PA School Exams

Exams are structured differently depending upon what type of system the program is on. Most schools are either on the module based learning system vs. a more traditional style where you take multiple courses at once. For the module type of system, you do one course intensively that usually culminates into just one exam all in the same area of study. An example would be cardiology where you learn the diseases, pharmacology, anatomy, and physical exam all for that system. There is usually one larger exam at the end of a 1-3 week period.

For the more traditional style, it involves taking many courses simultaneously over a longer period, but typically consisting of multiple exams. This is more like a midterms and finals week type of style. In addition, these exams typically span systems. For example, a course could be pharmacology, which will have medications for different systems such as medications for blood pressure as well as dermatological ointments. This differs from the way content is grouped in the module or systems based learning structures.

In general, all programs will have these more standard exams. In addition, most programs will have other types of exams as well such as skills exams and anatomy exams. Skills exams are more practical which usually involve demonstrating some kind of physical exam or skill on a fellow classmate or standardized patient. Anatomy exams can be more of a standard multiple choice and/or a practical exam identifying anatomical landmarks. Most programs will utilize these despite the type of learning system.