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BIDDEFORD, Maine

UNE Physician Assistant program graduate receives national recognition

Trish Gagnon, PA-C, a 1999 graduate of the University of New England’s Physician Assistant Program, is one of only 240 certified physician assistants (PA-Cs) nationally to earn a Certificate of Added Qualifications (CAQ) from the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA).

Gagnon, an employee at Kennebec Behavioral Health in Maine, was awarded a CAQ in Psychiatry. This distinction is earned by meeting licensure, education and experience requirements, then passing an exam in the specialty. Gagnon is one of only 20 certified PAs in Maine, and approximately 800 certified PAs nationally, to earn a CAQ since the program’s inception in 2011.

“Certified PAs are in high demand because they are valued as medical providers who deliver quality care to the patients they serve,” says Dawn Morton-Rias, Ed.D., PA-C, president and CEO of NCCPA. “Now, in addition to their primary certification, PAs in seven specialties can also earn a CAQ as an objective assessment of their specialty knowledge and skills. This combined with their general medical education are just two of the many reasons that demand for PAs is increasing in every clinical setting and specialty area.”

CAQs are offered to certified PAs in cardiovascular and thoracic surgery, emergency medicine, orthopaedic surgery, nephrology and psychiatry, and for the first time in 2014, hospital medicine and pediatrics.

Certified PAs are licensed and certified health care professionals who practice medicine. They can take histories, conduct physical exams, diagnose and treat illnesses, order and interpret tests, counsel on preventative health care, assist in surgery, perform a variety of procedures and write prescriptions.

Learn more about the National Commission on Certification of Physicial Assistants

About the University of New England

The University of New England is Maine’s largest independent university, with two beautiful coastal campuses in Maine, a one-of-a-kind study abroad campus in Tangier, Morocco, and an array of flexible, accredited online degrees. In an uncommonly welcoming and supportive community, we offer hands-on learning, empowering students to make a positive impact in a world full of challenges. The state’s top provider of health professionals, we are home to Maine’s only medical college, Maine’s only dental college, a variety of other interprofessionally aligned health care degree programs, as well as nationally recognized programs for marine science degrees, natural and social sciences degrees, arts and humanities degrees, and business degrees.