The National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA) has announced a permanent alternative to the Physician Assistant National Recertifying Exam (PANRE), starting in 2023. NCCPA President and CEO Dawn Morton-Rias, EdD, PA-C, said the new PANRE Longitudinal Assessment (PANRE-LA) was formulated from a multi-year investigation and feedback from participants in a pilot program. NCCPA said the PANRE-LA "is designed to help PAs identify and address knowledge gaps in core medical content" while eliminating "some of the stress and anxiety of the recertification process." The commission in 2019 adopted a new content template for recertification exams, emphasizing medical knowledge rather than the generalized Physician Assistant National Certifying Exam model. Updates incorporate extensive information on the diseases and disorders and knowledge levels that both the test center PANRE and the PANRE-LA will cover. The new assessment will include quarterly online administration of 25 questions that participants can take anytime, anywhere and on any compatible device; advance knowledge of content areas to be assessed; immediate feedback; and a three-year window to complete the process. "PAs don't have to schedule time away from work to travel to test centers and can take the exam at their convenience," Morton-Rias said. "They can use references to help find the answers and grow their knowledge. Plus, they will be able to earn [continuing medical education] for participating in the process. Our goal was to develop a meaningful and less stress-inducing process for PAs to demonstrate their ongoing core medical knowledge, and we are excited about the new PANRE-LA."

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