Local physician assistant receives national recognition
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News from the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants
POLSON — Tim Thornton, PA-C, a physician assistant who works at Providence St. Joseph Medical Center, is one of only 108 certified physician assistants (PA-Cs) nationally to recently earn a specialty credential called a Certificate of Added Qualifications from the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants.
Thornton was awarded a CAQ in Emergency Medicine, a distinction earned by meeting licensure, education and experience requirements and then passing an exam in the specialty. He is one of only five PAs in Montana and 530 certified PAs nationally, to earn a CAQ since the program’s inception in 2011.
“The demand for certified PAs in the era of health care reform is skyrocketing,” says NCCPA Board Chairman James Cannon, D.H.A., PA-C, himself a recipient of the CAQ in psychiatry. “The CAQ validates, in an objective way, a certified PA’s understanding and experience in a specialty area. It is good news for the public as these PAs are doing over and above what is required for state licensure by earning this valuable credential. It is also good news for physician specialists who are likely to appreciate PAs who go the extra mile to expand their skills, adding value to the practice with a clinician who holds both primary care and specialty certificates.”
CAQs were offered to certified PAs in cardiovascular and thoracic surgery, emergency medicine, orthopaedic surgery, nephrology and psychiatry. This year, NCCPA will add hospital medicine and pediatrics to the CAQ program.
For more information about certified PAs or the CAQ program, visit www.nccpa.net.
