Editing Physician assistant (section)

==== Education and certification (US) ====
{{As of|2019|May}}, 243 accredited PA programs operated in the United States, with dozens more in development.<ref name="paeaonline.org">{{cite web|title=PAEA Program Directory|url=http://directory.paeaonline.org/programs|access-date=5 February 2019|website=Directory.paeaonline.org}}</ref> Most educational programs are [[Postgraduate education|graduate programs]] leading to the award of [[master's degree]]s in either Physician Assistant Studies, Health Science ([[Master of Health Science]]), or Medical Science (MMSc), and require a [[bachelor's degree]] and [[Graduate Record Examination]] or [[Medical College Admission Test]] scores for entry. The majority of PA programs in the United States employ the [[CASPA]] application for selecting students.<ref name=paeaonline.org /> Professional licensure is regulated by [[U.S. state|state]] medical boards. PA students train at medical schools and academic medical centers across the country.

[[File:Physician Assistant Program at ODU.jpg|thumb|Physician Assistant Program at ODU]]

PA education is based on medical education;<ref>{{cite web|title="Issue Brief - Physician Assistant Education: Preparation for Excellence" - AAPA|url=http://www.aapa.org/gandp/issuebrief/education.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061113221713/http://www.aapa.org/gandp/issuebrief/education.pdf|archive-date=2006-11-13|access-date=5 February 2019|website=Aapa.org}}</ref> it typically requires 2 to 3 years of full-time graduate study like most master's degrees.<ref>{{cite web|title=Physician Assistant|url=http://www.guidetohealthcareschools.com/degrees/allied-health/physician-assistant|access-date=18 January 2013|publisher=guidetohealthcareschools}}</ref> (Medical school lasts four years plus a specialty-specific residency.) Training consists of classroom and laboratory instruction in medical and behavioral sciences, followed by clinical rotations in internal medicine, family medicine, surgery, pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology, emergency medicine, and geriatric medicine, as well as elective rotations.<ref>{{cite journal|vauthors=Cawley JF|year=2012|title=Physician Assistants and Their Role in Primary Care|url=https://journalofethics.ama-assn.org/article/physician-assistants-and-their-role-primary-care/2012-05|journal=AMA Journal of Ethics|volume=14 |issue=5 |pages=411–414 |doi=10.1001/virtualmentor.2012.14.5.pfor2-1205|pmid=23351209 |access-date=5 September 2020|doi-access=free}}</ref> PAs are not required to complete residencies after they complete their schooling (unlike physicians). Postgraduate training programs are offered in certain specialties for PAs, though these are optional and shorter in length than medical residency.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Association of Postgraduate PA Programs (APPAP)|url=http://www.appap.org/index1.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080303195642/http://www.appap.org/index1.html|archive-date=2008-03-03|access-date=5 February 2019|website=Appap.org}}</ref>

PA clinical postgraduate programs are clinical training programs that differ from on the job training given their inclusion of education and supervised clinical experience to meet learning objectives.<ref name="Polansky 2007 100–108">{{cite journal|last=Polansky|first=Maura|year=2007|title=A Historical Perspective on Postgraduate Physician Assistant Education and the Association of Postgraduate Physician Assistant Programs.|journal=Journal of Physician Assistant Education|volume=18|issue=3|pages=100–108|doi=10.1097/01367895-200718030-00014}}</ref> Montefiore Medical Center Postgraduate Surgical Physician Assistant Program was established in 1971 as the first recognized clinical postgraduate PA program.<ref name="Polansky 2007 100–108"/> 49 programs address specialties such as Neurology, Trauma/Critical Care and Oncology. 50 programs joined the Association of Postgraduate Physician Assistant Programs to establish educational standards for postgraduate PA programs.<ref name="Polansky 2007 100–108"/><ref name="Polansky 2012 39–45">{{cite journal|last=Polansky|first=Maura|author2=Garver GJ|author3=Wilson LN|author4=Pugh M|author5=Hilton G|year=2012|title=Postgraduate clinical education of physician assistants.|journal=J Physician Assist Educ|volume=23|issue=1|pages=39–45|doi=10.1097/01367895-201223010-00008|pmid=22479907 |s2cid=24895570 }}</ref>

In the United States, a graduate from an accredited PA program must pass the NCCPA-administered Physician Assistant National Certifying Exam ([[PANCE]]) before becoming a PA-C; this certification is required for licensure in all states.<ref>{{cite web|title="Physician Assistant National Certifying Exam (PANCE)" - National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA)|url=http://www.nccpa.net/EX_pance.aspx|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071217013701/http://www.nccpa.net/EX_pance.aspx|archive-date=2007-12-17|access-date=5 February 2019|website=Nccpa.net}}</ref> The content of the exam is covered in the PANCE BLUEPRINT. In addition, a PA must log 100 [[Continuing medical education|Continuing Medical Education]] hours and reregister his or her certificate with the NCCPA every two years. Every ten years (formerly six years), a PA must also recertify by successfully completing the Physician Assistant National Recertifying Exam ([[PANRE]])<ref>{{cite web|title=About CME Requirements|url=http://www.nccpa.net/ContinuingMedicalEducation|access-date=5 February 2018|website=National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants|publisher=NCCPA}}</ref>
There is a growing number of doctoral programs for certified PAs leading to a [[Doctor of Medical Science]] (DMSc) but there is no requirement for one to have a doctorate in order to practice.
"National Physician Assistant Week" is celebrated annually in the US from October 6 through October 12. This week was chosen to commemorate the anniversary of the first graduating physician assistant class at Duke University on October 6, 1967.<ref>{{Cite web|title=PA Week|url=http://www.aapa.org/newsroom/pa-week.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081202045954/http://www.aapa.org/newsroom/pa-week.html|archive-date=2008-12-02|access-date=2012-08-09}}</ref> October 6 is also the birthday of the profession's founder, Eugene A. Stead Jr., MD.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.aapa.org/pas-go-beyond/spread-the-word/|title=Spread the Word}}</ref>