PANCE Exam () Detailed Information

PANCE ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS
To be eligible for PANCE, you must graduate from a program accredited by the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA) as a Physician Assistant Program. PA program graduates will be deemed to have graduated from an accredited program if their PA educational program was accredited at the time of their matriculation.
**Even if you have earned a medical degree from another country, you must still graduate from an accredited PA program to take PANCE.
Did you graduate from a U.S. program before July 1994? If so, click here.

LIMITATIONS ON ELIGIBILITY: THE SIX-YEARS-SIX-ATTEMPTS RULE
Individuals who have never been certified and who graduated from an ARC-PA accredited physician assistant program on or after January 1, 2003, will be eligible to take PANCE for up to six years after completing the requirements for graduation from that program. During that six-year period, PANCE may be taken a total of six times. When either the six attempts or six years are exhausted, whichever occurs sooner, the individual loses eligibility to take PANCE. The only way to establish new eligibility is to complete an unabridged ARC-PA accredited physician assistant educational program again.
REGISTRATION
You must submit an application and $475 payment in advance to take PANCE. You may schedule your exam anytime (depending on testing center availability) within the 180 day timeframe established for you based on your expected graduation date and the successful submission of all required materials to NCCPA. The five-hour PANCE exam includes 300 multiple-choice questions administered in five blocks of 60 questions with 60 minutes to complete each block. There is a total of 45 minutes allotted for breaks between blocks and you will be responsible for managing your break time. You will have 15 minutes to complete the PANCE tutorial.
**Before registering for PANCE, be sure to review the policies and procedures.
When registering for PANCE, please consider the following requirements:
NCCPA does not accept applications until 90 days prior to your expected program completion date (as provided by your program director). (As used here, "program completion date" is the date all requirements for graduation are completed as deemed by your program.)
The earliest date you'll be able to test is seven days after your program completion (provided your program director has confirmed your program completion date.) This date will be reflected in your exam application acknowledgement e-mail.
You have 180 days from the beginning of your exam timeframe to take the exam. These dates will be reflected in your exam application acknowledgement e-mail.
You may only take PANCE once in any 90-day period or three times in a calendar year.
There will be no testing between Dec. 18-31, 2016.
If there's any chance that you won't complete your PA program requirements on time, wait until you are confident of your program completion date before registering for the exam to avoid rescheduling fees.
Want to know the passing rate for PANCE? Click here.
Questions about PANCE? Find answers to frequently asked questions.
Pearson VUE testing centers are located throughout the U.S. and other select countries. After registering for the exam, visit www.pearsonvue.com/nccpa to schedule your exam date and for directions to testing centers in your area.
To view a tutorial of PANCE, go to www.pearsonvue.com/nccpa.
When preparing for PANCE, you will want to familarize yourself with the content blueprint. Want to see what the PANCE is like and focus your exam preparation? Check out our Practice Exams.
CONTENT BLUEPRINT
CONTENT BLUEPRINT FOR PANCE & PANRE
The material on NCCPA's certification and recertification exams can be organized in two dimensions:
Organ systems and the diseases, disorders and medical assessments physician assistants encounter within those systems; and
The knowledge and skills physician assistants should exhibit when confronted with those diseases, disorders and assessments.
Please note that while the subject matter covered on the certification and recertification exams is the same, there is some difference in the nature of the questions on those exams. Generally, the questions on the initial certification exam are more specific, while questions on the recertification exam tend to address broader clinical issues. This difference is most apparent in the questions related to applying basic science concepts and reflects the different functions of the two exams.
Note: Because of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) publication, NCCPA will adapt its content blueprints, disease and disorder lists, and psychiatry-related terminology within test questions to conform to DSM-5 classifications and diagnostic criteria for all of our examinations beginning in 2015, according to the following timeline:
PANCE and PANRE administered in 2015:
In these examinations, psychiatry-related terminology within test questions will include the DSM-5 terminology followed by the DSM-IV-TR terminology in parentheses. Example: illness anxiety disorder (hypochondriasis)
Based on delays in implementation of DSM-5 guidelines within the field of psychiatry, NCCPA will continue to present psychiatry-related terminology within test questions in the manner outlined above until further notice.
Content Blueprint Physician Assistant Practice Task Areas
2015 Content Blueprint Sample Diseases/Disorders by Organ System
Click here for a pdf of the content blueprint.
SAMPLE NCCPA QUESTIONS & CRITIQUES
PAs preparing for NCCPA's initial and recertifying exams have often asked the NCCPA about how the exam items are developed and should be answered. To help address that request, NCCPA has taken items removed from the item pool and created a tool for PAs. In the PDF document below, PAs can review sample NCCPA items and critiques written by NCCPA test committee members.
To review sample NCCPA questions and explanations regarding why the correct answer is correct and why the other answer choices are incorrect, please click here.
PRACTICE EXAMS
Another tool to help you prepare for the NCCPA certifying and recertifying exams are the NCCPA practice exams. The online, 120-question practice exams allow PAs the opportunity to assess their relative strengths and weaknesses, to direct their study efforts and to familiarize themselves with the format and timing of the actual certifying examination. For more information about NCCPA practice exams, sign in to your personal certification record or click here to read our frequently asked questions about the practice exams.
The Practice Exams are designed for PAs who are eligible for an NCCPA examination. PAs should use the practice exam as a tool to assess their relative strengths and weaknesses, and to familiarize themselves with the types of questions they'll see on the actual examinations.
Will a Practice Exam show me how I'll do on the PANCE, PANRE or a CAQ?
The NCCPA Practice Exams are provided for educational purposes only. They are not intended to predict your performance on PANCE, PANRE or a CAQ, and you should not interpret your results as a prediction of your performance. The results may assist you in identifying possible strengths or weaknesses in the various content areas that make up the exams content blueprints. The content blueprints are used as a guideline when items are selected for the Practice Exams. However, because the Practice Exam has fewer items than PANCE, PANRE and CAQ exams, the content areas contain a smaller number of items than on PANCE, PANRE and CAQ exams. For example, approximately 3% of the PANCE content blueprint is comprised of hematology questions. Thus, on the 120-question Practice Exam, there would be only 3 to 4 questions in this content area. It is important to keep in mind that performance on a small number of items is less reliable than with a larger number of items. Your performance is based on the limited number of items sampled in the Practice Exam and should not be interpreted as a predictor of actual performance on PANCE, PANRE or a CAQ exam.
What types of content do the Practice Exams cover?
The content of the Practice Exams are based on the content blueprint for PANCE and PANRE. However, there may be some differences in the exact percentages covered in the content areas on the specific Practice Exam form.
What is the format of the Practice Exam?
Each Practice Exam includes 120 multiple-choice questions divided into two sections of 60 questions each. PAs can choose time intervals based on their needs. Without special accommodations, PAs have 60 minutes to complete each section for a total of two hours of testing time. With the special accommodations option, PAs can choose to do the sections in two 90-minute or two 120-minute sections. PAs should choose the same timing option they anticipate will be used during the actual PANCE or PANRE exam.
How much time is allotted to answer the items on a Practice Exam?
Like PANCE and PANRE, the Practice Exams provide approximately one minute per item, if special accommodations are not indicated. With special accommodations, the PA would have one and one-half or two minutes per question, dependent on the approved special accommodations.
Are the Practice Exam items actually previously used items on PANCE and PANRE?
Yes, these are questions that were used on previous administrations of PANCE and PANRE. However, keep in mind that test questions used on Practice Exams will no longer appear on PANCE and PANRE.
How much do the Practice Exams cost?
Each Practice Exam costs $50, which must be paid by credit card when you apply.
How do I apply for a Practice Exam?
PAs can access the Practice Exam application online by signing in to their personal certification record 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Once registered, PAs will have 180 days to complete the Practice Exam online.
Are there special computer requirements needed to take a Practice Exam?
When you access the Practice Exam application from your personal certification record, you'll see a list of the system requirements. If you see a green check next to each requirement, your computer will support the Practice Exam program. If you see a red "X" next to any of the requirements, your computer, as it is currently configured, will not support the Practice Exam program; and we recommend you contact your system administrator. Note: MAC computers can be used with Mozilla Firefox.
Do I have to finish the Practice Exam in one sitting?
No. Unlike the actual PANCE, PANRE and CAQ exams, the Practice Exam allows you to stop working on the Practice Exam and return later. You will not lose any time; and when you log back into the Practice Exam, you'll be returned to the last question that you had previously accessed. All responses are saved when you access the next question, so taking a break will not cause you to lose any answers you've already entered
Are answers and/or explanations to the Practice Exam available?
No. The Practice Exams are designed to provide participants with feedback about their relative strengths and weaknesses in the content areas on the exam. Specific information for why a particular answer is correct or incorrect is not provided.
What kind of performance feedback will I receive?
As soon as you complete the Practice Exam, you'll receive a performance profile, which graphically displays your relative strengths and weaknesses in the content areas that make up the examination content blueprint.
Can I view a sample performance profile?
Click here to view a sample performance profile.
How long will my performance profile be available?
You'll always be able to access your performance profile from the Practice Exam overview page in your personal certification record.
How many Practice Exams can I take?
PAs who are eligible to take an NCCPA examination may take as many Practice Exams as there are available, and may repurchase exams if they want to take them more than once.
Can I review my Practice Exam?
Once your Practice Exam has been scored, you CANNOT review the questions or your answers. However, while you are working within each section, you can change answers or mark them for review. When you exit a section, your responses have been saved and submitted making your answers final. You can review and print your performance profile at any time after completing the Practice Exam.
Can I get my money back if I'm unable to take the exam after applying for it?
Unfortunately, refunds will not be issued for a Practice Exam.
What happens to my answers if I lose my Internet connection while taking the Practice Exam?
The system records all answers each time you access a question and provide an answer. If you are disconnected from the Internet or logged out of the Practice Exam program, you will re-start the Practice Exam on the same test question that was last seen when you sign back into the Practice Exam.
Can I take the exam un-timed?
No. The Practice Exams are designed to mirror the testing environment and timing constraints of an actual exam. If you need to take a break during the Practice Exam, you have the convenience of being able to log out of the Practice Exam without losing any of your time. When you log back in, you have the same amount of time remaining to finish the block of questions. However, keep in mind that this is not the same for PANCE and PANRE. For the actual PANCE and PANRE, you are not able to take any breaks within a section of the test. If you anticipate qualifying for special accommodations, you are encouraged to take the Practice Exam with the appropriate special accommodations timing parameters.
Can I print the Practice Exam?
No. The only part of the Practice Exam that you'll be able to print will be your performance profile that is available after completing the exam.
Can I use time spent on the NCCPA Practice Exam for Category I CME credit?
Unfortunately, no. NCCPA's Practice Exams are not preapproved for Category 1 CME credit. However, the Practice Exam can be submitted for Category 2 CME credit