Psychiatry EOR: 2026 blueprint changes
The PAEA Psychiatry & Behavioral Health EOR is one of the most restructured exams for 2026: Clinical Intervention doubles, Health Maintenance is removed in favor of Professional Practice, and trauma- and sleep-related content is broken out on its own.
PAEA releases the updated exams on July 27, 2026; legacy versions remain available through July 2027, so programs can transition on their own timeline.
A new Professional Practice task area (6%) replaced Health Maintenance on this exam.
Task-area weightings: old vs 2026
Task areas are the medical-knowledge categories every Psychiatry EOR question is written against. Here is how they shift for 2026:
| Task area (medical knowledge) | Old | 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| History & Physical | 15% | 16% ↑ |
| Diagnostic Studies | 10% | 11% ↑ |
| Diagnosis | 25% | 20% ↓ |
| Health Maintenanceremoved | 10% | removed |
| Clinical Intervention | 10% | 20% ↑ |
| Clinical Therapeutics | 20% | 20% |
| Scientific Concepts | 10% | 7% ↓ |
| Professional Practicenew | — | 6% |
Biggest content-area changes
- Clinical Intervention (task area) doubled — from 10% to 20%.
- Trauma & stress-related disorders / abuse & neglect — new 13% content area (split out from anxiety).
- Sleep-wake disorders — new 7% content area.
- Substance-related & addictive disorders — up from 14% to 15%.
- Personality disorders / OCD & related — down from 8% to 5%.
- Depressive & bipolar 17% (was 18%); schizophrenia spectrum 11% (was 12%).
- Health Maintenance removed; Professional Practice (6%) added.
What to study now — free Psychiatry resources
Practice the areas that carry more weight in 2026. These free FirstPassPA resources are mapped to the new blueprint:
Practice the 2026 Psychiatry blueprint on FirstPassPA
Work a focused Psychiatry question set with an AI tutor on every answer, plus 5,500+ questions across all rotations. Start your 7-day free trial — no credit card.
Start studying free → Compare PANCE question banksPsychiatry EOR 2026 FAQ
How is the 2026 Psychiatry EOR different?
The Clinical Intervention task area doubled from 10% to 20%, Health Maintenance was removed and replaced by a 6% Professional Practice area, trauma/stress-related disorders became their own 13% content area, and sleep-wake disorders were added at 7%.
Is trauma still grouped with anxiety on the Psychiatry EOR?
No. For 2026, trauma & stress-related disorders (plus abuse and neglect) are broken out into their own 13% content area, separate from anxiety and somatic symptom disorders.
Source & disclaimer. Weightings are summarized from PAEA's publicly posted 2026 End of Rotation blueprints and crosswalk documents as of June 2026; PAEA is the authoritative source — always confirm current details there. FirstPassPA is an independent study tool and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by PAEA or NCCPA. PANCE® and PANRE® are registered trademarks of the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants; End of Rotation™ is a program of the Physician Assistant Education Association.