Physician associate exam statistics have been remarkably difficult to find. Unlike MRCP or PLAB — where the GMC and Royal Colleges publish detailed breakdowns by demographics, attempt number, and time since graduation — the PA exam has historically operated in a data vacuum. Candidates prepare without knowing their probability of passing, coaching courses quote numbers without sources, and anxiety fills the information gap.
This is changing. The RCP committed to publishing annual PARA performance reports from December 2025. But the available data remains limited compared to other professional exams.
What We Know
First-time pass rate: approximately 70%. This is the most widely cited figure, consistent with reports from multiple cohorts of PA students and the RCP's published data. It means roughly 7 in 10 candidates pass on their first attempt — a reasonable rate for a postgraduate professional exam, comparable to MRCGP AKT first-attempt rates.
The OSCE is harder than the KBA for most candidates. Anecdotal and cohort-level data consistently suggests that the OSCE component has a lower pass rate than the KBA. This mirrors the pattern seen in PLAB 2, MRCP PACES, and other OSCE-format exams — clinical skills under time pressure with standardised patients are harder to prepare for and more variable in performance than written exams.
Retake candidates pass at lower rates. As with all professional exams, the population of retake candidates has a lower aggregate pass rate than first-attempt candidates. However, many retake candidates do pass with improved preparation — the key is identifying and addressing the specific reasons for initial failure.
What We Do Not Know
Detailed breakdowns by demographics. The RCP has not published pass rates by gender, ethnicity, university of training, or age — data that is available for MRCP, MRCGP, and PLAB. This limits candidates' ability to contextualise their individual risk.
Pass rates by individual sitting date. Whether specific sittings are harder or easier than others (and how the pass mark is standardised to account for this) is not transparently published.
International PA pass rates. With the international pathway newly opened (from May 2025 for GMC qualification assessment), there is no published data on international PA performance on the PARA.
What This Means for Your Preparation
The 70% first-time pass rate means that serious, structured preparation is required — this is not an exam you can pass on clinical experience alone. The 30% who do not pass on first attempt are not bad clinicians; they are candidates who underestimated the breadth of the exam, under-prepared for specific areas (pharmacology, clinical sciences, professional practice), or were not exam-ready for the OSCE format.
The preparation that correlates with passing: sufficient Q-bank volume (3,000+ questions), systematic coverage of the 550+ condition content map, specific OSCE practice with peers, and guideline-aligned clinical knowledge.
iatroX provides free PA exam preparation with adaptive spaced repetition, ensuring systematic coverage of the content map and automatic targeting of your weak areas. The Q-Bank builds the clinical knowledge the KBA tests, and Brainstorm develops the clinical reasoning the OSCE demands.
As the RCP publishes more granular data, preparation strategies can be refined. For now, the practical approach is clear: prepare broadly, prepare specifically for your weak areas, and use adaptive tools that ensure nothing falls through the gaps.