NAFPAR Recertification
Why
NAFPAR Recertification?
The purpose of the National
Association For Physician Associate Recertification
(NAFPAR) Program is to provide a valid and reliable
program for advanced-level Physician Associates (greater
than five years practicing) to recognize their education,
knowledge and professional expertise. The NAFPAR
Organization Certification Program provides a process
for validation of an advanced Physician Associates
qualifications and knowledge for practice as a Physician
Associate.
The NAFPAR organization shall
work with every individual State within the United
States (U.S.) to establish a recertification process
that also incorporates their standards of practice. The
organization shall also work to create “ONE UNIFIED” set
of standards that shall govern all Physician Associates
who practice within the U.S. (Consensus
Model for Physician Associate Regulation).
The National Recertification
Program was established as a certification body for the
evaluation of individuals who wish to continue and/or
advance in the profession through the NAFPAR certification
process. NAFPAR is an independent and separately
incorporated non-for- profit organization.
Those recertified (referred to as certificants) have successfully completed the required recertification process, which includes having passed an initial certification test (by a national certifying body (NCCPA or Other)), demonstrate application of professional knowledge (yearly evaluation), meeting certain educational requirements (continuing medical education (CME’S), and maintaining continued competency in the profession through an established recertification process. Certificants of the National Association For Physician Associate Recertification Certification shall subscribe to the scope and standards of practice established by the organization as well as the standards of the States in which they work.
Physician Associate (Assistant)
Continuing Medical Education (CE)
For candidates choosing to
recertify through clinical practice and continuing
medical education, the recertification application must
be completed and submitted with attestation of a minimum
of 5,760 hours of appropriate clinical practice as a
Physician Associate and a minimum of 300 hours of
continuing medical education (75 of the hours must be in
a population focus if working in a specialty).
Documentation of clinical
practice as a Physician Associate must include the names
of all clinical sites, the address of each site, the
role/responsibility of the Physician Associate in that
site, and the dates of practice in each site in the
current six- year period of certification.
Documentation of CME includes the
submission of the name of the continuing medical
education topics, dates of attendance (participation
date if online), number of contact hours, the name of
the CME accreditor, and a copy of the CME certificate
for each offering with the Certificant's name on the
certificate confirming attendance or completion.
Authorizing entities of approved
continuing medical education include, but are not
limited to: American Academy of Physician Assistants
(AAPA), American Medical Association (AMA (providers
accredited by Accreditation Council
for Continuing Medical Education
(ACCME)), American Academy of
Family Physicians
(AAFP), other specialty PA organizations as their
training certification levels are verified, and
applicable clinical graduate courses. All continuing
medical education offering should be relevant to the
population focus in which the applicant is certified (if
working within a specialty). Some ways Category 1 CME
credits can be earned include seminars, conferences and
online. The CME program provider will issue you a
certificate or letter of completion, indicating the
number of CME credits you've earned during
each program. Courses not applicable include
non-clinical college courses, and other non-medical
courses. Applications should be submitted eight weeks
prior to the expiration date of the current
certification to allow time for reviewing, processing,
and issuing of a new certificate. Candidates found
ineligible for recertification will be refunded the
application fee less a processing fee.
Of the 300 CME credits you
must earn and log, at least 200 must be Category 1 CME.
The remaining 100 credits can be Category 1, Category 2
or a combination of both. CME can be classified as a
Certification Program, Category 1 or Category 2.
Physician Associate Recertification
Qualifications
Physician Associates who have
been certified by a national certifying agency (NCCPA or
other) may become recertified by NAFPAR every six years
by sitting for the appropriate examination or by meeting
the clinical practice and continuing medical education
requirements established for recertification. These
requirements include, meeting the Physician Associate
practice standards of the State in which they practice, a minimum of 5,760 hours of
clinical practice as a Physician Associate (in the
population focus if practicing within a specialty), and
300 contact hours of continuing medical education
credits (75 of the hours must be in a population focus
if working in a specialty).
Currently, NAFPAR requirements do
not require a specific number of pharmacy content hours.
Many of the State Boards of Physician Associates require
a minimum number of pharmacy contact hours in order to
renew an advanced practice license. Certificants are
encouraged to complete pharmacotherapeutic hours (in
their population focus if working in a specialty).
Revision of NAFPAR recertification requirements will be
implemented with the development of the "Consensus Model".
It is the Certificant's
responsibility to renew their National Certification
before it expires. Physician Associates who fail to
renew their NAFPAR certification may not use the
credential PA-R and are responsible for notifying their
employer and state board of Physician Associates.
Physician Associates certified by
NAFPAR may submit their application for Recertification
as early as 1 year prior to the expiration date of the
current certification. Certificant's must allow at least
8 weeks for processing of an application for
recertification and are encouraged to apply online at
www.nafpar.org. A courtesy recertification reminder
postcard will be mailed to Certificants' last known
mailing address. It is the Certificant's responsibility
to update their On-Line Profile with any changes to
their email, address, or contact information.
Physician Associate Continuing
Medical Education (CE) Opportunities
The NAFPAR organization focuses on CME as one of the most important considerations regarding Physician Associate Recertification. To this end NAFPAR maintains the NAFPAR CME education webpage, which is an online CME portal to NAFPAR Accredited Online Activities and CME programs free to Physician Associates For Change (PAFC) members. The CME Center provides CME that meets the role and population-foci requirements for an advanced Physician Associate maintenance of recertification. NAFPAR also provides the CME Opportunities Calendar and the listings for Independent CME Opportunities of live CME programs and self-study CME programs accredited by the NAFPAR Approved Providers, and NAFPAR Partners.
RECERTIFICATION
Physician Associates
certified by NAFPAR need to re-certify every six years
by sitting for the appropriate examination or by meeting
the clinical practice and continuing medical education
requirements established for recertification. These
requirements include a minimum of 5,760 hours (80
hours/month) of clinical practice as a Physician
Associate in the population focus and 300
(50 hours/year) of continuing medical education credits
(75 of the hours must be in a population focus if
working in a specialty).
There is no specific
requirement for pharmacy content hours, but it is
recommended that you include this content as well. This
requirement will change with the development and
implementation of the national Consensus Model for
Physician Associate Regulation.
Physician Associates in a
teaching capacity (Physician Associate Higher Education)
will be allowed to submit 1000 medical practicing work
hours and their work hours at the college to obtain a
special certification for teaching Physician Associates.
However those Physician
Associates teaching will still have to meet their
“States” certification mandates to be recertified by NAFPAR. Also,
if a teaching Physician Associate changes to primarily practicing
he/she will need to submit documentation stating the
change as well as meet the
“State” and
practicing Physician Associate NAFPAR standards for their
current recertification cycle.
It is the responsibility
of the Certificant to make sure they apply for
recertification at least eight weeks prior to the
expiration date of their current certification to
avoid a lapse in certification. Renewal notifications
will be sent to the last known postal address six months
prior to their expiration date. Email reminders will be
sent to those Certificants for whom NAFPAR has a valid
email address.
Certificants are responsible for creating and updating their contact information to their NAFPAR online profile.
VERIFICATION
NAFPAR currently charges a
nominal fee of $20 for each request for verification of
national certification.
An Emergency Verification is available for a fee of $45.
There is NO charge for verifications provided to State
Boards of Physician Assistant’s.
NAFPAR Fees
Recertification:
$300
Endorsement:
$195
Verification Request:
$30
Replacement Certificate
and Card: $20
Contact US:
The National Association
For
Physician Associate Recertification
3750 Hacks Cross Rd.
Memphis, TN 38125
Phone (706) 536-3272
Fax (901) 432-6171
E-Mail is the preferred means of
communication