PANCE Pharmacology Prep

[pas1787]

Hi all!

 

I am in the last 3.5 weeks of studying before I take my PANCE for the first time. I've gone through everything on the blueprint, done PACKRATs, and will be going to a review course right before the big day. I have done well on the PACKRATs (average 180) and am well within the "green" area overall on the NCCPA practice exam, but I can't shake the feeling that I am weak in therapeutic interventions and pharmacology. I feel like so much empasis is placed on diagnosis and proper diagnostic testing (rightfully so, they are vitally important), that I have neglected to pour a lot of time and effort into studying therapeutics and clinical interventions. That's a big chunk of the PANCE! Can anyone share some advice for studying those areas specifically? Also, what is your opinion on PACKRAT questions vs. PANCE questions. I've heard so many people saying that they feel like the PANCE questions were much harder than PACKRAT questions I am afraid the PACKRAT may not be a good indicator of performance. I don't want any huge surprises on test day. Any additional advice for the next few weeks would be so appreciated.

 

I first found this board before I was really studying hard for the PANCE and was able to develop a study plan based on what was suggested in these forums. I am SO thankful for all of the help and advice thus far, I just need a little more study advice and then I will (hopefully) be done with hardcore studying for a while :)

[islander86]

Are you using a question bank like Langely Q&A or Kaplan? I felt the same way leading up to my PANCE a few months ago and found it helpful to filter question sets specifically to pharm or clinical intervention, then use the ones I got wrong to focus my studying for the chunk of time I allotted for it. 

 

It didn't feel like a drastic difference between the PACKRAT and the PANCE in terms of question difficulty but it did in terms of stamina.. those 5 hours were brutal even with the breaks. Make sure you are well-rested! Sounds like you are on track, although I would question the benefit of an intense review session the day before the test. 

[pas1787]

Thanks for the reply! The review course is actually a few days before the boards, sorry I didn't make that clear in my first post. But thanks for the advice to take some time to get some rest before the test! I'm also excited to hear that you didn't feel like there was a significant difference in question difficulty.

 

I am not using any certain question bank. I had some old packrats and some old practice tests (altogether ~2,000 questions) given to me so that's what I've been using, in addition to JB review and the Babcock-O'Connell pre- and post-tests. In hindsight, I wish I had invested my money into Kaplan or Lange because they've come highly recommended.... but, you know what they say about hindsight. I have recently discovered the "teaching to the test" blog and she has several posts for cardiac pharm/therapeutics which I plan to start on tomorrow. Have you ever utilized that blog or know anyone who has?