CAQ-Derm study guide
CAQ-Derm · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The Certificate of Added Qualifications (CAQ) is a specialty credential offered by the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA), the only certifying organization for PAs in the United States. NCCPA describes the CAQ pathway as a way for PAs to "show your advanced expertise in your specialty," and the Dermatology CAQ is the dermatology-specific option within that family of specialty certificates. It is aimed at PAs who already hold NCCPA board certification and who practice substantially in dermatology - medical, surgical, and procedural - and who want a credential that documents depth beyond entry-level competence. Candidates should confirm current eligibility rules, application windows, fees, and scheduling deadlines on NCCPA's Key Dates and Specialty CAQ Resources pages, because the dedicated Dermatology CAQ page (nccpa.net/caq-dermatology) returned a 404 Not Found when retrieved on 2026-11-06, so exam-specific logistics could not be verified from the official source at that time. Content is specialty-focused: inflammatory and autoimmune dermatoses, cutaneous infections, benign and malignant neoplasms, pigmentary and hair/nail disorders, pediatric and genodermatoses, dermatopathology correlation, procedural and cosmetic dermatology, and systemic disease with cutaneous signs. Preparation should combine a structured review of those domains with image-based pattern recognition, high-volume case-based practice, and honest gap analysis; the CAQ is a generalist-certified PA's demonstration of specialty depth, not a subspecialty residency. Topics on this exam: Dermatology. The CAQ-Derm study guide has 1 section and about 370 words.
01Dermatology: Morphology, Reaction Patterns, and Safe Next Steps
The Dermatology domain tests whether you can convert a visual finding into precise words, build a short ranked differential, and choose the safe next step. Items reward morphology, reaction-pattern thinking, emergency recognition, and first-line management - including when to biopsy instead of treating empirically. Name the primary lesion first: macule/patch (flat), papule/plaque/nodule (raised), vesicle/bulla (fluid), pustule (pus), wheal (transient edema), purpura (non-blanching). Secondary changes - scale, crust, erosion, ulcer, fissure, lichenification, atrophy, scarring - signal chronicity and behavior.
370 words, about 2 minMore study resources for CAQ-Derm
- Practice questionsA 6-year-old child develops honey-colored crusted lesions around the nostrils and upper lip after a week of nasal discharge.
- FlashcardsABCDE melanoma criteria. Asymmetry, Border irregularity, Color variegation, Diameter 6 mm, and Evolution.
- Cheat sheetSkin lesion description follows a fixed order: number, distribution (localized/generalized, symmetric, photodistributed, dermatomal), configuration (annular, linear, grouped, reticular), morphology, color, and secondary change (scale, crust, erosion, lichenification, atrophy).
- Key termsAcantholysis. Loss of cohesion between keratinocytes due to breakdown of desmosomes, leading to intraepidermal clefts or blisters.
- Study planMap the full CAQ-Derm content outline into a one-page checklist and tag each item with a confidence score from 1 to 5.
- Common mistakesCandidates trained on image-heavy resources recognize patterns holistically and skip the analytic step; on a text-only item this shortcut removes the only reliable anchor, so similar-looking entities (e.g., nummular eczema vs tinea corporis vs pityriasis rosea) get conflated.
- Exam-day guideBring the original, unexpired ID in the name used on your registration.