![]() PAEA crafted the exam this way because scenarios are a good measure of assessing higher-order thinking skills. Though scenarios show up on both the PACKRAT and EOR exams, the EOC is exclusively scenario-based. The exam uses a “one best answer” format with a list of possible solutions consisting of one correct (or best) answer and incorrect or inferior alternatives. The questions students encounter on the exam are multiple-choice and aimed at covering a wide range of medical knowledge while also accounting for a broad diversity of patients as the ultimate goal of the exam is to discern whether a PA student has the adequate medical knowledge to apply to real-world practice.īy design, the items written for the EOC exam consider the patient care setting (inpatient, emergency department, perioperative, and outpatient settings) and life-span (pediatric, adult, and geriatric patients) as well as race, ethnicity, nationality, gender identity, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, cultural identity, religion, and functional diversity as a means to test a student’s ability to meet the needs of a heterogeneous patient population.Įach exam item includes a scenario or vignette, a question, and a list of potential solutions. Given that the assessment may be proctored or unobserved, as well as an open- or closed-book examination, the utility of using the results in evaluating curriculum content can vary widely. Though programs can use the PACKRAT results to assess their curriculum content, in practice, many utilize it mainly as a self-assessment tool for students to gauge their knowledge. So first, why does the EOC exist in a world that already has the PACKRAT and the EOR? So, let’s cover what you should know about the exam as a current or one-day PA student. However, with students now vaccinated and programs resuming relatively normal operations, you’re likely to be hearing more about the EOC. Then, as with most things, PAEA suspended the rollout within a few months due to an inability for programs to meet the in-person proctoring requirement. In early 2020, the End of Curriculum (EOC) exam was launched. However, the exams themselves were developed by the Physician Assistant Education Association (PAEA), a national organization representing physician assistant educational programs in the US that currently counts every accredited PA school in the country as a member.Ībout five years ago, PAEA started work on developing another kind of exam tool aimed at evaluating a “PA student’s medical knowledge as one component of their readiness for graduation.” During development, 80 PA programs participated in at least one stage or another to generate the first version. ![]() Though adoption rates are quite high, whether these exam tools are used is ultimately the decision of individual PA programs. ![]() Many programs use this exam as a board prep component for students nearing graduation.Īround for the past eight years, the End of Rotation (EOR) exam is used during the clinical year and, as its name suggests, assesses students’ knowledge at the end of each clinical rotation. Typically, it’s administered near the end of didactic training and, later, clinical training. The PACKRAT has been around for over 25 years and is primarily a self-assessment tool for PA students. If you’re a current PA student or have been scoping out the curricula of PA schools as an aspiring PA student, you’re likely acquainted with a couple of exams integrated into PA training: the PACKRAT (Physician Assistant Clinical Knowledge Rating and Assessment Tool) and the End of Rotation (EOR) exam. ![]()
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