As many of you know, the NCCPA and AAPA have been in a dialogue for the last year or so over changing PA Certification maintenance requirements, including CME changes. This would affect both the PANRE and the type and quantity of annual CME credits.
So what happened?
PI and SA Changes
As of August 2016, the NCCPA removed the requirement for PI and SA CME Requirements. Previously, 20 credits were required per 2year cycle. The change was made after PAs voiced their concerns over cost, availability, and feasibility of completing these particular credits.
For anyone who had completed these PI and SA activities over the last 2 cycles, a bonus of sorts will be applied:
- SA activities will receive 150% credit: i.e. 20 credit activity will now be awarded 30 credits.
- PI activities will receive double or 200% credit: i.e. a 20 credit activity will now be awarded 40 credits. (applies to first 20 credits)
It will take several months for the NCCPA to apply these changes and have them reflected in each PA’s CME Log. If these credits give PAs more than necessary credits (over 50 Cat 1), they will have the opportunity to roll these over to the next cycle. PAs should receive an email when the changes have been made in their CME Record and can log-in to view them.
Going Forward
The NCCPA has also created an advisory board to make recommendations and establish criteria on CME requirements going forward.
PAs can also continue to log SA and PI activities and have the new weighted credits apply. The only approved SA and PI activities continue to be those approved by the AAPA and can be viewed here: SA CME and PI CME
In Summary
- 50 Category One and 50 Category Two credits are still required per 2 year cycle.
- There are no longer SA or PI requirements, but the activities can still be used for credit as explained above.
Stay tuned, as there will likely be continued discussion and statements from the NCCPA on the matter. We’ll continue to bring you the cliff notes version! (See our previous posts for the complete timeline of NCCPA meetings and changes. This one especially has a great timeline.)
Don’t forget this CME cycle ends December 31, 2016!