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Committee adopts 100-hour continuing-education requirement for physician assistants, aligning with national standard
Summary
The committee approved Document 53-12, establishing 100 continuing medical education credits for physician assistants every two years, with 50 documented Category 1 hours and 50 self-certified Category 2 hours, following counsel and board explanation of tracking and parity with national certification.
The House committee approved new continuing-education rules for physician assistants requiring 100 continuing medical education (CME) credits every two years, consistent with the national certifying body's standard.
Bob, counsel for the medical board that oversees the PA committee, told members the statute previously did not explicitly require PAs to maintain national certification, which created disparity between certified and uncertified practitioners. The adopted regulation aligns all PAs with the national standard: 100 credits per two years, of which 50 are Category 1 credits that are documented with certificates and tracked at renewal, and 50 are Category 2 hours that are self-certified learning among peers or reading and therefore not individually documented in agency records.
Why it matters: The change standardizes continuing education across the profession in the state and mirrors requirements used by national certifying organizations. Committee members raised concerns about potential misuse of self-certified hours and agency resources needed to verify compliance; counsel and staff said Category 1 hours would be tracked at renewal and Category 2 hours would be affirmed by the licensee as part of the renewal application.
Key details - Document: 53-12 - Requirement: 100 continuing medical education credits every two years (50 Category 1 documented; 50 Category 2 self-certified) - Committee action: Approved by roll call (8–0)
Quote "Essentially when the statute was written to be a PA in this state, you had to be certified. A couple years ago...we looked at the law and said, 'Yeah, we agree with that.' But if they didn't have to maintain their certification, they were getting 0 continuing ed hours," said Bob, counsel for the medical board.
Implementation The Medical Board and PA committee will require submission of certificates for Category 1 hours at renewal; Category 2 hours will be affirmed on the renewal application. The committee approved the regulation by recorded vote.
