CAQ Results

[andersenpa]

they plan on requiring that all residents take and pass it to graduate

interesting...........

[EMEDPA]

So, E:

I am up for testing 2013 and this will be my first recert. I have worked my entire PA career in an 85k+ Level I ED. Compete with EM residents for criticals. No procedures. I do see criticals on a fairly regular basis. I have seriously considered specialty testing for the very reasons you listed above. What can a first timer do to prep other than the obvious reading in EM? You said it was a tough and maybe for a hospitalist. Any reading or prep that you can recommend?

Thanks and congrats. Hope you get 007!

starting in 2012 SEMPA will offer a CAQ prep course taught by experienced em pa's and folks who have taken and passed the CAQ.
I didn't study for it at all as I didn't know what to focus on. chances are with a bit of procedures review you would do fine given your experience.

[EMEDPA]

interesting...........

acep and em physicians in general are very much in favor of postgrad training in em for pa's and some test to validate this experience. the number of em pa residencies and fellowships has doubled in the last 2 yrs. I believe there are 14 now with more in the works. soon there will definitely be a two tiered hiring system in em; pa's who have not done residency and/or caq will be looking at fast track jobs and those with better credentials will compete for the better jobs. it's happening already with residencies. when I sort cv's those with a residency go higher on the pile than those without in most cases unless the guy without has years of experience. new grad without residency? bottom of the pile sorted by prior experience.

[EMEDPA]

certificate just arrived in the mail.
it doesn't have any number on it other than our regular nccpa cert # but there is a seal that says "2011 inaugural year" at the bottom center.

[EMEDPA]

I have a friend who is pa program faculty who was part of a panel which evaluated the test. they threw out a lot of questions and were asked to decide a passing curve % for each question. who knows how many questions remained after they worked on it....
I would be interested to know the total # they kept( I'm guessing around 100) and the passing % required, what the avg was, how many passed and failed and my specific score.

[EMEDPA]

http://bangordailynews.com/2012/01/0...am/?ref=latest

[ajnelson]

http://bangordailynews.com/2012/01/0...am/?ref=latest

A former EMS buddy of mine used to work Fire/EMS out of that hospital and was always trying to get me to move there!

[EMEDPA]

A former EMS buddy of mine used to work Fire/EMS out of that hospital and was always trying to get me to move there!

I talked to one of those pa's last yr at sempa(melanie in fact). they were recruiting. I'm thinking of taking a job out there or in vt. with kargiver if I can talk my wife into it....seems ideal....

[ajnelson]

I talked to one of those pa's last yr at sempa(melanie in fact). they were recruiting. I'm thinking of taking a job out there or in vt. with kargiver if I can talk my wife into it....seems ideal....

I want to get back east eventually, just don't think I want to live in an area that cold and snowy again!! Phoenix sure has spoiled me!

[janede]

took it, passed ..studied using materials for ABEM..this exam was pretty steep, tight on time and Im usually a rocket on tests (too much caffeine)..many questions straight out of the PEER review..I also used an online course
intrainingprep.com...pretty cheap: registered as a resident..it is a review for the EM in training exam. I wrote a letter to NCCPA after I took it as I think they were a little off on the focus but Id suspect if you work in high acuity, studied and didn't generally freak out, you'd pass...I work in a 120K, high acuity X 16 y ...no guts, no glory

[janede]

me too...like to know how I racked up...competitive I guess but curious too. I've said that for the reg recert, an ER PA would have to be drunk to fail but this puppy was not quite that easy.

[pablo]

I am one of the 8 who passed in Maryland.
Very curious as to # registered to test, # Tested and # passed.
Entering 17th year as PA with army SF medic and Fire Dept PM background.
Some object to another certification or test. Seems like the wave of the future to me. More Doc shortages mean more PA opportunities. But with less Docs, I anticipate higher expectations of the providers. I suspect this will have several areas of use. First, the PA looking for a position will be better looking on paper. Given the experience requirement etc, I would hope they would be better prepared in person too. Second, the PA with the certification already in position may be able to negotiate the contract north a bit. Third, the employer may look good noting the number of residency trained or CAQ providers.
When I started, most of the ED Docs were internal medicine folks. Now they are EM residency, ACEP, etc. I suspect this is our version of the same. I also wonder what the plan will be for NPs who practice in ED settings. In Maryland, if they are adult critical care they do not touch kids. If family medicine, they don't touch critical patients (at least as far as I have seen). If this takes hold, I wonder if an NP emergency medicine track will develop.
Congrats to all who took the exam, and a double dose to those who passed. Great job folks.
pablo

[Devildog]

there is actually a practice requirement to take the exam. new grads are not eligible. you also need acls/atls/pals and an em doc to sign off that you are competent both in general and on a full page of procedures. it's not a great exam but most non-em folks would fail it. I'm sure a lot of good em pa's actually failed it. I think they set the bar too high. with 25 yrs of em experience I had doubts about whether or not I passed it. 10 yrs ago I might have failed it so many em pa's with only 5 yrs experience probably did. it does serve its purpose though. an fp, psych, nephro, ortho, etc pa would certainly fail this exam. a critical care pa like andersen would likely pass it as it seemed to focus more on the critical care aspects of em than anything else.
I can understand your feelings about the test. I'm in a position right now in which I was encouraged to take it and it was subsidized(pm me if you want details).
I would much prefer more residencies as I think those really do make a better pa, em or otherwise. maybe make the test only available to residency grads. I think that is probably where we are headed anyway. 20 yrs from now every pa will likely be required to do a residency for anything outside of primary care. I can't say that it's a bad idea.

Indeed, I agree with E.. our practice has grown leaps and bounds and that has placed a tremendous amount of stress as "the well has run dry" of qualified EM PA's. We will be starting a residency as a way to train up urgent care / FP pa's into our EM practice. I have been corresponding with John Grayoski and he preety much confirmed that our challenges are not isolated to our practice.. See his response below to one of my latest to him..BTW, congrats to all that passed!

"We have been inundated with information about training programs, residencies and fellowships in emergency medicine. They are expanding rapidly.


At the same time, we are hearing from our physician colleagues that their need to hire PAs is being thwarted by the variable level of skills and training in candidates.


We are also hearing from a (minority) of EM Physicians that there has to be a "standard" of training and some recognition of skill level in order to continue to have PAs as an essential part of the ED provider team.


I think we all agree that the PA schools are churning out graduates, but the number of new PAs who have EM training or experience is dropping. Many of our new grads went into PA school straight out of high school, so there a new and future PA population that lacks much prior life experience.


We are in discussion with ACEP about creating a clearing house for the variety of programs that are being established, and about facilitating a dialog about the characteristics of training programs that would meet the needs of EM. I think there is also a real desire for groups who are training to share their processes and experiences.
Ultimately our membership would also benefit from knowing what training is out there.


In any event, we are hoping to have a roundtable in Tucson. We have had a number of "residencies" request space in the exhibit hall as a way of getting the word out about their programs.


I'd like to hear more about your program.


Would hope you can be in Tucson as the discussion there will be helpful in determining our role in the evolution of EM training. You might also consider a space in the exhibit hall.


Want to stay in touch as we are going to need volunteer leaders to help evolve the next steps in the evolution of EM training for PAs.


I'm sharing this with Natalie Schmitz, our president elect and Michelle Parker, our Executive Director.

John Graykoski, PA-C, MPAS
President, Society of Emergency Medicine Physician Assistants"

[Devildog]

nice press release!!

[EMEDPA]

I am one of the 8 who passed in Maryland.

I'm one of only 17 on the west coast who passed the exam and the only one at any of my jobs.