Jump to content

Top 3 items when studying for Pance/Panre.


Recommended Posts

My  question  is.  When  studying  for  the Pance/Panre...What are  the  3  most  efficient  or  "bang for  the  buck"  courses,  reviews or  questions  when  preparing  to  pass  for  this  exam..

 

I  think  the Chicago  course  CME  resource,  and  Help  Zebra  may  be in the answer.   I know  its  a personal  opinion..But can anyone offer any  feedback?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I take my exam tomorrow. I used the NCCPA book, and thepalife.com for practice tests. it was only about 65 bucks and came with a lot of stuff. I also get headaches when it rains, and am just off a locum on the coast, and I get eye problems with the screen

thepalife.com comes with a podcast ( I don't use iTunes so I can only listen on the pc) - but this lets me fold laundry or do dishes while not putting strain on my eyes.

I also listen to the PA podcast by Brian Wallace - dang this site will never let me put a link on

just google physician assistant exam review - you will find it,

The Nccpa site says I will have to wait about 2 weeks to know if I passed. I have been doing family medicine the last year, but I don't see kids do to ptsd ( ex-paramedic)  so I am 16 and up. I worry about that ,and the obgyn as my last place all ref out.

I am getting in the high 60s ( 68%) at my worst and low 80's ( 81%) on the pa life practice exams. I am past my deadline and am on a 2nd extension. I have severe test anxiety so I am horrified. My locum was a nightmare. My car was shot, I had a stalker, Ive had to move 3 times in 1 year, a RN died, - anything that could have gone wrong did. I cant study for an exam and be called down the hall at the hotel by the management to do CPR in another room, and walk my dog with a stun gun, then chill out to learn some medicine. Currently I am in a camp ground in hiding from the stalker / ex patient. I didn't want to take the time to move when I needed that time to study. I hope I pass. I am very stressed out. I get the worst scores in the morning when I am really trying and worried about passing. Now I take a test at 10pm when I am so tired I don't give a shit anymore and I cant even see - I get an 81%, I know its stress. I have not seen my husband in 3 years because he is in Ireland ( I'm American , He is Irish) I came back to America to pay off my student loans. I'm scared not passing means I wont see him for even longer ( he cant visit, my father in law has cancer) .... so ya know , no pressure... ha ha (EDIT - PASSED PANRE)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I hope everything turns out ok. 

 

This is what I used to study for both my PANRE and my PANCE

 

1) Rutgers course with exam master questions

2) Clair O'Connel's book

3) Physician Assistant Exam Review podcast & The Final Step   :-)

 

Ok I didn't use my podcast and my book for the PANCE, but I did for the PANRE.  

 

A big challenge is narrowing down your study material.  Be are and only use a few.  One course, one review book.  I think it matters less which ones you choose and more that you have plan and use the resources you chose.  I see a lot of people paralyzed hoping between review books worried they may have missed something.  Of course your going to miss things.  There is just to much information.  On the other hand most of the good resources out there will give you more than enough information to get you to pass.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I take my PANRE in a month and have been studying daily for about 2 months so far. I work in subspecialized medicine and would bet money I won't see a single question from my specialty on the exam.   Sticking to 3 resources is a good idea- I am always amazed by the people that have tons of books, videos, live conferences, etc- There is no way I have time to do all that! My top 3 would be

 

1. Anything from John Balinski / CME 4 life. He is very engaging and is not simply reciting facts to memorize. He has tons of tricks to help you actually retain and understand the information and most importantly it is not painful to watch. I personally have utilized the dvd set and on demand videos because I prefer to study slowly in my free time but I have seen him in person and I am certain that his conferences are fantastic as well. He often speaks at other conferences and offers fantastic discounts on his products there.

 

2. Brian Wallace's Physician Assistant Exam Review Podcast: There is really no reason not to do this. I listen every day on the way to/from work as well as in between OR cases when I can. You spend tons of time in the car, waiting for your kids, etc and this is a great FREE resource. I use this to help reinforce the material from #1. It is essentially effortless studying. It covers the entire blueprint, and did I mention it was free?? He is just about to start a "season 2" of the podcast and I plan to continue to listen even after I pass my PANRE to keep the info fresh.

 

3. Old practice tests: specifically CME resources practice tests or PACKRAT tests. I think that these are most similar to the pance/panre. It helps you recognize what areas you need to work on and helps you practice getting OUT all that information you have been putting in. I think that Most of the review book question banks are too easy (although I have not personally tried O'Connell). I would purchase Kaplan or exam master if they were not so expensive. Quite frankly I think that ANY questions you can get your hands on are helpful- so get your hands on as many free/cheap test questions as you can.

 

 

I will admit- I am not a review book person. It is a sure fire way to put me to sleep. I am an auditory learner and my preferences in review materials definitely reflect that. They may be great for others but I just do not retain information that way! I have decided not to force myself to read review books just because other people like to study that way. Tailor your resources to what works for you :-)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I listened to the podcast a lot, I took the PANRE today. They seemed to ask the same question 3 times, and did that with another question 2 more times. Some of the Answers I knew because of my paramedic background and I don't recall my class ever covering this. Also They had a question regarding a surgical approach that I am not sure a PAC can even do.?

I have horrible anxiety and when I got there ...they rejected letting me take it because they had the wrong last name. The NCCPA has told them this multiple times in the last year. After the stress of that, I didn't feel stressed for the exam. I wouldn't say it was easy for me, but it didn't feel hard. I got most of my questions done early and marked some I was also unsure on. I reviewed some and - I also think they gave one trick question that I am kinda pissed about , bc I didn't think that was supposed to be the NCCPA style.

I wont know for 2 weeks. I don't know what to think. ( Most all of my experience is in Urgent Care and FP) - maybe that helped.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I just took PANRE and found out this Monday I passed. What a relief. 

 

I studied 1) the NCCPA comprehensive review book, 2) Lange Q&A, and 3) Brian Wallace's Physician Assistant Exam Review Podcast. Also used the 4 hours Hippo free trial. As Brain said above, I believe that the important thing is narrowing down the study materials, too many information out there, it's impossible for us to know all of them. We only need to know enough to pass the exam. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

I like the HippoPA stuff.

concentrate on whatever you feel are personal weaknesses. things like hematology/oncology/endocrine are common areas of focus.

Thank you- glad you've enjoyed it and it's been helpful.

 

I just took PANRE and found out this Monday I passed. What a relief. 

 

I studied 1) the NCCPA comprehensive review book, 2) Lange Q&A, and 3) Brian Wallace's Physician Assistant Exam Review Podcast. Also used the 4 hours Hippo free trial. As Brain said above, I believe that the important thing is narrowing down the study materials, too many information out there, it's impossible for us to know all of them. We only need to know enough to pass the exam. 

Congrats on passing. What were your thoughts on our review based on the 4-hour trial? Appreciate any feedback.

 

Thanks,

 

Lida Hasbrouck

Product Manager, Community Education
 
Follow us on Twitter and Facebook for our excellent FOAMed
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...

I take my exam tomorrow. I used the NCCPA book, and thepalife.com for practice tests. it was only about 65 bucks and came with a lot of stuff. I also get headaches when it rains, and am just off a locum on the coast, and I get eye problems with the screen

thepalife.com comes with a podcast ( I don't use iTunes so I can only listen on the pc) - but this lets me fold laundry or do dishes while not putting strain on my eyes.

I also listen to the PA podcast by Brian Wallace - dang this site will never let me put a link on

just google physician assistant exam review - you will find it,

The Nccpa site says I will have to wait about 2 weeks to know if I passegg.d. I haveq been doing family medicine the last year, but I don't see kids do to ptsd ( ex-paramedic)  so I am 16 and up. I worry about that ,and the obgyn as my last place all ref out.

I am getting in the high 60s ( 68%) at my worst and low 80's ( 81%) on the pa life practice exams. I am past my deadline and am on a 2nd extension. I have severe test anxiety so I am horrified. My locum was a nightmare. My car was shot, I had a stalker, Ive had to move 3 times in 1 year, a RN died, - anything that could have gone wrong did. I cant study for an exam and be called down the hall at the hotel by the management to do CPR in another room, and walk my dog with a stun gun, then chill out to learn some medicine. Currently I am in a camp ground in hiding from the stalker / ex patient. I didn't want to take the time to move when I needed that time to study. I hope I pass. I am very stressed out. I get the worst scores in the morning when I am really trying and worried about passing. Now I take a test at 10pm when I am so tired I don't give a shit anymore and I cant even see - I get an 81%, I know its stress. I have not seen my husband in 3 years because he is in Ireland ( I'm American , He is Irish) I came back to America to pay off my student loans. I'm scared not passing means I wont see him for even longer ( he cant visit, my father in law has cancer) .... so ya know , no pressure... ha ha (EDIT - PASSED PANRE)

Rookiejay. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry when I read your (first) post. sounded like my life which has been falling apart for the past 1 1/2 years. Literally all this stuff happened one month after another. in the past 1+ year Youngest daughter (27) who had 2 Bowel Obstruction with sigmoid Volvulus - able to be decompressed while surgery was planned, extended surgical course because of post-op ileus and an older daughter getting married (big wedding planned way in advance of all these emergencies). 2 weeks after youngest daughter got out of the hospital. The surgical daughter promptly became pregnant (at least let your body heal !!!). Then in the second month of pregnancy this daughter contracted Lyme disease (admitted to hospital for 4 days and d/c'd home with a PICC line. Generally difficult pregnancy (baby seems OK at now three months old, although a teribble crier), About the same time as the 1St volvulus, my mother was dx'd with CHF (no previous cardiac hx) while we were on a cruise ship with them, emergently disembarked, 5 days in a hospital in St, Thomas in critical condition. (Meanwhile she also has mild dementia, which has now progressed to moderate 1 1/2 years later). 3 days after we got her home safely from St Thomas, my 4th grandchild was born 6 weeks early and my DIL was too freaked out by the NICU so I sat with him anytime I wasn't workimg so he wouldn't be alone. This summer when I was really ramping up to study, we were told mom has B-cell lymphoma ( based on lung biopsy). The flow cytometry was questionable but we had all sorts of tests lined up immediately, including PET scan and virtual colonscopynas as well as an appt with a top oncologist. So I lost a full month studying taking care of mom, then promptly developed LLL pneumonia myself, took 10 days to feel better (and had to work) and during that time developed some form of acute new onset floaters impairing my right eye vision and the ophthalmologist saw me twice in 12 days because I was having searing burning pain , r/o any retinal issues (although I do have advanced aged related macular degeneration) -I have since decided myself it is related to my UC (which is calm now), so having terrible vission issues (bright light, computers, work environment is awful, my level of function is affected and I even had to postpone my test by 2 weeks till they found me a center with a room with an adjustable light. Reading has been a real strain. My test is in 3 1/2 weeks and I think I'd feel just as unprepared if I postponed it another wee or two. Time to study intensely for the next 3 weeks (using CME4life streaming video, Andrew Ried's video to supplement since he covers EVERY blueprint topic and it's straightforward), using Pancemaster questions, also THEPALIFE questions and Brian Wallace podcasts in the car )(and his questions which are basic questions and concepts to help cement them in my brain). At 60 y/o and this being my 3rd PANRE, my memory is shot, I wish I could line my brain with super glue and flypaper, so maybe something wouls stick then :-( . Trying to buy someone's KAPLAN q bank for one month but don't even know if I'll have enough time, I used CME Challenger.....Biggest waste of my time and money. I keep arguing with them that their questions are nor representative of PA's, every time I use their site I want to give up, it's that ridiculous. I want to learn what's necessary, I don't think extraneous information which would not be put into my test is helpful and that's how I feel about CMEchallenger. I would never recommend it, when I tell them I'm unhappy with the course all I get is a lot of emails, sometimes phone calls saying we'll review it with you,it's a great course etc. etc, very placating but unhelpful and not "hearing" what I am saying and every time I use it, I feel like I am going to fail. That is not how a good website should make you feel. Just warning others, They have a hard sell if you use theirs trial.

Thanks for letting me 'rant', I seriously need advice, especially how to control the panic while studying and the fear I'll freeze and panic when I get in there. Study tips also accepted although a little late in the game. I try to study a topic a day with 2 lectures than as many questions as I can. Problem is I forget it a week later if it wasn't already familiar to me.

 

Have a great holiday weekend and be safe :-)

 

All suggestions, prayers,honest evaluation about the exam are welcome . (I've only ever taken pathway ll and have been a PA for 19 years in one specialty. I have begun to have panic attacks while studying and my biggest fear is that I will freeze during the test and Lose important time or fell like I don't know anything, even though I do. But People I know have taken the exam honestly say it was much harder than they expected, one colleague said it was like a subspecialist exam and these are PAs who are not as specialized as I am. Thanks for any reassurance or advice (PS. I am not a. Ok review studier foepr 2 reasons 1) it goes through me like mental diarrhea ans 2) The eye issues have mapped it impossible to read from books, the strain is exhausting and torturous. Thanks for listening!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

I just took the PANRE on Monday and got my results today that I passed. 

I used the following to prep: 

 

1. Pance Prep Pearls by Dwayne Williams- Its new, up to date and easy to follow.

2. PANCE/PANRE Questions - also by Dwayne Williams - challenging but applicable

3. John Belinski / HippoPA / USMLE / Podcast by Brian Wallace - video / audio lectures to supplement my reading

 

Prepped for 3 months, almost daily during my lunch breaks, after the kids were in bed, listening in the car - where ever I could fit in study time. Mind you I work full time in pediatrics and married with three small boys 5 and under.

 

I passed with a considerable margin and top percentiles for all of my subject areas. 

 

I don't see many people mentioning the Dwayne Williams books but I thought they were phenomenal. Good luck to everyone studying and awaiting scores. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

I used the HIPPO ED emergency medicine review course last year to do test for the EM CAQ. HIPPO education is without a doubt the best of all the programs out there. Their stuff is bare bones, down and dirty and comes with tons of clinically relevant material and pearls. The speakers are really engaging, energetic and appear to be real subject matter experts. You'll get high return on your investment with them. I assure you that I don't work for them in any way, I was just totally impressed with their material and how they presented it. I crushed the EM CAQ and had no stress or anxiety taking it. I imagine that their PA prep course is the same value

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

Welcome to the Physician Assistant Forum! This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. Learn More