| Course | PA 604 PA Prof Prac Seminar VI |
|---|---|
| Week | 8 |
| Paper type | Continuing education plan |
| Length | About 660 words, 5 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Chamberlain University |
| Program | Master of Physician Assistant Studies (MPAS) |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for PA 604 Week 8
CME and Recertification Plan for the First Two Years: Four Clocks on One Page, Figures From Each Body, Costs Funded Against a $2,000 Allowance and Three Days of Released Time Booked Ahead
Student Name
Chamberlain University
PA 604: PA Prof Prac Seminar VI
Instructor Name
Month Day, Year
CME and Recertification Plan for the First Two Years: Four Clocks on One Page, Figures From Each Body, Costs Funded Against a $2,000 Allowance and Three Days of Released Time Booked Ahead
Four Clocks, One Page
Table 1
External Deadlines
| Clock | Body | Requirement | Deadline in my first cycle |
|---|---|---|---|
| NCCPA certification maintenance | National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants | 100 CME credits each two-year period, at least 50 Category 1; recertification exam by the end of the tenth year | End of the second calendar year after certifying |
| State PA license | Board of Medical Practice | Renewal by the date printed on the license, with fee and attestations | Date on license; entered when issued |
| DEA registration | Drug Enforcement Administration | Renewal every three years | Three years from issue |
| Basic and advanced life support | American Heart Association courses | Card renewal every two years | November 2027 |
Note. Note. Figures for NCCPA from its certification maintenance page; the license renewal date will be added when the license issues.
Figures From the Body
Each requirement is taken from the body that sets it, not from a review course or a colleague. NCCPA requires 100 CME credits every two years, with at least 50 in Category 1, and passage of a recertification exam within a ten-year cycle (National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants, n.d.). The state board sets the license renewal; I will read its renewal notice rather than assume a schedule.
The DEA renewal cycle and life support card dates come from the registration and the cards themselves. Where a figure could not be confirmed from the body that sets it, the row says "to be entered" rather than guessing; the license renewal date is the only such row.
Fund It Against the Allowance
Table 2
Credits and Costs Against the Allowance
| Item | Credits | Cost | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Regional family medicine conference, 3 days | 20 Category 1 | $650 registration, $400 travel and lodging | 2027 |
| Online pediatric dosing and urgent care module set | 15 Category 1 | $300 | 2027 |
| ACLS and BLS renewal | 8 Category 1 | $250 | 2027 |
| Journal-based CME through a professional association | 20 Category 1 | $200 | 2027 to 2028 |
| Category 2 credits from clinical reading and teaching | 40 Category 2 | $0 | 2027 to 2028 |
Note. Note. The clinic's allowance is $2,000 and 3 days a year. Year one uses $1,800 and 3 days; year two uses about $400.
The conference is chosen because it offers the most Category 1 credits per dollar and is close enough to drive to. Journal-based CME is spread across both years so that credits arrive steadily rather than in one burst before the deadline. Category 2 credits from reading and teaching cost nothing but need to be logged as they happen, or they are lost.
Time Has to Be Released
The conference needs three days away from clinic. I have asked for them in writing for October 2027 and the practice manager has blocked the schedule. Online modules are done on Saturday mornings, which I have counted as my own time.
Record It as It Happens
Each credit is logged with NCCPA within a week of completion, with the certificate saved to a folder named by year. At the end of each quarter I check the total against the target of 25 credits a quarter.
What Is Not in This Plan
The recertification exam is years away and not budgeted now; the plan will be redone at the start of each two-year period.
The plan also leaves out any specialty certificate, such as a certificate of added qualification, which I will consider after two years in practice when I know which area my work centers on.
References
National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants. (n.d.). Maintain certification. https://www.nccpa.net/maintain-certification/
PA 604 Week 8 instructions, in plain terms
The final week asks for a continuing education and recertification plan made of a calendar and a budget. The calendar should carry every date that is not the employer's: the certification cycle and what it requires, the state license renewal, the controlled substance registration and any course-based cards such as life support. Take each requirement from the body that sets it, not from a secondary source. The budget should fund the credits against the employer's allowance, showing what each activity costs and how many credits of which category it provides. Time has to be released as well as money, so say how days away will be arranged. Finally, describe how credits will be recorded as they are earned. The plan should be redone at the start of each cycle.
How this PA 604 Week 8 example is built
A table sets out four clocks: NCCPA's 100 credits per two-year period with at least 50 Category 1 and a recertification exam within ten years, the Minnesota license renewal date to be added when issued, DEA renewal every three years and BLS and ACLS cards through November 2027. A section explains taking each figure from the body that sets it and cites National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (n.d.). A second table funds a three-day regional conference for 20 credits, online modules for 15, life support renewal for 8, journal CME for 20 and 40 Category 2 credits, using $1,800 and three days in year one and about $400 in year two. A section books the conference days for October 2027 in writing. The recording section logs each credit within a week and checks 25 a quarter, and the last section leaves the exam for a later cycle.
PA 604 Week 8 rubric: what full points look like
The plan loses the most when it tracks only the certification clock and misses the license, registration or life support dates. Next, graders deduct for requirements taken from secondary sources or memory rather than from the body that sets them. A plan with a calendar but no budget, or a budget that exceeds the allowance, loses a further share. Faculty reward one page holding every external deadline. Credits funded item by item, with category and cost, earn substantial credit. Released time, arranged in advance, is graded separately because it is the resource that most often fails. A routine for recording credits as they happen completes the practical core, and accurate citation of the certifying body's requirements in APA form closes the rubric.
Common PA 604 Week 8 mistakes, and how to avoid them
CME plans most often go wrong by stating "I will complete 100 credits" with no calendar, no costs and no days arranged. Another frequent problem is forgetting the state license and DEA dates, which carry their own penalties for lapsing. Some plans also assume the employer allowance covers everything without adding it up. If your employer offers a different allowance, or none, or your state sets its own CME rules for license renewal, send those details; a plan built for you would place every external clock on one page, take each figure from its source, fund credits against the allowance, arrange released time and set up a recording routine. If your specialty board requires additional credits, those would be added as a fifth clock.
Get a PA-604 Week 8 example written to your instructions
Send the assignment page, the rubric, and any credit breakdown or template your section requires. A custom example plan is written to those instructions and returns inside 24-48h, the first one free. Requirements move, so tell us which cycle your classroom wants used and the current published figures will be worked to rather than assumed.
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PA 604 Week 8 questions, answered
Does the plan need exact credit requirements?
It needs current ones, taken from the certifying body rather than from a classmate or a textbook, and the finished example says where each figure came from. Requirements and cycle lengths have changed more than once, so a plan asserting a number with no source attached is marked down even where the number happens to be right.
How far ahead should the calendar run?
Through one full cycle at minimum, because a plan covering the first year only misses the point of the exercise. The interesting work sits in the years between examinations, where nothing forces activity and where most shortfalls get created. Where the assignment names a horizon, that horizon governs instead.
What if my employer provides no education allowance?
Then the plan says so and shows the cost falling on the writer, which is itself a finding and not an omission. Some of the strongest examples cover a setting providing nothing, because every item then has to be chosen against a real budget, and those choices show the reasoning a rubric is looking for.
Where can I find a free PA 604 Week 8 sample paper?
A complete PA 604 Week 8 CME and recertification plan with four external clocks and a budget against a $2,000 allowance is on this page.
How many CME credits does the PA 604 Week 8 sample plan for?
It plans 63 Category 1 and 40 Category 2 credits over two years, more than NCCPA's 100 with at least 50 in Category 1.