To apply for registration with the General Medical Council (GMC) as a physician associate (PA) in the UK, an applicant must have completed the Physician Associate National Examination (PANE).
The PANE is delivered by the Royal College of Physicians’ (RCP) Assessment Unit. The PANE is open to any candidate who has completed the requirements of the Competence and Curriculum Framework for the Physician Assistant within a UK university postgraduate programme in Physician Associate Studies (either as a postgraduate diploma or a master’s course) and had completion signed off by their relevant university exam board.
The PANE is made up of an online 200-question, single best answer, knowledge-based assessment (KBA) and a 14-station objective structured clinical examination (OSCE). The OSCE is held at the RCP’s Liverpool base, The Spine.
On successful completion of the PANE a candidate can then apply for registration with the GMC.
How to apply
When applications are open, you can apply by clicking the button below via our online exam provider Orzone. To apply to sit the exam, you will need to create an account on Orzone.
Please see application period dates below. Payment for the exam is to be completed in full as part of the application process.
If you are experiencing difficulties in providing payment of your PANE fees, then financial support may be available. When considering requests for support in funding the examination fee we would look for evidence of recent access to educational support/hardship funds/income support. If this has been the case, we would ask you to email assessment.unit@rcp.ac.uk with further details of the support you received and any documentary evidence you are able to provide.
If your university is paying your PANE fee, please email PAexams@rcp.ac.uk prior to applying.
Should you subsequently be declared ineligible for the PANE by your university, full refund of the fees will be processed to your original payment card.
Examination dates 2025
KBA
- Application period: Monday 4 November 2024 - Monday 18 November 2024 (11am UK Time)
- Exam date: Thursday 9 January 2025
- Results release: Thursday 27 February 2025
OSCE
- Application period: Monday 4 November 2024 - Monday 18 November 2024 (11am UK Time)
- Exam period: Tuesday 21 January 2025 - Friday 31 January 2025
- Results release: Thursday 27 February 2025
KBA
- Application period: Monday 10 March 2025 - Monday 24 March 2025 (11am UK Time)
- Exam date: Thursday 1 May 2025
- Results release: Thursday 12 June 2025
OSCE
- Application period: Monday 10 March 2025 - Monday 24 March 2025 (11am UK Time)
- Exam period: Tuesday, 13 May 2025 - Friday, 16 May 2025
- Results release: Thursday 12 June 2025
KBA
- Application period: Monday 23 June 2025 - Monday 07 July 2025 (11AM UK Time)
- Exam date: Thursday 4 September 2025
- Results release: Thursday 30 October 2025.
OSCE
- Application period: Monday 23 June 2025 - Monday 7 July 2025 (11AM UK Time)
- Exam period: Tuesday, 16 September 2025 - Friday 3 October 2025
- Results release: Thursday 30 October 2025.
Examination fees 2025
PANE KBA
£294
PANE clinical examination (OSCE)
£582
Total
£876
PANE KBA
£294
PANE clinical examination (OSCE)
£582
Total
£876
PANE KBA
£309
PANE clinical examination (OSCE)
£611
Total
£920
Guidance for candidates
Applicants should also be aware that a maximum of four attempts are permitted at each component of the PANE. Candidates have 18 months from the date of notification that they have successfully completed their first component to pass the second component (be this the KBA or OSCE). Candidates who do not complete the second component within 18 months of the first will be required to retake the previously completed component.
The Physician Associate National Examination (PANE) is designed for candidates who have completed the requirements of the 2012 Competence and Curriculum Framework for the Physician Assistant. If you started your university programme prior to August 2023 you will have been taught via this curriculum.
If you started your university programme after August 2023 you will have been taught via the 2023 Physician Associate Curriculum
The January 2025 and May 2025 PANE knowledge-based assessments and OSCEs will contain content drawn exclusively from the 2012 Competence and Curriculum Framework for the Physician Assistant.
From September 2025, the PANE will become the Physician Associate Registration Assessment (PARA). Under the GMC’s transitional arrangements, which run from 13 December 2024 until 13 December 2026, the PARA KBAs and OSCEs held between September 2025 and November 2026 will assess all candidates via a hybrid blueprint, which will only contain content found in both the 2012 Competence and Curriculum Framework for the Physician Assistant and the 2023 Physician Associate Curriculum.
Once the GMC’s transition period ends on 13 December 2026 the PARA KBAs and OSCEs will then assess candidates via the 2023 Physician Associate Curriculum only. Candidates for these exams may wish to use the PARA Content Map to prepare.
The application process and format of the PANE and PARA KBAs and OSCEs will remain unchanged.
The examination regulations, preparation resources, and examination blueprints can be found in the downloads section:
- Physician Associate National Examination Regulations For Examination Candidates (November 2024)
- RCP Assessment Unit Additional Regulations And Policies (October 2024)
- PANE Privacy Statement (December 2024)
- Competence And Curriculum Framework For The Physician Assistant (2012)
- Physician Associate Curriculum (2023)
- PANE KBA Blueprint
- PANE KBA Sample Questions
- PANE OSCE Blueprint
- PANE OSCE Sample Scenarios
PANE FAQs
Application/registration
The PANE is open to anybody who has completed the requirements of the Competence and Curriculum Framework for the Physician Assistant within a UK university programme in Physician Associate Studies (or equivalent) and had their completion of this course signed off by their relevant university exam board.
Internationally qualified physician associates who meet the eligibility criteria set out by the General Medical Council (GMC) will be able to sit the national exam from May 2025 onwards. Applications from international candidates will not be accepted until the GMC has assessed the applicant’s physician associate qualification and confirmed to the RCP Assessment Unit that it meets the requirements for registration in place at that time.
No, there is no time limit in place to have completed the PANE following completion of your university course.
You must however pass both the PANE KBA and PANE OSCE within 18 months of each other.
The link to apply will be available on this page during each application period, and you can find the dates for forthcoming application periods above. Applications must be made online via the ‘Ortrac’ application system, and you will need to create an ‘Ortrac’ account as part of this process, if you have not done so previously.
We strongly advise you use a personal email address to register, as you may not have access to your university email address by the time results are released.
Payment is required during your application and can only be made via credit or debit card. Payment is taken via PayPal, but you do not need a registered PayPal account to complete this process.
Payment cannot be made once the application period has closed, and requests for extended payment deadlines will not be considered.
We do not offer the facility to pay your fee in instalments. Please ensure you have the required funds to make your payment in full before beginning your application.
Please contact us via email before you apply, and we can provide further information on how to complete your registration.
There is a dedicated section of the online application where you can request reasonable adjustments for your examination(s) and upload your supporting evidence. Please ensure you upload the original medical evidence or psychological report. Documents from your university, for example a student support plan, will not be accepted.
Once your application, including payment, is complete, your eligibility will be checked with your university. Once confirmation of this is received your application will be approved, and you will receive an email to confirm this.
If your university or the GMC inform us that you are not currently eligible for the PANE, we will automatically withdraw your application and provide a full refund of your fee.
If you wish to withdraw, please email us, including your full name and the exam component(s) you wish to withdraw from (KBA and/or OSCE).
Automatic refunds, which do not require supporting evidence, will be provided as follows:
|
KBA |
|
|
Withdrawal request received |
Refund percentage |
|
During application period |
100% |
|
More than 7 days before exam date |
90% |
|
Less than 7 days before exam date* |
0% |
|
OSCE |
|
|
Withdrawal request received |
Refund percentage |
|
During application period |
100% |
|
More than 28 days before exam date |
90% |
|
Less than 28 days before exam date* |
0% |
*90% refunds may be considered after this date, where exceptional circumstances arise that prevent a candidate from attending an examination. Where this is the case supporting evidence must be provided. All requests will be assessed on a case-by-case basis.
You can withdraw at any point before you begin a KBA or OSCE, including on the day of an assessment itself. Please note that once you begin an assessment it will count as an attempt.
No. If you are unable to take an assessment you will need to follow the above withdrawal process and then apply again during a future application period.
Knowledge-based assessment (KBA)
The KBA is a 200-question, single best answer, assessment, taken online. It is split into two papers, each 2 hours long and each containing 100 questions. There is a break between each paper.
Assessment schedules are based around UK time. Whilst you are welcome to take the KBA from a non-UK location, please be aware that this may mean your KBA takes place outside of traditional time slots.
You need to have a device that is running either Windows 10 or 11 (64-bit) or later, or Mac 10.14 or later. You must ensure that you have permission to download the software to the device you are using. If you are using a work computer, please check with your IT department.
Your device must also have a functioning, internal web cam (external web cams are not recommended).
The computer you install the software on and undertake the face recognition process on must be the same computer you use on the day of the KBA.
You should ensure that you device has a stable internet connection, either wired or via Wi-Fi. The speed required is similar to that used during general browsing of the internet. We recommend you have access to a back-up connection, a hotspot via your mobile phone, for example, to ensure your KBA is not interrupted.
You must be connected to the internet to begin each paper. However, the Orzone software is designed to allow you to continue with your KBA if you temporarily lose internet connection during a paper, and your results will automatically be synced with the server once your connection is restored. Be aware that images within questions cannot be displayed unless you are connected to the internet, these questions should be bookmarked to return to when your internet connection is restored.
You will need to take the assessment somewhere quiet that you can work undisturbed. This could be at your own home, place of work, or a library but you must ensure that the room is prepared properly.
Advice regarding your room setup can be found on the Orzone website.
Unique download links and booking codes are sent out via email at least two weeks before the date of your KBA. These may end up in your junk and spam folder, please email us if you have not received your download link by this time.
Please follow the download and installation carefully and if you have any problems, please submit a support ticket to the Orzone team. Remember, whichever computer you download and install the software onto must be the same one you use on the day of the KBA.
Be aware of the deadline for installation that is provided in your download email, as once this has passed you will not be able to download the software and will not be able to take the KBA.
The Orzone software is regularly updated to provide the best possible experience for candidates. If you have previously taken the KBA online with us via Orzone you will need to uninstall any previous versions of the software and download the latest version.
If you are experiencing technical issues before or during the assessment, then please submit a support ticket with Orzone, or click the ‘help’ button within your Orzone app. Please do not contact the RCP Assessment Unit as we are unable to provide technical support.
Yes, and we may ask you to show us that they are blank before you begin your KBA. You should have no more than 6 pieces of plain A4 paper, and these must be destroyed at the end of the KBA. We may ask you to hold them up and confirm this to the invigilator at the end of each paper.
Yes. Please ensure you do this with a common-sense approach in terms of what you are eating or drinking. Remember that the artificial intelligence will identify abnormal behaviour (which may include eating/drinking). Bottles must be clear, with no labels.
Yes – but the clock on the assessment will continue. A flag will be raised with the invigilator each time you step away from your device to visit the toilet.
No. If you wish to block out noise then traditional earplugs are acceptable.
No, the software will pick this up as a potential infringement of the regulations and this will be investigated.
Yes. All images can be enlarged by clicking on them. All have a scale indicated where appropriate, either as part of the question or in the image’s caption.
If you feel you have completed a paper then you are permitted to end early, but by doing so you will not be able to re-enter the paper to amend answers or complete any questions without responses.
There are sample resources available which provide an insight into how questions are structured. We also offer the RCP Revise Question Bank for Physician Associates.
OSCE
The OSCE contains 16 stations. 14 stations are clinical scenarios, with two rest stations also included. Each of the 16 cycles consists of two-minutes reading time and eight minutes inside each station. There is a one-minute remaining announcement during each cycle to allow you to manage your time whilst in each station.
We run all our OSCEs at our purpose-built assessment centre at the Spine in Liverpool.
We aim to provide you with your allocated OSCE date at least three weeks prior to the beginning of the OSCE assessment period. Please note, however, that you will not receive notification of your allocated OSCE date until your eligibility has been confirmed by your university.
No. Once allocations have been made these cannot be changed. If you are unable to attend on the date you have been allocated, you will instead need to withdraw your application.
Please arrive as close as possible to the report time stated on your admission document, as there is limited space available at the Spine in which to wait prior to this.
Please make sure you have planned your journey to the Spine carefully, as if you arrive late, you will not be permitted entry to the OSCE.
All the equipment you require, including stethoscopes, is provided in the relevant station(s) during your OSCE. You can however bring your own stethoscope if you wish. A fob watch can also be worn, but stopwatches are not permitted.
Please do not bring large items of luggage to the Spine. These should be left at home, or in your hotel.
You should dress as you would to work in a UK hospital or other clinical setting, as described in the NHS guidance on uniforms and workwear. This includes being bare to the elbow with no watches, bracelets or rings (a single plain ring, such as a wedding ring, is acceptable, where this cannot otherwise be removed).
Yes, we provide you with a clipboard, plain A4 paper and a pencil which is yours to makes notes on for the duration of the OSCE. Notes can be taken into each station to refer to, should you wish.
Three sample scenarios are available which show how candidate instructions are displayed during the OSCE, as well as giving a general insight into how examiners assess you via their marksheet during a station:
Results
Results release dates are shown above. Results are released via email; they will not be given out over the phone.
Appeals should be sent via email as soon as possible after your assessment. Do not wait until you have received your results.
We do not offer the option to have your scores reassessed.
All the answers you provide for your KBA, and the marks you receive from examiners for your OSCE, are collected and analysed automatically by our electronic marking systems, with results and pass marks then reviewed by the RCP Assessment Unit and ratified by the PANE Examination Board to ensure they are a fair and accurate reflection of your performance on the day of your assessment.
At present the information contained within your results letter is all the feedback we can provide without potential disclosing confidential and sensitive assessment content, particularly when KBA questions and OSCE stations may be used again in future assessments. We are working to address this in the future to provide more in-depth feedback where possible.
If you have passed one component this pass is now valid for 18 months. For example, if you passed the KBA on 1 January 2023, but failed the OSCE, you would have until 1 July 2024 to pass the OSCE. If you failed to do so, you would have to retake the KBA again, alongside the OSCE.
You are permitted four attempts at the KBA and four attempts at the OSCE. If you reach this limit no further attempts at either assessment will be permitted.
Details on how you can now apply to join the GMC register can be found on the GMC website.