First Assist Certification Required to have First Assist Privileges

[PA2104]

Hello, 

I am a relatively new neurosurgical PA in Las Vegas, NV. 

Recently one of the hospital systems we cover (Valley Health System, UHS) here in Las Vegas informed me that in order to gain first assist privileges in their hospitals, I will be required to have a separate first assist certification. If I were to have gotten my privileges completed one month earlier, I would have just been grandfathered in. What confuses me most is that at a few of the hospitals, they are allowing me to have the first assist privileges until my next reappointment in over a year whereupon I will then need to have the certification then to continue having the privilege. At other hospitals within the same system they are not allowing me to have the privileges at all. 

I have reached out to the AAPA and they drafted a letter to send to several people within the organization, but I have not heard of any response yet from anyone within the Valley Health System.

Has anyone else every seen/heard anything like this before? In my opinion it does not make sense and downplays any surgical training we get during school or thereafter. 

I appreciate any other thoughts, idea, or opinions. 

[rev ronin]

You have a first assist certification.  It's called "PA-C".

You're not an RNFA.

[CAAdmission]

You should ask if all the surgeons will also have to get certified. There is an agency to certify surgeons to first assist:

http://www.csaexam.com/becoming-a-csa/certification-requirements/

I'm sure they would love it. 

[ventana]

They are confusing nursing certifications with PA license.  
 

you do not need a first assist cert.  you are a PA

[iconic]

Nurses have brainwashed everyone with their certifications.

[SedRate]

It is likely a misunderstanding within the credentialing office. Tell them, "No, as a PA I am certified to assist and do not need an FA certificate."

I currently went through applications for hospital privileges. One is for a large hospital system that just updated and centralized its credentialing process/program, and the new version had glitches and didn't even have an option for PA regarding surgical privileges... I had to contact them to fix the glitches and add PA so I could complete the app. And they did.