Report: Lindy Health Professional Attains New Specialty Credential

A physician assistant from Lindenhurst was among a group of a couple of hundred certified PAs to recently earn a Certificate of Added Qualifications (CAQ) in Orthopaedic Surgery.

Danielle Bombara, PA-C, along with 232 other licensed PAs around the United States, were the first to receive this new CAQ in the program's first year.

She and her fellow PAs earned the distinction by meeting licensure, education and experience requirements and then passing an exam in the specialty, according to officials from the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA).

Bombara practices with Dr. Craig Levitz at Orlin and Cohen Orthopedic Associates, which has locations in Nassau and Suffolk counties.

"We are pleased to recognize this inaugural group of CAQ recipients," said NCCPA President and CEO Janet Lathrop, in a report on MDNews.com. "With the shortage of physicians growing each day in the U.S., it is promising to see certified PAs step up and voluntarily submit themselves to new standards for the benefit of the patients they serve each and every day."

The CAQ process includes four core requirements, according to NCCPA website: Category I specialty CME; one to two years of experience; procedures and patient case experience appropriate for the specialty; and a specialty exam.

The first three core requirements may be completed in any order. Once those are complete, PAs are eligible for the exam.

CAQs were offered to certified PAs in a variety of specialties, including cardiovascular and thoracic surgery, orthopaedic surgery, emergency medicine, nephrology and psychiatry, according to the report.

In practice certified PAs like Bombara perform a broad range of activities, such as taking medical histories, examining and treating patients, ordering and interpreting diagnostic studies, articulating differential diagnoses and recommending and executing treatment plans.

According to officials, certified PAs can also perform minor surgery and assist in major surgery, instruct and counsel patients, order or carry out therapy and prescribe medications.

PAs perform those roles within a scope of practice established by a supervising physician in accordance with state regulations, officials added.