The Standards do not address preceptors as providers for students.
The Standards do prohibit principal faculty, the program director and the medical director from participating as health care providers for students in the program, except in an emergency situation.
The ARC-PA only investigates concerns about a program when submitted in writing, signed, and related to the program’s compliance with the Standards. Concerns may be sent by email to Complaints@arc-pa.org.
The following presentation is available to offer further insight into the distinct roles of the four major national PA organizations and their support of PAs.
The American Academy of Physician Associates (AAPA), Physician Assistant Education Association (PAEA) and the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA) are the collaborating organizations of the ARC-PA. The AAPA and PAEA nominate individuals from its membership to serve as commissioners on the ARC-PA. Each commissioner serves a three-year term, which is renewable once upon recommendation by the ARC-PA.
As part of its philosophy, the ARC-PA derives its identity from its history, its involvement with other accreditation organizations, its collaborating organizations, and the PA profession.
The American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Academy of PAs (AAPA), the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of Physicians, the American Medical Association, the PA Education Association (PAEA), the Society of Emergency Medicine PAs, the Association of PAs in Psychiatry, the American Association of Surgical PAs, the Society of Critical Care Medicine PAs, the Society of PAs in Family Medicine, the Society of PAs in Pediatrics, and the Association of PAs in Obstetrics & Gynecology all cooperate with the ARC-PA as collaborating organizations to establish, maintain, and promote appropriate standards of quality for entry-level education of PAs and to provide recognition for educational programs that meet the minimum requirements outlined in the Standards.
The Standards charge the programs to conduct timely evaluations of students that are objective, transparent, and comprehensive during supervised clinical practice experiences (SCPEs). Preceptor assessment and feedback play a vital role in the program’s ongoing self-assessment process to support the identification of strengths and areas in need of improvement related to institutional support, the effectiveness of the program’s curriculum, sufficiency and effectiveness of faculty, student achievement of the program competencies, PANCE performance, and other relevant factors.
Continuous feedback and assessment contribute to the ongoing enhancement of the respective PA program and the overall quality of PA education. Programs may employ various methods to solicit constructive feedback, such as a preceptor’s evaluation of its students and curriculum, preceptors joining program advisory committee (PAC) meetings, focus groups, and more. For inquiries about providing program feedback, please reach out to the respective program.
The accreditation status for programs will be updated on the ARC-PA website when all business from the commission meeting is finalized, usually within 5-6 weeks following the meeting. If PA trainees have questions regarding a program’s accreditation status, contact the program itself.
Before confirming your participation, please ensure your availability during the designated day and time.
The purpose of the site visit is to verify, clarify, and validate what the program wrote in its application regarding the program’s adherence to the Standards. The site visit team will report their findings to the commission based on evidence presented at the time of the site visit. The team will seek clarification on information provided by the program to the ARC-PA; thus, it’s important to respond honestly to any questions you are asked. You can anticipate questions related to the standards.
The ARC-PA accredited PA Programs are listed on the ARC-PA website, alphabetically by state, along with information on their accreditation status, accreditation actions history, the date the program was first accredited, and the next scheduled accreditation review.
When referring to the Standards, please reference Standard A3.12a for information on the program’s responsibilities regarding changes in the program’s ARC-PA accreditation status. While programs do have to publish their accreditation status, they are not required to contact each instructional faculty member directly.
The ARC-PA performs a comprehensive review of the program relative to the Standards. The PA program and the sponsoring institution are responsible for demonstrating compliance. Accreditation decisions are based on the ARC-PA Commission’s evaluation of information contained in the accreditation application, the report submitted by the site visit team, any additional requested reports or documents submitted to the ARC-PA by the program, and the program’s accreditation history.
For more information, access the ARC-PA presentation addressing the Overview of the Accreditation Process.
When referring to the Standards, reference Standard A1.10b. Questions regarding program participation with non-required rotations, experiences, and/or program policies should be directed to the specific program.
Regarding the contact information for a PA program if it’s not easily accessible on their website, contact the sponsoring institution or PAEA.
When referring to the Standards, the following is outlined:
Standard A2.13 specifies instructional faculty qualifications, experience, knowledge, and effectiveness. Determinations regarding specific academic preparation and/or experience are established at the individual PA program level.
Standard A2.16 requires a valid license to practice at the clinical site.
Standard B3.06 supports physician preceptors who are specialty board-certified in their area of instruction, PA preceptors who are NCCPA certified, and other licensed health care providers that are qualified in their area of instruction.
Inquiries concerning program participation, preceptor qualifications, and program policies should be directed to the respective program.
Regarding the contact information for a PA program if it’s not easily accessible on their website, contact the sponsoring institution or PAEA.
The ARC-PA accredited PA Programs are listed on the ARC-PA website, alphabetically by state, along with information on their accreditation status, accreditation actions history, the date the program was first accredited, and the next scheduled accreditation review. Regarding the contact information for a PA program if it’s not easily accessible on their website, contact the sponsoring institution or PAEA.