LIPPER Posted April 2, 2012 Share Posted April 2, 2012 Yep, and the whole argument that so many on this and other forums have against the NCCPA is a logical fallacy. One of things that I have heard consistently is that the NCCPA doesn't represent PAs......Guess what? THEY ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO. They represent, as John noted above, our physician organizations, and even more importantly, the public. I've heard that the NCCPA doesn't answer to the profession.....AGAIN, they are not supposed to. The NCCPA IS NOT, I repeat, NOT an advocacy organization, that is not their job. That is what the AAPA is supposed to be for. The NCCPA is supposed to develop, with oversight from physician organizations and the FSMB, a certifying and standardized process to ensure that only qualified, educated PAs are practicing.... You don't have to like the NCCPA, but as this who our Medical Boards look to, you do have to deal with them. Again well said Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hannan Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 I would like to like the NCCPA, they certainly get enough of my money so there should be at least some kind of relationship that I feel entitles them to said cash, possibly this is naive on my part. I'm worried about recertification, when I graduated from PA school I felt like I knew a lot of stuff about different things, but for the past few years I have been working in endocrinology and the thought of having to think about anything that has to do with pediatrics (and lots of other stuff) makes me sweat. I am not opposed to re-certifying, I did get into this profession knowing that I would have to re-certify eventually, but when people on this forum post about how the NCCPA failed them incorrectly I get even more panicked.... But what I want to understand is why should I pay more to log my cmes and start getting different (possibly more expensive cmes)? I know they do what they want/how they want etc...but at what point are we going to say enough is enough. I acquire cmes on my own time, with my own money and I log them on to their stupid website in this incredibly tedious, annoying process and now I have the privilege of paying more for the process. I have no problem doing cmes, but I don't want to pay more. Frankly I don't think we should pay anything unless they are are going to start putting free cmes on their website that I can use to fulfill cme requirements. I am not crying poor, but the fees we pay are outrageous and it feels like we get nothing for them. I work in an institution that does not reimburse for anything so what I acquire comes from my pocket and frankly I have better things to do with my money. Yes, I could look for another job, but I actually happen to like my job.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LIPPER Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 I have no problem doing cmes, but I don't want to pay more. Frankly I don't think we should pay anything unless they are are going to start putting free cmes on their website that I can use to fulfill cme requirements. freeCME.com...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hannan Posted April 4, 2012 Share Posted April 4, 2012 I know where to get free cmes. I'm talking about the different types of cmes that are required and the higher cost of logging them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andersenpa Posted April 5, 2012 Share Posted April 5, 2012 The generalist recert exam is a poor tool for assessing the competency of PAs. Going further, it is against the purported intent of the NCCPA- to protect the public health care consumer from incompetent health care providers- to continue to administer what is a sham exam for many PAs. Test on what we need to know for the roles we serve. We can't wonder why some physicians are so dismissive of PA knowledge when we take a PA who practices in endocrinology and we assess their competence by quizzing them on the peds immunization schedule every 6 yrs. It sounds ridiculous because it is. The specialty focus exam is a step in the right direction; I haven't taken it yet so I am interested to see how the surgical exam relates to my surgical practice. CME and exams focused in our fields of practice should be the goal here. Even though we "knew we'd be recerting" when we signed on does NOT mean we should not aggressively question the tool which is used to demonstrate to the public the knowledge base of OUR PROFESSION. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MMiller Posted April 5, 2012 Share Posted April 5, 2012 The generalist recert exam is a poor tool for assessing the competency of PAs. Going further, it is against the purported intent of the NCCPA- to protect the public health care consumer from incompetent health care providers- to continue to administer what is a sham exam for many PAs.Test on what we need to know for the roles we serve. We can't wonder why some physicians are so dismissive of PA knowledge when we take a PA who practices in endocrinology and we assess their competence by quizzing them on the peds immunization schedule every 6 yrs. It sounds ridiculous because it is. The specialty focus exam is a step in the right direction; I haven't taken it yet so I am interested to see how the surgical exam relates to my surgical practice. CME and exams focused in our fields of practice should be the goal here. Even though we "knew we'd be recerting" when we signed on does NOT mean we should not aggressively question the tool which is used to demonstrate to the public the knowledge base of OUR PROFESSION. This. All of it. Well said. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CAAdmission Posted April 5, 2012 Share Posted April 5, 2012 So arrives the death of the flexibility that was a hallmark of our profession and served us so well these decades... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Contrarian Posted April 5, 2012 Share Posted April 5, 2012 Even though we "knew we'd be recerting" when we signed on does NOT mean we should not aggressively question the tool which is used to demonstrate to the public the knowledge base of OUR PROFESSION. ++10 So arrives the death of the flexibility that was a hallmark of our profession and served us so well these decades... ++++ 20... as unfortunate as this will be. Some folks are gonna come along shortly and claim that this flexibilty doesn't exist, but in my case it actually does. I've practiced in Cardiology, Rheumatology, Acute/Urgent Care, Adult Medicine, ran a infusion clinic, Practiced in Hostile/Austere/international settings, Sleep Medicine, Addiction Medicine, currently work in Behavioral/Psychiatric Medicine, own a Addiction Medicine practice that will add non-invasive Pain Medicine to our services and will soon branch into Occupational Medicine for 20hrs/week (starting May 1st) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andersenpa Posted April 5, 2012 Share Posted April 5, 2012 So arrives the death of the flexibility that was a hallmark of our profession and served us so well these decades... Restrictive to absent prescriptive authority was also a hallmark of the profession for many years. The question is who do we serve more- the health care system at large, at the expense of our professional status? Lateral mobility serves the system well. It puts us where it needs us. The problem is it put us where it needed us, and we did a damn good job (this is a good problem to have, I guess!)..... We did such a good job that we excelled, rivaled expectations and then surpassed them. In the eyes of some, we did as good a job as our physician colleagues (while others disagree). And the demand for our cost effective services rose (mostly by physicians who benefited $$$$$). Patients and practices came to depend on the expertise of their PAs. So now we have a transformation of the PA role. No longer an extender, no longer an "assistant". A unique and vital part of the care delivery system. And just as physicians must meet a standard of knowledge, so must we. HOW is a general medicine exam measuring the standard knowledge base of PAs in neurosurgery, endocrinology, rheumatology, or ortho? How does this exam, which may cover 10% or less of relevant material to those specialty PAs, ensure the public that their PAs has core competency? Furthermore..... putting aside the slippery slope argument.... how does testing PAs established in specialty on THEIR CORE knowledge base limiting lateral mobility? There will always be matriculation of specialty PAs, and a need to fill their shoes. These practices will keep these doors open to new PAs as a matter of necessity. Where has flexibility died? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LIPPER Posted April 5, 2012 Share Posted April 5, 2012 Furthermore..... putting aside the slippery slope argument.... how does testing PAs established in specialty on THEIR CORE knowledge base limiting lateral mobility? There will always be matriculation of specialty PAs, and a need to fill their shoes. These practices will keep these doors open to new PAs as a matter of necessity. Where has flexibility died? This entire post is well said...... The limit to lateral mobility will be made by excluding the core exam...you may pass the specialty exam , but then what qualifies the lateral movement once a PA has become established in a speciaty and surpasses the recert period w/o a general exam? That slippery slope could include another exam during a probationary period for a new job/speciaty. Much the same way the prescriptive restriction limited us.... I think if anything the recert just needs to be tweeked... They get the right idea with %-based questions... (ie more heavily weighted in cardio, pul, less in peds).... but rework the questions; get rid of zebras/obscure disease processes and have questions that reflect common medical knowledge reflective of a generalist medical professional..... A specialist in any field should still know certain concepts; a patient comes in for a routine specialty exam and that PA should still recognize a murmur or drug SE. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.