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The only way a PA can get a license to work is to be certified by taking a national exam after completing PA school.  C stands for certified.  Most states require a PA to keep the C up to date which is done by taking a recertification exam every 10 years and completing the required number of CME hours.  Most if not all insurance companies require a PA to keep the certification active in order to get reimbursed. 

 

Check out AAPA.org or NCCPA.net for the answers to your question.

 

 

Do you know what PA stands for?

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ALL PAs that want to keep their license need to retake the PANRE every ten years -- regardless of how obtained their PA education.

 

Like Paula suggested, do yourself a favor and do some reading on the PA profession. You can find a lot of information on the AAPA website and on this forum.

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Thank you. Of course I know what PA stands for: Physician Assistant. I am in my pre-PA course work right now. And I interviewed a Physician's assistant and they told me they were certified, meaning to me that they did not have a bachelors degree. I mentioned this because I have all my prerequisites done, but I thought every PA School required a Bachelor's degree. I just wanted to know if they paid them differently? And does the PA that got their masters need to retake that exam every ten years as well? Or do they have a longer period since that took the longer way to become a PA?

He had a CERTIFICATE from his degree granting institution, as opposed to an AS, BS, or MS. This degree is going extinct and you're unlikely to get that without significant healthcare experience, if it's even still offered. I don't have the time to google it. Either way, PA education was formally competency based. Meaning there were several level of degrees offered, but we all had the same medical curriculum, so no one way is really shorter or less qualified. They are all paid the same. We are all initially CERTIFIED, where the -C comes from, by national examination. All must do the ten year cycle. This is basically what Paula said, but you didn't seem to get it, so I elaborated.

 

Lastly, and I really don't mean to be snide, but using the 's in physician assistant shows a significant lack of knowledge of the profession. Just avoid its use in the future, please.

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I think this thread touches on a larger issue of whether the "-C" is unnecessary and confusing to a public that already has trouble understanding PAs and the their role in healthcare. We don't call licensed nurses "RN-L" nor do we call board certified physicians "MD-BC". Why should PAs be any different?

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I think this thread touches on a larger issue of whether the "-C" is unnecessary and confusing to a public that already has trouble understanding PAs and the their role in healthcare. We don't call licensed nurses "RN-L" nor do we call board certified physicians "MD-BC". Why should PAs be any different?

 

Good point. I have seen numerous nursing post nominals which use -BC (board certified), among others. A look at an incomplete list on Wikipedia highlights this (look under "Alphabetical listing of nursing and related credentials and certifications")

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nursing_credentials_and_certifications

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I've been asked about the "-C" In the PA-C. It does add extra confusion, but it doesn't bother me too much. I was already used to it when I used to have NREMT-P on the coat and people had a hard to time understanding why there was NR before the EMT-P and why another provider just had EMT-P. There was absolutely no difference except I had taken the National Registry exam, but the other provider was a paramedic in a state that didn't require you to hold onto the National Registry to maintain state certification.

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I think this thread touches on a larger issue of whether the "-C" is unnecessary and confusing to a public that already has trouble understanding PAs and the their role in healthcare. We don't call licensed nurses "RN-L" nor do we call board certified physicians "MD-BC". Why should PAs be any different?

A couple of points. As others mention above the -C means that they are currently NCCPA certified. There are a number of states that require the -C for initial licensure but do not require you to maintain it. It is also a relic of earlier times, to differentiate from people who called themselves Physician Assistants without being certified. I can think of at least two states where there are PAs working without the -C. As for physicians, they are required to pass step 3 and some amount of residency to use MD. BC is usually trumpeted quite loudly (hence the attempt by NPs to use a similar term). 

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