Preparing to Take the NCCPA
Recertifying Examination
BONNIE A. DADIG, EDD, PA-C
What is NCCPA?
 The only national certifying body for physician
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assistants
Founded in 1975
Independent, not-for-profit organization
Headquartered near Atlanta, Georgia
Staff of 40
Governed by a Board of Directors: appointees from 14
organizations, 2 public members, & 4 PA directors-atlarge
Participating Organizations
American Academies of:
 Family Physicians
 Pediatrics
 Physician Assistants
American Colleges of:
 Emergency Physicians
 Physicians
 Surgeons
 Amer. Hospital Assoc.
 Amer. Medical Assoc.
 Amer. Osteopathic Assoc.
 Assoc. of Amer. Med. Colleges
 Federation of State Medical
Boards
 PA Education Association
US Departments of:
 Defense
 Veterans Affairs
NCCPA’s Mission
NCCPA assures that certified physician
assistants meet professional standards of
knowledge and skills.
Examination Content Blueprint

Knowledge, skill and task areas
16%
14%
18%
10%
14%
18%
0%
100%
History taking & performing physical exams
Using lab & diagnostic studies
Formulating most likely diagnosis
Health maintenance
Clinical intervention
Pharmaceutical therapeutics
Applying basic science concepts
Examination Content Blueprint

16%
12%
10%
10%
9%
8%
6%
6%
Diseases, disorders and medical assessments of:
Cardiovascular system
Pulmonary system
Gastrointestinal/
nutritional system
Musculoskeletal system
Eye, ear, nose & throat
Reproductive system
Neurologic system
Urinary/renal system
6%
6%
5%
3%
3%
100%
Psychiatric/behavioral
system
Endocrine system
Dermatological system
Hematological system
Infection diseases
Applying for PANRE in 2011
 No application deadlines.
 You’ll be assigned a unique 180-day timeframe.
 The beginning of your exam timeframe will be
determined by when you register for the exam, when
you will complete your program, etc.
 The first and last day of your exam timeframe will
be reflected on the exam acknowledgement you will
receive shortly after completion of the application
process.
PANRE
 If you are in your sixth year, don't forget that you
have two attempts to pass the recertification exam
and you must wait 90 days between exam dates - so
don't wait until the last minute to take PANRE!
Registering for PANRE
 You may only take PANRE once in any 90-day
period, and you may only take PANRE twice in your
fifth year and twice in your sixth year.
 You have up to 180 days from the beginning of your
exam timeframe to take the exam. These dates will
be reflected in your exam application
acknowledgement e-mail.
 If you apply late in your sixth year, your timeframe
will be shorter than 180 days, ending the last test
date prior to your certification's expiration.
Registering for PANRE
 If your certification expires this year, you must
register online at least 45 days before the end of the
year.
 If you want to register for PANRE with less than 45
days left in your certification expiration year, you
must submit a manual application with a shortened
timeframe waiver form.
 There will be no testing between Dec. 20-31, 2012.
Registering for PANRE
 Pearson VUE testing centers are located throughout
the U.S.
The Practice-Focused Component
 You now have choices if you plan to take the PANRE.
While 60% of the generalist exam will cover the same
content as always, the remaining 40% can be
directed towards more generalist questions in one of
three areas:
 Adult medicine
 Surgery
 Primary care
Set Up Your NCCPA Online Record
 You’ll be prompted to enter your SSN, birth date and e
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mail address.
A verification e-mail will automatically be sent to
the e-mail address you specified.
Open the e-mail and click the unique link it contains.
Establish your password.
Sign in to the Web site using your SSN and password to
register for the exam.
PANRE Application Steps
 Verify/update your personal contact information.
 Background information questions.
 Additional information.
 Exam policies & procedures.
 Payment.
 Affirmation and authorization.
 Confirmation.
Self Assessment Available
 $35 Online self assessment
 Questions extracted from the current test item banks
 NCCPA views this not just as being responsive to PAs
but as a positive response to exam security concerns.
 General performance feedback helps inform your
exam preparation.
 Register online the same way you’d do for a
certification exam.
What to Expect on Test Day
 Four-hour exam
 4 blocks of 60 questions, 60 minutes each
 240 multiple-choice questions
 45 minutes of break time for the entire day
 Arrive 30 minutes early.
 Two forms of ID required.
 Do not bring any other personal belongings.
 Read ALL correspondence for detailed instructions about
what to expect on exam day.
PANRE - Test Taking Strategies
 Answer every question. (You won’t lose points for
incorrect answers.)
 Mark those that you’re not sure about, and review them if
you have time at the end of the block. (Computer assists
in review of skipped & marked items.)
After the Exam
 Do not discuss the test with others.
 Sharing
exam questions or even general subject
matter with others constitutes “irregular
behavior”—or cheating. It’s just not worth it!
 If you had any problems at the testing center,
document the situation in writing and contact
NCCPA within 3 days of your exam.
Exam Development
 NCCPA test committee members, including PAs and
physicians from a variety of practice specialties and
settings, write all items.
 Committees review items for style and to validate every
aspect of the question.
 Items are then pre-tested. Statistical analyses determine
whether the question should be thrown out, returned to
the committee, or made part of the NCCPA item bank.
 Dynamic process allows questions to be continuously
reviewed and updated or eliminated.
Exam Scoring: Standard Setting
 NCCPA uses a content-based standard setting process.
1.
An absolute standard is established.
2.
Everyone who meets the standard passes.
 Much more sophisticated than norm-referenced
standard setting (i.e., the bell-shaped curve)
Accessing Your Scores
 NCCPA provides electronic, online score reports.
 When we receive your scores (about two weeks
after your test date), we’ll e-mail instructions for
accessing your score report in your secure record
online.
 To ensure immediate access, be sure NCCPA has
your current e-mail address by signing in to your
record and clicking the Make Corrections link.
Scores to State Licensing Boards
 You can request your scores be sent to any other board or
a potential employer by using the Credentialing
Information Release link from your NCCPA personal
certification record.
Study Strategies
TO PREPARE FOR RECERTICATION
Never Stop Reading
 Read at least one hour per day
 If work or family obligations overwhelms you one
day then you owe two the next day
Privilege versus entitlement
 Privilege of participating in patient’s life & health
care
 Responsibility of learning because it will impact
on other individuals
Time Management
Do not limit your
study time to
practice tests
After Assessing Weakness
 Take NCCPA blueprint, develop your plan and start
with your weakest areas and
 Divide up your study days/hours in the percentage of
the blueprint
Learning
 Organization of facts into logical format means that
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the information can be learned and retained for a
longer period
Distributed practice assures more learning and
retention than cramming
Repetition
Curve of Forgeting
Intent to remember
Review Books
 After going through once (twice at the max) highlight
the correct answer and when you review the book
read the stem and the correct answer
 Very frustrating when you keep missing the same
questions which undermines your confidence
Do not sell your self short
 Work with partial knowledge, select items that you
think might be right if you do not know the answer
 Never select an answer you have never heard of or
know absolutely notion about
If you are a slower reader
 Answer the clinical vignettes that are long the first
time, because you do not have time to return to
reread the entire question
 Poorer test takers have more difficulty with longer
stems and more detail
Pace your self during the test
 You have 1 minute per question
 Blocks are 60 questions so try to be at 35 at the
midway point to give to time if you marked any
questions
Analyzing Test Errors on Practice Tests
 Did this question cover a topic you reviewed?
 Insufficient information
 Test anxiety
Quit with negative self talk
 Write down positive affirmations
 Repeat them in the car or times when you are alone
 Stop saying “if I pass”
 Start saying “when I pass the exam”
 Stop worrying about what others think of you
Distractions
 Test centers offer earplugs
 Check prior at the testing center if you can be further
into the computer room
Relationship of Motivation to Anxiety
 As motivation increases so does the fear or
anxiety
 Anxiety interferes with both learning and
performance
Self-Control of Anxiety
 Autogenic training, repetition of phrases, “I feel
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calm”
Breathing exercises
Biofeedback equipment
Stretching exercises to reduce tension even during
the exam
Desensitization
Test Anxiety
 If breathing exercises and other training is not
working for you consider medications
De-stress each Day
 Take some time to relax
each of the major study
days
 For this short period of
time look out just for you
Types of Practice Examinations
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Kaplan online
Exam Master
Test book
computer practice
examinations
Med Challenger
Most review books
now have a test
CDs
Note Taking & Flash Cards
Today pull out your smart
phone
One of my Favorite Books
Ferri's Clinical Advisor 2011:
Instant Diagnosis and
Treatment, Textbook, Website
& PocketConsult Handheld
Software (Clinical Advisor)
(Hardcover)
by Fred F. Ferri
About$99.95
 Initial section diagnostic and therapeutic
information on nearly 200 diseases and
disorders
 differential diagnosis
 clinical algorithms
 laboratory evaluations and
 clinical preventive services
Type A-MCQ Format
 Single best answer
 Stem
 4 Distracters
 1 Correct response
Type K
Multiple true-
false are no
longer on any
NCCPA test
Unacceptable Responses
Answers having harmful
responses
Prescription for Avoiding
Common Test Errors
Running Out of Time
Time is on the computer
Read thoroughly but
rapidly
Do not wait to answer
questions
Mark questions sparingly
Allot 60 seconds for each
question
Arguing with the Test
On a standardized test
no one gets 100%
Poor performing test
questions are eliminated
After 60 seconds DO
NOT THINK about the
item again
Failing to Recognize change in
Format
 Read directions
 Watch for change in format
Changing Answers
 Rule of thumb-the first answer to occur
to you is usually correct
 Only change answer if you misread the
question or have been cued to answer
later in the test
Overview of Certification
Maintenance
Certification Maintenance
 6-year certification maintenance cycle comprised of 3 two-year
blocks
 Log 100 hours of CME every two years
 At least 50 Category I (Preapproved) hours

Pass the Physician Assistant National Recertifying Exam
(PANRE) in year 5 or
year 6 of your six-year cycle (next time you recert you will earn
10 years).
CME: Defining the Terminology
 Category I CME –The activity or provider is preapproved
by the AAPA, ACCME, AAFP, AMA or AOACCME.
 Minimum requirement: 50 hours per two-year cycle
 How do you know it’s Category I? Some clues:
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Certificate upon completion that makes reference to one of the
sponsors.
Someone paid for you to participate.
Any doubt? Contact the provider.
CME: Defining the Terminology
 Category II (Elective) CME – Any other practice-related
educational activity pursued outside of your employment.
No minimum requirement.
 Category II hours should be logged hour-per-hour.
 Some examples:
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reading medical journals
postgraduate coursework
precepting
even time spent studying for PANRE
Review of the Requirements
 100 CME hours
 at least 50 Category I hours
 There is no requirement for Category II CME. You may
choose to earn the remaining 50 hours through either
Category I or Category II activities.
Returning Loggers
 Start earning May 1 of the beginning cycle year
 Finish by June 30 the year your certification expires.
 You may continue earning after June 30 if you pay a late
processing fee.
 The 26-month window includes a two-month period during
the ending/beginning cycle year during which you may apply
CME to either the cycle that is ending or the cycle that is just
starting.
 Final deadline: Certification expiration date (Dec. 31)
CME Logging
 Log your CME online as you earn it at NCCPA’s Web site and
pay the $80 certification maintenance fee.
 CME must be logged by June 30 of the year your certification
expires to avoid late processing fees (unless you get the firsttime logger exception we talked about earlier). The final
deadline is Dec. 31.
 Save your Category I CME documentation in case you are
audited.
Recertification
 You can register for the recertification exam in
year 5 or year 6 of your six-year cycle
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Provides you up to four opportunities (two per year) to attempt the
exam
Less than 1% of PAs need more than two opportunities to pass the
exam.
 Taking the exam early in year 5 will NOT change your
certification maintenance cycle and you’ll still need to log CME
for that two-year cycle!
About PANRE
 Computer-based exam administered at Pearson VUE
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testing centers
300 question, multiple choice exam
No reference materials allowed (just like PANCE)
Advanced registration and exam fee required.
Self-assessment available to help you assess your relative
strengths and weaknesses.
Code of Conduct for Certified &Certifying PAs


Focuses on the ethics and professionalism expected from all PAs
holding or seeking NCCPA certification
Two sections focus on the responsibility of certified PAs to uphold
the integrity of the
–
–

Certification and recertification processes
Laws, regulations and standards governing PA practice
Developed as a way to clearly communicate expectations to
regulators, employers and patients the standards that almost all
certified PAs are already upholding
NCCPA Disciplinary Policy
 Specifies consequences for irregular behavior (which
we discussed earlier) and falsely representing oneself
as certified.
 Provides for the denial or revocation of certification
based on
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Loss of licensure due to documented gross incompetence or
unethical conduct
Conviction of or pleading no contest to a felony
Court decision that finds a PA mentally incompetent
Tips for Maintaining Your
Certification
 L E A R N I N G F R O M O T H E R S ’ M I S TA K E S
Tips for Maintaining Your Certification
1.
Notify NCCPA of all postal and e-mail address
changes.
2.
Know how to access your personal certification record
online – it’s your one-stop resource for your
certification information.
3.
Read all NCCPA correspondence.
4.
Understand the requirements.
5.
Don’t procrastinate.
More Tips for Maintaining Your Certification
6.
Log CME as you earn it.
7.
Save your Category I CME documentation.
8.
Take personal responsibility for your certification.
Get information about certification from the source.
10. Remember that certification is often your ticket to
practice—so take it seriously!
9.
Resources
NCCPA Resources
 NCCPA Connect: www.nccpa.net
 online
access to your certification record
 exam application, CME logging, exam results, address
changes
 NCCPA News (e-newsletter)
 E-mail: nccpa@nccpa.net
 Or call: (678) 417-8100
More Resources
 American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA)
 Source for Category I CME, job bank, books, journals, annual
conference, state chapters, information about review courses
 www.aapa.org or (703) 836-2272
Licensure Resources

Use Credentialing Information Release link from
your NCCPA personal certification record to request
your scores be sent to a particular state board or
another third party.

Visit AAPA’s Web site (www.aapa.org) for state-bystate information about licensure requirements.
Questions?