Physician Assistant Program in Washington - WA

By Jennifer Williams, allied health world Contributing Writer
Published: January, 8 2010

Washington State does demand that all physician assistant students obtain an educational degree from physician assistant programs in Washington recognized by one of three possible accrediting agencies. Here, we take a more in-depth look at the missions and involvement of each of these three organizations.

The Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant, or ARC-PA, holds a very strong mission state in that they expect to enforce their standards upon all schools they accredit and, by doing so, they protect the public from ill-practicing physician assistants.

The next accrediting organization is the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education programs, also known as the CAAHEP. This organization is known for possibly being the largest accrediting group of all. They are broader in their field of accreditation in that they accredit several different professions of allied health. However, the level of industry respect gained by this agency is widely known in the physician assistant career field.

And last, but not least, is the Committee on Allied Health Education and Accreditation, or the CAHEA. This organization works in collaboration the CAAHEP to accredit physician assistant programs in Washington; however, they do maintain their own requirements and can issue their name in accreditation separately.

Understand Why a Physician Assistant Earns a High Income

It is no secret that a person in this career field can make a substantial amount of income. In fact, the average physician assistant in Washington earns nearly $62,000 each year. This is a career that comes with a lot of responsibility and specialized knowledge in order to care for the public properly, and the income is higher because of the expertise needed to work in such a profession.

References:

www.indeed.com
National Commission on Certification Physician Assistants, www.nccpa.net
Washington State Department of Health, www.doh.wa.gov