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• Guidelines for Ethical Conduct for the Physician Assistant Profession (PDF)
• Transcripts and Verification for Physician Assistant Students and Alumni (PDF)
• Important Contacts/People to know (PDF)

Physician Assistant Organizations

The AAPA is the national professional organization of physician assistants. Its membership includes graduate and student physician assistants as well as affiliate membership for physicians and physician assistant educators. The Academy provides a wide range of services for its members from representation before federal and state governments and health related organizations, public education, pamphlets and brochures, insurance and financial programs, and employment assistance.

As an AAPA member, you also receive multiple publications, free record keeping and reporting of CME requirements, and are entitled to a membership discount for the annual spring conference. Student physician assistant societies are an integral part of the AAPA and make up a body referred to as the Student Academy of the American Academy of Physician Assistants (SAAAPA). The Student Academy meets yearly at the national spring conference to elect officers and representatives. The �������-Lenox Hill Hospital Physician Assistant program encourages each of you to take an active interest in this process. Release time to attend the national conference held in May of each year can be requested in writing to the academic coordinator (didactic year) or the clinical coordinator (clinical year).

The national organization represents you and as such deserves your support during your student years and as a graduate physician assistant. Membership to professional organizations is another benefit also routinely covered by employers.

NYSSPA is the state constituent chapter of the APAA. Currently all fifty states have similar chartered constituent chapters. The NYSSPA mission is “to improve the quality of health care services in NY State and to promote, address and represent the interests and development of the Physician Assistant profession.”

NYSSPA provides continual representation of PA interests in both Washington, DC and Albany with both federal and state health profession’s organizations as well as the State Department of Health (DOH) and the State Education Department (SED). The Student Affairs Committee of NYSSPA promotes student issues and interests within the Society. Any student enrolled in a New York PA Program approved by the Board of Directors is eligible for student membership. Student members may hold a place on the Board of Directors and are also eligible for scholarship monies.

All graduates of physician assistant programs accredited by the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA) are eligible to sit for the national certifying exam (PANCE) offered by the NCCPA.

Registration applications are completed during the senior year of the physician assistant program. Most states require graduates to take and successfully pass the national boards to continue employment. Please refer to the link below for exam scheduling requirements.

Once certified through the NCCPA, each graduate must obtain and report 100 hours of CME every two years. Recertification exams are also required every six years in addition to the CME requirement.

The Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA) is the recognized accrediting agency that protects the interests of the public and PA profession by defining the standards for PA education and evaluating PA educational programs within the territorial United States to ensure their compliance with those standards.

The ARC-PA encourages excellence in PA education through its accreditation process, by establishing and maintaining minimum standards of quality for educational programs. It awards accreditation to programs through a peer review process that includes documentation and periodic site visit evaluation to substantiate compliance with the Accreditation Standards for Physician Assistant Education. The accreditation process is designed to encourage sound educational experimentation and innovation and to stimulate continuous self-study and improvement.

The Society for the Preservation of Physician Assistant History, Inc. (PA History Society) is dedicated to the history and legacy of the physician assistant profession through the identification and collection of papers, manuscripts, magazine and newspaper clippings, histories, and visual artifacts, such as films, slides, videos, photographs, and digital images. �������'s PA program is featured on the History Society's website.

State Registration

The majority of states have state regulations governing physician assistants. Each student who is considering employment in a specific state should review the regulations so they are familiar with them.

Many states require registration through the State Board of Medical Licensure prior to the start of employment. Students are encouraged to check with the specific State Board of Medicine for current requirements and an application.

• View a summary of New York State laws (PDF)

Professional Publications

CMP Healthcare Media
330 Boston Post Road, Box 4027
Darien, CT 06820-4027

Advanstar Medical Economics
5 Paragon Drive
Montvale, NJ 07645-1742

114 West 26th Street, 3rd Floor
New York, NY 10001

Clinicians Group
Jobson Publishing, LLC
100 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10013-1678

American Academy of Physician Assistants
950 North Washington Street
Alexandria, VA 22314-1552

NEWS-Line for Physician Assistants
215 West Church Road
Suite 102
King of Prussia, PA 19406