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News
Standards Revision:
(9.08) The
ARC-PA has begun its Standards review process. This comprehensive
review and revision process occurs as an integral part of the ARC-PA’s
ongoing business practice and the Standards have historically
been reviewed and revised every 5 years. From
now until
January 15, 2009 the ARC-PA is soliciting comments or suggested
changes/deletions regarding the current Standards, 3rd edition. Comments
are being accepted by submission in a web-based survey format. For
more information and to provide comments go to the Standards Comments
page.
ARC-PA
extends search for second public commissioner: (9.08)
The ARC-PA is extending its search for a secong public member of the
commission. The new deadline for nominations/application letters is November
15, 2008 for the term that begins in January, 2009.
The Public
Member serves
as a
consumer advocate, representing the
public interest in
relation to the accreditation of physician assistant programs. The public member
commissioner attends the semi-annual (March and September) meetings of
the ARC-PA, contribute to discussions about accreditation status of programs and
participate in site visits to PA programs and as a member of ARC-PA committees or
task forces. Click here for more about the nomination
process and here for commissioner
responsibilities.
NEW
CV Template: (6.08)
Programs
submitting CV's faculty CV's as part of an accreditation application
or change to program faculty are asked to submit these using the simple
CV template available on the ARC-PA web site. This template can be downloaded
and completed electronically and is available in the Application
and Forms page
of the Continuing or Provisional sections of the web site.
Special
Note: Scheduling Site Visits (4.8.08)
The ARC-PA agenda for the March 2009 meeting is closed and the ARC-PA is not scheduling of any more site visits during the period preceding that meeting. The next opportunity for a visit would be between March 30 – July 10, 2009, for the September, 2009 commission meeting.
Currently accredited programs are contacted by the ARC-PA approximately12-15 months before their next visit to select specific dates for a site visit. However, based on the program accreditation letter and when the next comprehensive evaluation is to occur, programs may contact the ARC-PA at anytime to request the scheduling of the site visit.
Developing entry level programs are reminded to contact executive director John McCarty to schedule their site visits in a timely fashion.
Clinical
postgraduate programs applying for initial accreditation should contact
associate director Laura
Stuetzer regarding the process (curriculum and administrative reviews)
and timeline involved in being prepared to schedule a site visit.
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Important
News from the March, 2008, ARC-PA Meeting!!: (3.08)
The March meeting was a busy one with much news to share with programs.
News includes more changes to the Standards regarding Recognized
regional Agencies and an important change to program director requirements
(Standard A2.06). The ARC-PA has clarified its geographic scope
and has published its new fee schedule through 2011. Click here for
all the news details in
a pdf document.
ARC-PA accredits first clinical postgraduate PA programs: (3.08) The ARC-PA accredited the first two clinical postgraduate PA programs on March 6, 2008. The Postgraduate Physician Assistant Program at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and the surgical Postgraduate Physician Assistant Program at the Johns Hopkins Hospital have been added to the list of accredited programs on the website. Clinical postgraduate PA programs are required to submit annual reports to the ARC-PA and to submit periodic reports and take part in site visits similar to those required of entry-level PA programs.
New Commissioners Join ARC-PA: (1.08) Hank Lemke, MMS, PA-C, Phillip Marcus, MD,MPH, FACP, and James Van Rhee MS, PA-C began their first terms as commissioners on the ARC-PA January 1, 2008. Mr. Lemke was nominated by the American Academy of Physician Assistants, Dr. Marcus was nominated by the American College of Physicians, and Mr. Van Rhee was nominated by the Physician Assistant Education Association. Each will serve a 3-year term and be eligible to serve a second 3-year term.
Power Point Shows: (12.3.07) The two power point show from the PAEA meeting in Tucson are now available in read only format in the Accreditation Resources section of this site, on the Accredited Programs page. One is titled "What DO These Standards Mean?" and 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 other show, titled "More on Analysis" presents information on analysis and the self study report. The content on the slides is self explanatory and there is no additional content on the "notes pages."
Clarifying
Changes to Standards: (10.1.07,
links updated 5.12.08) The
ARC-PA periodically reviews the Standards for clarity issues,
making changes as needed before its ongoing 5-year Standards review
cycle. The standards relating to supervised clinical practice experiences,
B7 in
the 3rd edition, have remained difficult for programs to interpret
and apply. At its March and September 2007 meetings, the ARC-PA discussed
these standards and has now made clarifying changes to the section.
Information
on these changes is available here. The
changes take effect immediately and have been incorporated into the
3rd edition of the Standards document.
They are also reflected in a newest version of the Accreditation
Manual.
Immunization
Requirement: (8.10.07) In
demonstrating compliance with Standard D1.02, programs should
refer to the CDC web
site. The site was last updated on August 8, 2207, with content reviewed
in June. The page that goes directly to requirements for health professionals,
in pdf format, is linked here.
Revised Power Point Show: (8.8.07)
The ARC-PA has revised its power point presentation for PA programs to use as
they discuss the topic of accreditation with their students (Standard B6.03f).
This show is available for downloading from the ARC-PA web site on the Accreditation
Resources page. it It is no longer protected, allowing programs to use selected
slides or to combine slides with others used by the program. Questions about
the show should be address to Laura
Stuetzer at arcpaljs@hotmail.com
Change Forms: (5.11.07) The
forms needed for programs to notify the ARC-PA of changes to the faculty, and
proposed as required in Section F of the Standards are now available on
the Application
and Forms page of the Continuing Accreditation section of this
web site.
Clinical
Postgraduate PA Program Standards: (3.30.07) The
ARC-PA voted to approve the accreditation
standards for clinical postgraduate
PA programs at its March meeting.
Updated information about the
accreditation process will be
available on the Postgraduate
Programs page
of this web site on April 2, 2007.
Notes on Standards: (3.31.07) The ARC-PA has developed some "Notes to Programs" regarding issues related to the Standards. Programs should review these carefully.
Power Point Show: (11.06) The ARC-PA power point presentation on Analysis and the Self Study report as presented in Quebec is now available on the Program Resource page.
New ARC-PA Policy on Geographic Scope: (10.5.06) At its September, 2006 meeting, the ARC-PA adopted a revised policy related to the geographic scope of accreditation. To read the new policy (PDF) and see how it may apply to your program, click here.
Standards Clarification
and Reminder: (9.22.06)
At its September,
2006 meeting, the
ARC-PA edited footnote
#3 associated with
Standard A2.06 concerning
the qualifications
of the program director.
This change is provided
for added clarity
and does not change
the intent of the
standard, which was
that program directors
for programs accredited
on or after 1/01 “must” be
a PA or a physician,
AND that newly appointed
program directors
for programs accredited
prior to 1/01 “must” also
be a PA or physician.
Programs
are also reminded
that Standard F1.07
addresses the
fact that interim
program directors
should meet
the qualifications
of the program
director. Since
the term “should” is
used in this
standard, programs
with interim
program directors
who are neither
a PA nor a physician
will be required
to justify why
an interim program
director does
not hold the
required credential.
Programs appointing
new program
directors or
those hiring
their interim
directors to
become the permanent
director will
be held to the
program director
qualifications
as stated in Standard A2.06.
Accreditation
Resources: (8.15.06)
The ARC-PA has added
a page to this site
called "Accreditation
Resources." This
page, located in
the section Accredited
Programs will
be the repository
for
many of the items
first announced
in this News section.
For
example, this page
now contains handouts
from sessions presented
at fall PAEA meetings
as
well as the Power
Point Shows announced
below.
New
Staff (7.07)