Welcome to Public Health Service Academy of Physician Assistants (PHSAPA). The PHSAPA is a constituent chapter of the American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA).
The PHSAPA is the national organization for active duty and retired Physician Assistant officers of the United States Public Health Service (USPHS) and the United States Coast Guard (USCG). We also represent civilian Physician Assistants who are employed within the federal government.
Our Mission
The Public Health Service Academy renders loyal and honest service to the medical profession and to the public, to develop and provide CME programs for the Physician Assistants and the Academy membership, to promote the Physician Assistant concept within the Public Health Service, Coast Guard and federal services through education of professional and lay people, to promote similar interests in the student academies, and to encourage membership and participation in both the PHSAPA and AAPA.
U.S. Public Health Service
The U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS) Commissioned Corps is a team of more than 6,000 public health professionals filling the mission of public health promotion, disease prevention and advancing public health science. As one of America’s seven uniformed services, the Commissioned Corps fills essential public health leadership and service roles within multiple federal government agencies and programs. A few of the federal agencies USPHS officers work in include the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG), Food and Drug Administration (FDA), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Indian Health Service (IHS), Centers for Disease Control (CDC), and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Please refer to the USPHS Commissioned Corps website for additional details:
United States Public Health Service Home Page
U.S Coast Guard
U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) is one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The smallest armed service of the United States, its stated mission is to protect the public, the environment, and the United States economic and security interests in any maritime region. This includes America’s coasts, ports, inland waterways and international waters. The USCG has a broad and important role in homeland security, law enforcement, search and rescue, mariner assistance, marine environmental pollution response, intracoastal and offshore aids to navigation. The United States Coast Guard has about 40,150 men and women on active duty. Please refer to the USCG website for additional details:
United States Coast Guard Home Page
As you are aware, a few years back, NCCPA replaced certificates with wallet cards. It appears that the wallet card does not copy/fax well and could result in illegible information being received. As NCCPA certification is our primary credential as USPHS PAs, this could result in a delay to eOPF update and possibly adversely affect someone eligible for promotion. A PowerPoint presentation is linked here: PA certification I ask that all PAs use this method to better ensure legible information is transmitted and to standardize our submissions for Mrs. Darracott.