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Committee approves 100‑hour continuing‑education requirement for physician assistants
Summary
The committee approved a regulation requiring physician assistants to complete 100 continuing‑medical‑education hours every two years, aligned with national certification standards; 50 hours must be verifiable class‑type credits, and 50 may be claimed under an honor system for peer learning and reading.
The House Regulations and Administrative Procedures, Artificial Intelligence and Cybersecurity Committee approved a regulation requiring physician assistants in South Carolina to complete 100 continuing‑medical‑education (CME) credits every two years, aligning state rules with national certification standards.
Counsel for the medical board told the committee the national standard is 100 hours per two years and explained the rule’s structure: 50 hours are category‑1 verifiable credits (classroom or online courses with certificates) and 50 are category‑2 hours that encompass peer learning, reading and other professional development activities documented on the renewal form. The counsel said the agency would audit category‑1 certificates as needed and treat category‑2 hours on the honor system, similar to other professional reporting models: “50 of those hours though are not the kind of hours you think of where you have to go sit and take a class, where you have to sign in,” he said. “50 of those hours are essentially learning among your peers, reading articles, reading treatises.”
Why it matters: The change standardizes PA continuing‑education expectations across the state and is intended to avoid creating different classes of PAs — those who maintain national certification and the continuing‑education that entails and those who do not.
Details and vote: Committee members questioned how category‑2 hours would be enforced and whether the honor system would be abused; counsel replied that the agency would audit verifiable category‑1 hours and rely on attestation for category‑2 hours, similar to other professional renewal systems. The committee approved Document 53‑12 by roll call; the transcript records the vote as 8 to 0 in favor.
Ending: The regulation will proceed through remaining administrative steps; the board will incorporate verification and audit procedures for category‑1 hours as part of renewals.
