UPDATE – PA National Examinations January/February 2021 Diet

Following the UK government and devolved nation announcements earlier in the week which effectively placed the UK in national lockdown for a number of weeks the assessment unit have been working as quickly as possible to understand the impact on the Physician Associate National Examination (PANE) scheduled for January and February 2021. It has now become apparent that due to increasing COVID infection rates, the new variant of the illness, pressures on our NHS and the restrictions on travel we will not be able to safely deliver the PA national examination on the dates we had planned.

Our intention is therefore to reschedule the PA national examination to March 2021 with OSCE dates being set over the first three weeks of March and the written exam taking place in the week commencing 22 March 2021. The results release date would therefore be changed to 15 April 2021. We are currently in the process of transferring bookings and ensuring the practical arrangements are in place for the new dates. Once this activity is complete we will be in touch again to confirm individual dates and updated venue information.

Of course we cannot guarantee these dates but we believe they are achievable and will keep you informed when we have more certainty. 

The format of the examinations will remain the same, and as previously communicated.

Please be reassured that we remain conscious of the impact delays have on candidates and, as a result, we never take these decisions lightly but do always take into account the safety of all exam participants, candidates, examiners and staff alike.

Whilst the January/February diet of the PANE has been postponed, we will again be offering graduate PA students to express their interest in the Assistant Practitioner role.  Developed together with Health Education England, this role enables those graduate student PAs who have completed their PA studies course, but have yet to successfully complete the PANE to enter the workforce and hone their skillset until qualification.  Please click here for further information on this role.