Washington Physician Assistants CE Requirements, Accreditations & Approvals
Washington Physician Assistants
In
support of improving patient care, NetCE is jointly accredited by the Accreditation
Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for
Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), to
provide continuing education for the healthcare team.
As a jointly accredited provider, NetCE is authorized to award Category 1 CME Credit to physician assistants certified through the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA).
The Washington State Department of Public Health: Medical Quality Assurance Commission accepts courses from any provider who is ACCME-accredited and awards AMA PRA Category 1 Credit ™.
Continuing Education Requirement
PAs are required 100 hours every two years, 40 of which must be Category 1. There is a one-time requirement of 6 hours in suicide assessment, treatment, and management training at initial licensure. Beginning January 1, 2019, licensees authorized to prescribe opioids have a one-time requirement of 1 hour on the topic of opioid prescribing. All prescribers of long-acting opioids or methadone have a one-time requirement of 4 hours on this topic. Alternatives to continuing education for meeting renewal requirements include:
- maintain NCCPA certification; or
- compliance with continuing competency program through the AAPA or the NCCPA.
OPAs are required 50 hours each year, 30 of which must be Category 1*. There is a one-time requirement of 6 hours in suicide assessment, treatment, and management training at initial licensure. Beginning January 1, 2019, licensees authorized to prescribe opioids have a one-time requirement of 1 hour on the topic of opioid prescribing. All prescribers of long-acting opioids or methadone have a one-time requirement of 4 hours on this topic. Effective June 1, 2021, osteopathic physician assistant licensing applications and practice agreements are managed by the Washington Medical Commission. Alternatives to continuing education for meeting renewal requirements include:
- maintain NCCPA certification; or
- compliance with continuing competency program through the AAPA or the NCCPA.
*Category 1 refers to AMA PRA Category 1 Credit ™ or AOA Category 1-A. NetCE awards AMA PRA Category 1 Credit ™.
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PA License
Renewal Instructions
OPA License Renewal Instructions
For More Information
Please contact the Washington State Department of Public Health: Medical Quality
Assurance Commission at (360) 236-2750. For additional information regarding general
continuing education https://wmc.wa.gov/education/continuing-medical-education-cme - PAs, or https://wmc.wa.gov/licensing/applications-and-forms/practice-agreements -
OPAs (Please note OPA licenses and practice agreements are managed by the WMC eff.
6/1/2021)
Suicide Assessment training - https://www.doh.wa.gov/ForPublicHealthandHealthcareProviders/HealthcareProfessionsandFacilities/SuicidePrevention/TrainingPrograms/ModelList.
For additional information regarding NCCPA's continuing education requirement please access their website at http://www.nccpa.net/continuingmedicaleducation.