NCCPA Certification
The following information is provided as a general resource. For the most up-to-date information, visit the official website of NCCPA.
NCCPA Overview
Pursuit of continuing medical education (CME) is an integral component of NCCPA certification. Every two years, (years two, four and six of the certification maintenance cycle), all PA-C designees must submit their 100 CME hours online at the discounted rate or on a paper logging form at the regular rate. To avoid the late processing fee, you may only log CME earned between May 1 of the year your current certification was issued and June 30 of the certification expiration year. (For example, PA-C designees whose certifications expire this year must have earned their CME between May 1, 2007 and June 30, 2009.) Your 100 CME hours and the certification maintenance fee must be submitted by June 30 to avoid the late processing fee.
Special Guidelines for New Certification Holders
If this is the first time you’ve logged CME since passing a 2007 PANCE exam, you may log any CME earned as of the date your certification was issued. Also for newly certified PAs whose certifications are issued after June 30, the CME earning and logging deadline for the first two-year cycle will be extended to Dec. 31 of the certification expiration year, and the late processing fee will be waived. Please note: The Dec. 31 earning and logging deadline is a special, one-time extension only.
For all CME earned and/or logged July 1-December 31 of the certification expiration year, a one-time $100 late processing fee will apply.
CME Terms and Requirements
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CME consists of clinical and professional education activities that serve to maintain, develop or increase the knowledge, skills, and professional performance and relationships that a physician assistant uses to provide services for patients, the public and the profession. CME can be classified as a Certification Program, Category I or Category II. |
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Certification Program:These activities include certification and recertification programs that are preapproved (sponsored) by the American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA) for a maximum number of Category I hours regardless of who presents the programs or where they are presented. Completion of any program is necessary to log the hours toward the CME requirement. View a list of Certification Programs. |
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Category I CME: At least 50 CME hours must be classified by AAPA as Category I (Preapproved) CME by one of the following sponsors: AAPA, AMA, ACCME, AOACCME or AAFP. Some ways Category I CME hours can be earned include seminars and conferences. The CME program provider will issue you a document, indicating the number of CME hours you’ve earned during each program. Visit www.aapa.org for more details from AAPA regarding Category I (Preapproved) CME programs. |
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Category II CME: The remainder of the 100 required hours may be classified as Category I CME or Category II (Elective) CME. Category II includes other practice-related, voluntary, self-learning activities, such as journal reading, independent study, preceptorships, and any medically-related postgraduate course, excluding courses taken in an actual PA program. Category II hours are earned on an hour-by-hour basis. There is no minimum requirement for Category II activities. |
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Provider:The CME provider is the organization that offered the seminar, conducted the training, etc. Usually, providers are associations, hospitals, schools, pharmaceutical companies, or other health care organizations. You will need to enter the provider name when you log your Category I CME hours. |
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Sponsor: By definition, all Category I activities are sponsored (approved for credit) by one of the following:
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**You should keep your Category I CME documentation for your current CME cycle and your last CME cycle. For example, if you are currently on a 2007-2009 CME cycle you would need to keep that documentation and the 2005-2007 CME cycle documentation. We do not audit Category II CME. This is the policy for NCCPA, not the state medical boards. You will need to check with your state medical board regarding their auditing requirements.