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The PA National Examination (PANE) was rebranded to the PARA — Physician Associate Registration Assessment — from September 2025. GMC regulation of Physician Associates becomes mandatory from 13 December 2026. Two components: a 200-item Knowledge-Based Assessment (KBA) and a 14-station OSCE. Free 1,000+ adaptive question bank for the KBA component.
Online 200-question single-best-answer assessment.
14-station objective structured clinical examination held at the RCP's Liverpool base, The Spine.
May 2026 PARA: KBA 30 April 2026; OSCE 12–15 May 2026; results 11 June 2026. 2026 fees are KBA £309 and OSCE £611.
The KBA examines knowledge across the breadth of UK PA practice as defined by the GMC PA Curriculum and Assessment Framework. Content emphasises common and important presentations seen by PAs in primary and secondary care.
Source: official Royal College of Physicians (RCP) with the General Medical Council (GMC) blueprint
Drawn from the GMC PA Curriculum and Assessment Framework, RCP PARA content and the FY1-equivalent clinical scope of UK Physician Associate practice.
Scope of practice as a PA — supervisory arrangements, escalation to physicians, areas outside PA scope (e.g. prescribing controlled drugs without prior arrangement), professional limits, scope adaptation in different settings (primary care, ED, surgery)
Acute medicine bundles — sepsis recognition (SSC bundles, NEWS2 triggers), ACS recognition pathway, asthma severity ladder, DKA management, anaphylaxis treatment
Cardiovascular — ACS recognition, HFrEF four-pillar therapy per NICE NG106, AF anticoagulation pathway, hypertension stepped care per NICE NG136
Mental health — depression and anxiety NICE pathways, recognising suicide risk, sectioning under the Mental Health Act in escalation context, capacity assessment
Women's health — contraceptive options (UKMEC categories), HRT in menopause, antenatal screening pathways, postnatal depression recognition
Pharmacology and prescribing — common interactions, recognising and reporting ADRs (Yellow Card scheme), prescribing limits under PA supervision arrangements, anticoagulation review
GMC Good Medical Practice 2024 — capacity, consent, confidentiality, candour, raising concerns, intimate examinations. The new edition introduced changes.
Diabetes — Type 2 diabetes algorithm per NICE NG28, recognising DKA and HHS, foot screening, retinal screening pathway, sick day rules
Observations from UK Physician Associate students and recent PARA / PANE candidates. Verify against current GMC, NICE and RCP guidance.
Candidate-reported observations — not official guidance.
A pragmatic phased approach used by recent UK PA students preparing for the KBA component.
A live item from the iatroX bank. Try it before launching a full session.
A physician associate reviews a deteriorating ward patient with new hypotension and increasing oxygen requirement. The PA is unsure whether the patient needs critical care review. What is the most appropriate management?
Why iatroX is built differently for PARA (formerly PANE).
Every iatroX item is tagged to a blueprint topic, so your performance dashboard mirrors the structure of the exam itself.
The engine surfaces your weakest topics first, in real time, instead of marching you through a static syllabus.
Incorrect items return at increasing intervals to interrupt the forgetting curve and lock knowledge into long-term memory.
Timed full-length simulations that mirror the official exam structure under realistic conditions.
The full PARA (formerly PANE) bank, adaptive engine, spaced repetition and AI performance dashboard — all free. Socratic tutoring is available with an iatroX subscription for supported quiz sessions.
They are the same assessment under different names. The Physician Associate National Examination (PANE) was rebranded to the Physician Associate Registration Assessment (PARA) in September 2025. The rebrand reflects its new role as the GMC-mandated qualifying assessment under the regulation framework that becomes mandatory from 13 December 2026. Content is essentially continuous.
The KBA component has multiple sittings per year through the RCP. The OSCE is held at The Spine in Liverpool. With GMC regulation becoming mandatory from 13 December 2026, assessment volumes are expected to rise. Confirm 2026 dates and application windows on the RCP PARA page early.
Two components: (1) KBA — 200 single-best-answer items across four 1-hour sessions (50 items each session), total 4 hours of testing; (2) OSCE — 14 stations held at The Spine, Liverpool. Both components must be passed for the PARA award.
From 13 December 2026 all UK Physician Associates (and Anaesthesia Associates) must be GMC-registered to practise. This was introduced by Parliament through statutory instrument. The PARA is the standard qualifying assessment route to registration; grandparenting pathways apply to PAs already in practice on the regulation date.
You may attempt the PARA up to 4 times maximum. Both KBA and OSCE components have their own attempt limits within the overall 4-attempt framework. Failed attempts within the timeframe count toward the limit.
Yes — the entire 1,000+ PARA KBA bank is free at iatroX. No subscription is required for PARA, and it sits in the free tier alongside MRCP Part 1, MRCEM SBA and PSA. Paid exams such as UKMLA, PLAB 1, MSRA and MRCGP AKT include free sample questions, with full adaptive access with an iatroX subscription.
iatroX currently focuses on the KBA (knowledge) component of PARA with its 1,000+ free question bank. OSCE-specific resources — clinical examination videos, communication frameworks, station practice — are in development. For now, iatroX is a strong KBA preparation tool with OSCE supplementation from RCP-recommended resources.
Other iatroX hubs you may find useful.
see how iatroX compares to PassMedicine, Quesmed.
Reviewed by Dr Kola Tytler MBBS CertHE MBA MSt MRCGP · Last reviewed 12 May 2026
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