The following organizations provide licensing and accreditation information about Physician Assistants
and explain PA roles in legal medicine:
Founded in 1968, the American Academy of PAs is the national professional society for PAs. It represents a profession of more than 123,000 PAs across all medical and surgical specialties in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, U.S. territories, and the uniformed services.
AAPA advocates and educates on behalf of the profession and the patients PAs serve. They work to ensure the professional growth, personal excellence and recognition of PAs. They also enhance their ability to improve the quality, accessibility and cost-effectiveness of patient-centered healthcare.
APALM is a special interest group of the American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA) and is open to all AAPA members. Through this website and their academy, they offer information, education and resources to the PA profession,
and to the legal and medical communities.
The mission of the American Academy of Physician Assistants in Legal Medicine is to provide education on malpractice liability and risk management to AAPA members and the medical community with an emphasis on the provision of safe medical care for all patients.
American Academy
of PAs
Academy of Physician Assistants in Legal Medicine
The National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants is the only certifying organization for physician assistants in the United States. Established as a not-for-profit organization in 1974, NCCPA is dedicated to assuring the public that certified PAs meet established standards of clinical knowledge and cognitive skills upon entry into practice and throughout their careers. All U.S. states, the District of Columbia and the U.S. territories have decided to rely on NCCPA certification as one of the criteria for licensure or regulation of PAs. As of Dec. 31, 2017, there were approximately 123,000 certified PAs.