SEMPA Guidelines
& Standards

EMPA Postgraduate Training Program Standards

SEMPA issued a revised version of its EMPA Postgraduate Education Program Standards that was originally released in 2015. The 2021 revised standards provide updated recommendations for the growing number of EMPA postgraduate programs nationally. They also provide guidelines to new and established EMPA postgraduate education programs that, when implemented, provide consistent and expected outcomes for those who employ PA residents/fellows and for those residents/fellows who complete an EMPA postgraduate program. The standards help shape an educational process that demands, promotes, and results in EMPAs offering the exceptional level of care that their patients deserve.

Emergency Medicine Physician Assistant Practice Guidelines

SEMPA issued a revised version of its EMPA Practice Guidelines that were originally released in 2012 to provide a framework that PAs entering the field as well as employers of EMPAs could utilize. The 2021 revised guidelines provide updated recommendations to reflect the current practice environment and an outline to help shape employment practices that optimize the experience for EMPAs and their employers.

Guidelines for the Emergency Medical Services Physician Assistant

Until now, the role of the Emergency Medical Services Physician Assistant (EMSPA) has not been clearly defined. Like many fields of medicine, there are opportunities that an EMSPA can be utilized to add value to an EMS system enhancing patient outcomes. SEMPA’s new Guidelines for the Emergency Medical Services Physician Assistant has been created to help define how those EMSPAs could be utilized. The guidelines also address the level of education and recommended training of those PAs interested in this growing field of pre-hospital medicine.

Guidelines for the Rural Emergency Medicine Physician Assistant

The emergency medicine physician assistant (EMPA) plays a critical role in providing emergency care as a member of the physician-led health care team in rural communities throughout the United States. And the PAs working in America’s rural critical-access hospitals require special skills, training and experience that are unique in that environment.

SEMPA’s goal with its new Guidelines of the Rural Emergency Medicine Physician Assistant is to establish a benchmark by which a PA can obtain appropriate education and training with the appropriate skills to thrive in the rural environment and provide the highest quality emergency medicine care for these patients.