that required exam results for 17 PAs to be re-reported. The error has been identified, contained, and enhanced security and quality control measures have been established to prevent this and similar errors from occurring in the future.
  • Committee chairs provided the Board with brief updates on their current efforts.
  • The Board approved the minutes of the May 1, 2009 Board of Director's meeting and accepted all committee minutes and reports for filing.
  • The Board received a report from the NCCPA Foundation, including the news that the Foundation's Shaping Great Physician-PA Teams received a Telly Award for video production.

Next Meeting

The Board will convene for its annual meeting November 12-15, 2009 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.