PANRE

PANRE is the traditional proctored exam taken at Pearson VUE test centers. PANRE-LA is a longitudinal, take-at-home alternative in which 25 questions are administered each quarter on any compatible device. Both are recertification assessment options available to PAs beginning in 2023, and both are built on the same core medical knowledge blueprint.

Each quarter, 25 questions are administered in an online format. Every question has a five-minute time limit, and PAs may use online or printed references to help inform their answer selection. Questions can be answered anywhere, anytime during the quarter on any compatible device.

Yes. PAs may consult online or printed references while answering each question. Because the five-minute limit is short, the practical skill being tested is rapid retrieval - know which reference to open and where in it to look before the question appears.

Yes. The process spans 12 available quarters over three years, but you are required to complete only eight quarters and may skip up to four. This gives flexibility to participate in the quarters that fit your schedule best.

PAs who have not met the passing standard may continue in the program, and scores are recalculated at the end of each subsequent quarter using the best eight quarters. PAs also retain up to three opportunities to take and pass PANRE in the tenth year of the recertification cycle before certification expires.

PAs apply for the PANRE-LA process in year six of their certification maintenance cycle, and the exam questions are administered in years 7 through 9. PAs who complete the first eight quarters may finish the process in two years if they reach the passing standard.

Immediate feedback tells you whether your submitted answer was correct, along with a rationale and references for further reading. Completed questions and their rationales remain available throughout the process so you can review them at your convenience.

Work system by system through the core medical knowledge blueprint rather than random question sets, since you see the content category before opening each question. Use that preview to review blueprint topics or reference materials first, and log missed concepts after each rationale to target the next study block.

Two stand out. First, treating it as a closed-book knowledge test instead of practicing fast reference lookup within five minutes. Second, deferring questions until late in a quarter and compressing the workload. Because only your best eight quarters count, a weak quarter is recoverable - but a skipped study habit across several quarters is harder to repair.

Yes. NCCPA states that PAs will be able to earn CME for participating in the PANRE-LA process, in addition to using it to identify and close core medical knowledge gaps before certification maintenance deadlines.