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No PA Program Standard Curriculum


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Just have a couple questions if someone can help me out.

I had an interesting conversation with a physician who represents the Department of Justice for California. The physician had stated that PAs lack a standard curriculum and that all one needs to do in order to be a PA is pass the PANCE.

I was pretty thrown off by this and countered that we have the ARC-PA, and the NCCPA offers us a blueprint that we use during our didactic education and that the quality of our clinical rotations are governed by the ARC-PA.

The physician rebutted stating that this information was from a conversation they had with an unnamed member of the Physician Assistant Board of California (Not CAPA). This physician I spoke with is pretty credible to me as I've worked with them for 3 years now and have had interesting case discussions with them in the past.

The questions I have now are:

 

1. Is this indeed true that we do not have a standard curriculum (at least within the state of California)?

2. If this is not true, what plan of action should I take to help correct this?

3. If it is true, what does the lack of standard curriculum do to us in our ability to advocate for more autonomy and superior training in comparison of other advance practice clinicians?

4. Is this a risk that the AAPA should address in order to prevent this as an argument against PAs as it was used in this circumstance.

 

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I don't know the answer, but:

 

I Googled this for kicks and it doesn't appear to me that medical schools have a standardized curriculum.  They have standardized testing which largely dictates the major topics covered, but individual schools employ wildly different educational models and are in a constant process of reorganizing the material.

 

Also, passing the PANCE isn't "all one needs to do".  I imagine you have to pass your program.  You can't challenge the PANCE, nor can you challenge much of anything in America as the education system maintains a stranglehold on certifications and licenses.

 

Having participated in a clinical, non-PA program in the past, I can attest that the standardized exams are easier than program final exams and my suspicion is that is a universal feature of clinical education.  Given that the doctor made this bizarre statement, I would not seek his advice on the topic further.

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I believe one of the issues is that this came from someone who makes legal decisions for or against PAs in court. And the other issue is that this information came from a high up board member from the PA Board of California.

 

So how can we address this as the comment was made within a negative context. I mean, this wasn't just any physician that had an opinion... its the physician who represents the Department of Justice... not sure if those in the peanut gallery are grasping the context of this.

 

When I mentioned about the ARC-PA and the NCCPA blueprint, they straight up told me something to the effect of (and I'm paraphrasing), "Yes, but although there is a blueprint, there is no standard curriculum, meaning that technically a PA program can teach whatever they want, so long as the student graduates and passes their boards."

 

I guess what really bothered me the most was that this physician's source was someone who is in charge of licensing from the PAs in California. And when this physician initially mentioned this to me, they stated "I had a dialog with the ____ of the PA Board and they had some very interesting and eye opening things to say about the PA education" (paraphrasing again).

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How is PA school blueprinting fundamentally different than MD or DO school blueprinting?  We have an active accreditation organization that is constantly policing the programs it oversees, it seems, to make sure those expectations are being met.  Sure, an otherwise-outstanding PA program could go totally off the rails and not be caught for a couple of years... but so could an MD program, right?  My impression is that we have the same level of scrutiny as any other medical graduate program, albeit a little bit less standardization in what our applicants bring to their respective programs.

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This doc made up an imaginary construct, a "standard curriculum," and then insisted that medical schools have it and PA schools do not.  Far as I can tell, medical schools are anything BUT standardized, utilizing five significantly different educational models and given wide latitude in how they deliver and test material.

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That guy sounds poorly informed and if he is supposed to be an authority on the issue an idiot. The ARC PA has standards and accredits programs. Programs must provide a large amount of assessment and curriculum data in order to be accredited. programs pay to have site visitors come and interview students and faculty to ensure quality of program. Programs have been shut down and suspended in the past. I would inform him of his error. No need to be nice since he de valued your profession without proper information. 

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