update100

AROUND ACCREDITATION

New Standards Implementation

By Laura Stuetzer, ARC-PA Associate Director

At its March 2005 meeting, the ARC-PA approved new Standards of accreditation for PA programs. The ARC-PA began revising the Standards three years ago by appointing a subcommittee with representation from each of its collaborating organizations. The subcommittee, led by ARC-PA Vice Chairman Quincy Scott, D.O., has solicited comments over the past two years from a wide audience, including the collaborating organizations. It reviewed and discussed proposed changes with PA educators, other members of the PA profession, and physicians. Open forums were held and the proposed Standards were posted on the ARC-PA Web site to allow interested parties to comment. The subcommittee met numerous times and discussed the proposed Standards at several meetings with the full ARC-PA.

This revision process occurred as an integral part of the ARC-PA’s ongoing business practice; the Standards have historically been reviewed and revised every five years. Since their initial adoption in 1971, the accreditation standards have been revised four times, most recently in 2001, when the ARC-PA became a freestanding organization.

The Standards have been sent to the ARC-PA’s collaborating organizations for their endorsement before they become fully operational. The ARC-PA is developing a manual that will include the Standards, along with suggested evidence of compliance and performance indicators and clarifying comments to help programs self-assess their compliance.

Once endorsed by the collaborating sponsors, the Standards will become effective in their entirety for all programs as of September 2006. All programs must demonstrate compliance with sections A2.06 and A2.07, relating to the program director, and A2.13, relating to the medical director, by March 2006.

The following time table for implementation is provided to assist programs preparing for accreditation visits in the next two years.

Program Visit
Applicable Standards Version
     
April 2005 to September 2005   Programs scheduled for site visits between April 2005 and September 2005 must demonstrate compliance according to the current edition (second edition) of the Standards.
     
September 2005 to March 2006   Programs scheduled for site visits between September 2005 and March 2006 must demonstrate compliance according to the current edition (second edition) of the Standards and will be asked to explain how they are or plan to come into compliance with the new Standards (third edition) for areas different from the current Standards.
     
March 2006 to September 2006   Programs scheduled for site visits between March 2006 and September 2006 must demonstrate compliance according to the new edition (third edition) of the Standards for sections A2.06, A2.07, and A2.13. For all other sections of the Standards, they must demonstrate compliance according to the current edition (second edition) of the Standards and will be asked to address how they are or plan to come into compliance with the new Standards (third edition) for areas different from the current Standards.
     
After
September 2006		   All programs must demonstrate compliance according to all sections of the new edition (third edition) of the Standards.

A PDF copy of the Standards is available on the ARC-PA Web site, www.arc-pa.org. The FAQ section of the site provides answers to commonly asked questions about the Standards.

 

Main

APAP Update - April 2005