June 6 NCCPA Email and SPIN - reposted to start new thread

[ventana]

Full NCCPA Email and my comments follow...............................  just my $0.02

 

 

Ready, Set, Grow: Promotion of "Optimal Team Practice"

 

Last month, the AAPA’s House of Delegates unanimously approved a new policy in support of “Optimal Team Practice (OTP),” a concept designed to eliminate state-mandated supervisory requirements that may be impeding PA employability and practice in some states.

 

As reported in an AAPA press release, Optimal Team Practice reemphasizes the PA profession’s commitment to team-based care, and in an amendment offered on the floor of the House of Delegates, reaffirms that the degree of collaboration between PAs and physicians should be determined at the practice level. It also supports the removal of state laws and regulations that require a PA to have and/or report a supervisory, collaborating or other specific relationship with a physician to practice. In addition, the new policy advocates for the establishment of autonomous state boards to license, regulate and discipline PAs, or for PAs to be full voting members of medical boards. Finally, the policy calls for PAs to  be eligible for direct reimbursement from public and private insurance carriers for services rendered. 

 

Also, during the House of Delegates meeting, NCCPA leaders committed to working in concert with national and state PA organizations to advance the modernization of PA practice laws and regulations. NCCPA aims to extend support to the effort to help make Optimal Team Practice a reality in state laws and regulations. As the certifying body for more than 115,500 PAs, NCCPA can provide credible and persuasive information and data about the number, role and impact of Certified PAs in any state. Where state PA academies continue to rely on the standards of the PA-C credential as leverage to achieve optimal team practice rules and regulations, NCCPA can also provide information about the profession’s longstanding commitment to certification maintenance. There may be other ways NCCPA can support OTP as well, and NCCPA leaders are inviting dialogue about this as planning for these efforts gets underway.

 

This new Optimal Team Practice policy represents expansion of AAPA-led efforts to modernize PA practice laws, which has focused on six key elements: “licensure” as the regulatory term; full prescriptive authority; adaptable collaboration requirements; and practice-level determination of scope of practice, co-signature requirements, and physician-to-PA ratios.

 

All PAs are encouraged to remain informed about any changes to the PA laws and regulations in their state and the impact on practice at the local level.

 

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Celebrating the Profession's Gold Anniversary, Representing the Gold Standard in Health Care at the AAPA Annual Conference

 

NCCPA Board and staff members interacted with thousands of PAs at AAPA’s annual conference in Las Vegas last month, enjoying the opportunity to celebrate the profession’s gold anniversary by highlighting Certified PAs (Guess they don't care about PA, just PA-C) as the gold standard (where is the support for this?  This is Not something AAPA has come up with, they are trying to equate PA = PA-C - this is just trying to confuse the real issue.)  in health care.

 

Those staffing the NCCPA information booth gave away more than 3,000 t-shirts, insulated bags and other items in celebration of the occasion(Geez that is such a blatant bribe and I am unsure that I want my re-certification fee's going towards purchasing give away advertising that might well sway PA opinion.  Once again they(NCCPA) is trying to confuse and distract us from the real issue - they lobbied AGAINST PA's). NCCPA representatives also delivered CME sessions, poster presentations and addressed PA students as a sponsor of the National PA Challenge Bowl. We congratulate Southern Illinois, the winners of this event.

 

Important conversations took place throughout the week during which NCCPA leaders and staff had the opportunity to address questions, listen to concerns and correct misinformation

(MISINFORMATION??? NCCPA lobbied against PA's  more distraction and confusion.....  alternative facts)     about recent legislative activities

(I say NCCPA GET OUT OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIVITIES!!  You don't belong there!), listening and engaging in productive dialogue with national and state PA leaders. NCCPA leaders affirmed our commitment to reach out to the state PA organizations whenever NCCPA work places us before a stakeholder group at the state level.

 

We also welcomed the opportunity to clarify the purpose of the informational updates provided to state licensing boards. NCCPA president/CEO, Dawn Morton-Rias, EdD, PA-C stated: “PAs, employers and other stakeholders rely on the PA-C credential, and we work to keep them all informed about the credible, externally accredited certification and recertification processes in which more than 97% of PAs engage year over year.” She added: “The high recertification rates suggest that the PA-C credential is valuable. While testing continues to be a point of disagreement among some PAs, our work to modernize PANRE continues. We share the same passionate belief in the value and positive impact of Certified PAs, and a deep commitment to the patients we serve. We hope that translates into closer collaboration and even greater shared successes in the profession’s next 50 years.” (WHAT????  That is just the most outrageous claim - you can not use a 97% certification rate to justify yourself when certification is MANDATORY!  This is just once again spin and trying to confuse the issue.  The real question is what would the -C rate be if certification was not necessary?? 

These vibrant young professionals were among the thousands of PAs and PA students we had the chance to meet at the NCCPA booth in Las Vegas.

Special Thanks

NCCPA wants to publicly thank the many past presidents of AAPA who spoke eloquently in the House of Delegates (HOD) in favor of resolving current conflicts. These leaders called for a de-escalation of negative rhetoric; noted that PAs have been served well by the four pillars of the profession (AAPA, ARC-PA, NCCPA and PAEA), expressed strong opposition to the creation of a new certifying organization and proposed a meeting of those four national PA organizations to restore respectful relations among them and chart a positive path forward.  I was not there - and would like to hear from people that were - but this sounds like they are trying make it appear that everything is okay, and we all need to hold hands and sing a song........  Ahm NO - I am still furious that they are heading in this direction - they have yet to acknowledge that they were WRONG and seemingly just want to keep things rolling.  All they need to do is look at MD boards and the upheaval and very contested state that physician licensing and re certification (MOC).  We (PA's) are headed in the same direction.... 

 

Thanks in part to the testimony of those leaders, the HOD ultimately voted to postpone until its 2018 convening action on a resolution that would pave the way for AAPA to officially recognize new PA certifying agencies.  

Seems reasonable, BUT I would continue to work on an alternative certifying body as this is simply a delay tactic and NCCPA needs to realize they  either need to get on board, or get out of our way!  

 

NCCPA leaders have expressed desire to resolve the issues that have divided NCCPA and AAPA over the last 18 months and new optimism for positive outcomes that will benefit the public and the profession. “Having incorporated feedback from the PA profession and other stakeholders, we hope we have demonstrated our genuine desire to continue to improve the certification maintenance process and PANRE,” said Dawn Morton-Rias, EdD, PA-C, NCCPA president/CEO. NCCPA:

 

• Incorporated feedback on the PROPOSED changes to PANRE, received during the public comment period (November 2015 through June 2016) and has abandoned that proposal;
• Assessed availability of PI-CME and self-assessment CME activities and eliminated the requirement;
• Committed to narrowing the content of PANRE from a broad-based, generalist exam encompassing the breadth of PA practice to the core medical knowledge all PAs should maintain regardless of the discipline in which they practice; and
• Committed to pilot alternatives to the current high-stakes PANRE no later than 2020.

 

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see above thoughts in black  - sorry it is not very readable - but it is worth reading it....

 

 

 

 

I found this deceitful and full of spin, they are presenting "alternative facts" and trying to confuse the issues.....

 

 

They talk about all these issues with the whole -C argument yet they refuse to admit there error, and they really have not changed their position one little bit

 

 

 

I am NOT in favor of tabling the idea of a new certification body.  I believe NCCPA has totally lost touch, and the best and likely only way, to get them quickly and effectively evaluate their positions on such topics to to threaten their very existence.......  They have lost site that they are to be helping us, trying to advance the PA profession (not the -C testing and money making machine....)

 

 

 

I would vote for AAPA to continue to study the formation of a alternative certifying agency - maybe "unofficially" at least, to keep pressure on NCCPA

 

 

 

Oh yeah, and BTW - did everyone see http://www.wvgazette...ve-patient-care

 

NCCPA lost that one..... re soundly....

[sas5814]

I don't think anyone thought they were going to say "we screwed up." It is a lot of spin and a lot of vague talk and is subject to some real "between the lines" reading.

I'm happy to have their help on OTP as it is going to be a years longs state by state process and the more people helping the better.

I have always found their claims about how many people are certified to be disingenuous along with their public safety statements. As you stated certification is all but mandatory in many ways and they can't provide any data to support their public safety claims.

I will make a prediction.... they are going to stop their lobbying. They screwed up and they know it but they will never say it. The high stakes testing will be replaced though by what exaclty remains to be seen. It won't be a CME only system. It will likely be some type of core knowledge testing coupled with CME in your field. That too will be a process to create and roll out.

Time will tell.

[ventana]

I sure hope so - but

 

I would still like to look at continuing to form a difference certification body - keep the pressure on them!!!

[Reality Check 2]

I am still miffed that NCCPA won't ASK the 115000 PAs what WE WANT and believe in.

 

They have their own agenda stating they KNOW what is best for us but not asking us.

 

We have enough of that in government.

 

I want NCCPA to openly ask all of us what we truly want. And if we want them OUT of legislation - get out.

 

Be a certifying body but otherwise - butt out.

[BruceBanner]

^ Agree. 

 

I'd never expect an apology and these are just the platitudes we've come to expect from them.

 

Publicly they are quick to backpedal and put on their PA cheerleader uniforms, but they have a underhanded way of furthering their own agenda.

 

If they really want to win back people's trust, they need to submit to a heterogenous, publicly-elected BOD and survey the PA population on certification going forward.

[ventana]

or throw it all out and start a new certifying agency!!

[rev ronin]

... or at least get all the PAs on their board elected by other PAs rather than selected by a self-perpetuating board.