Introduction to Physician Assistant (PA) Profession 1 Practice Test 2026 – Your Comprehensive All-in-One Guide to Mastering the PA Profession!

The main idea here is accreditation—how PA education programs are evaluated to ensure they meet defined standards and maintain quality. The organization that does this for physician assistant programs is ARC-PA, the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant. ARC-PA develops the standards that PA programs must meet, conducts the accreditation reviews (including site visits), and makes decisions about whether programs are in good standing, need improvement, or should be re-accredited or non-accredited. This role is essential because graduation from an ARC-PA–accredited program is typically required for eligibility to sit for the PA certification exam and for state licensure.

Other organizations play different roles: the NCCPA administers the national certification exam that individual PAs must pass after completing an accredited program; the PAEA is a professional and educational association that supports PA programs and their faculty; the AAPA is a professional association for practicing PAs. None of these besides ARC-PA is responsible for defining PA education standards or evaluating programs for compliance.