District of Columbia Physician Assistants CE Requirements, Accreditations & Approvals

Dist. Columbia 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 District of Columbia Board of Medicine 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 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit ™, including 2 hours in cultural competency focusing on patients who identify as LGBTQ, and 10 hours in current public health priorities. NCCPA certification may be substituted for the 100 hours, however, 2 hours in LGBTQ cultural competency and 10 hrs in public health priorities are still required for renewal.

Beginning with DEA initial registrations or renewals starting June 27, 2023, all DEA-registered practitioners (with the exception of DVM-only license holders) are required 8 hours on treating and managing patients with opioid or other substance use disorders, including the appropriate clinical use of all FDA-approved drugs for the treatment of a substance use disorder, one-time only.

Effective January 1, 2021, licensees must complete at least 10 of the 100 required hours for renewal on a topic designated by the Director of the DOH as a public health priority. Current topics include:

• Responsible opioid prescribing and effective pain management;
• Nutrition and obesity prevention;
• Identifying and reporting abuse (child and adult), neglect (child and adult), human trafficking, and domestic violence;
• Sexual health (including sexual history, discussing sexual experiences, sexually transmitted diseases and HIV/AIDS, HPV vaccines, connections to cancer, latent tuberculosis, safe sex, and birth control);
• Ethics and appropriate patient interactions (including boundaries, patient privacy, and telehealth communication);
• Smoking, vaping, and tobacco (including dangers, smoking cessation, and non-smoke tobacco products);
• Preparing patients for an emergency and handling vulnerable populations in an emergency;
• Identifying impairment (physical or mental) in patients and providers (including complying with the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Occupational Safety and Health Act);
• Vaccinations (including legal requirements and appropriate exemptions); and
• Implicit bias, cultural competence, and Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services (CLAS) in health care.

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License Renewal Instructions

For More Information

Please contact the District of Columbia Board of Medicine at (877) 672-2174, or refer to https://dchealth.dc.gov/node/120612 for additional information regarding your continuing education.