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How does PANCE go?


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That's how I remember it.

 

Each section is about 30 minutes and you can sign in and out after any of them. You have an aggregate time to finish, so your total breaks are about 30 minutes as I remember. I brought some food and drinks and left them in my car. Sometimes I just signed out and walked around the building to get the blood flowing again, I stopped every hour to 90 mins or so.

 

You couldn't bring in any paper -- they gave you these mini whiteboard things you could do calculations on if you wanted. 

 

The people sitting around you are taking all kinds of other tests -- computer certifications, etc. You were given sound suppressor headsets if you wanted to block out all sound. 

 

It wasn't a bad experience. Just relax and take some breaks, if only to stay calm and focused.

 

Good luck!

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Guest Paula

It's kind of like being in detention. You have to sign in and give them your id and sign your life away that you won't cheat.  You get a key to store your belongings in a locker.  Then you are frisked and your tattoos are looked at to make sure you have no answers hidden in them....(just kidding).  You cannot bring in any food or beverages. You sit in a sterile computer kiosk with many other people taking whatever test they are signed up for.  Then the clock begins.  The hysteria and anxiety is palpable from the people around you and the hair stands up on the back of your neck.  Click, click, click goes the computer as you take your test.  The sweat is rolling down your armpits and the room becomes dank. You don't dare leave your seat for fear the concentration you have built up will be ruined if you go to your locker.   Finally, the last question appears, click and done. 

 

  You drive home thinking you failed it.  The next day the test results are back, and voila you have not lost your job and are safe for another (now) 10 years. 

 

Signed: Test Anxiety

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It's kind of like being in detention. You have to sign in and give them your id and sign your life away that you won't cheat. You get a key to store your belongings in a locker. Then you are frisked and your tattoos are looked at to make sure you have no answers hidden in them....(just kidding). You cannot bring in any food or beverages. You sit in a sterile computer kiosk with many other people taking whatever test they are signed up for. Then the clock begins. The hysteria and anxiety is palpable from the people around you and the hair stands up on the back of your neck. Click, click, click goes the computer as you take your test. The sweat is rolling down your armpits and the room becomes dank. You don't dare leave your seat for fear the concentration you have built up will be ruined if you go to your locker. Finally, the last question appears, click and done.

 

You drive home thinking you failed it. The next day the test results are back, and voila you have not lost your job and are safe for another (now) 10 years.

 

Signed: Test Anxiety

Have you considered moonlighting as a novelist? ^_^

 

To the OP, I imagine it will be a similar environment/experience to the GRE exam you (may have) took at one of the Prometric Testing centers. Except longer, more rigorous, and focused on all the medical material you learn in PA school.

 

 

Sent from the Satellite of Love using Tapatalk

 

 

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It's kind of like being in detention. You have to sign in and give them your id and sign your life away that you won't cheat.  You get a key to store your belongings in a locker.  Then you are frisked and your tattoos are looked at to make sure you have no answers hidden in them....(just kidding).  You cannot bring in any food or beverages. You sit in a sterile computer kiosk with many other people taking whatever test they are signed up for.  Then the clock begins.  The hysteria and anxiety is palpable from the people around you and the hair stands up on the back of your neck.  Click, click, click goes the computer as you take your test.  The sweat is rolling down your armpits and the room becomes dank. You don't dare leave your seat for fear the concentration you have built up will be ruined if you go to your locker.   Finally, the last question appears, click and done. 

 

  You drive home thinking you failed it.  The next day the test results are back, and voila you have not lost your job and are safe for another (now) 10 years. 

 

Signed: Test Anxiety

 

Somewhat related to what Paula said ... A friend of mine who recently took the PANCE said someone sat next to her who also was taking the PANCE had some medical issue and they had to call the paramedics. All while they were telling everyone just ignore what is going on and continue taking your test. Is the PANCE that intense?!?

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Guest Paula

Have you considered moonlighting as a novelist? ^_^

 

To the OP, I imagine it will be a similar environment/experience to the GRE exam you (may have) took at one of the Prometric Testing centers. Except longer, more rigorous, and focused on all the medical material you learn in PA school.

 

 

Sent from the Satellite of Love using Tapatalk

LOL!  How much would it pay?  I was, at one time in my life, an art major.  But back in the '70s there were quite a few kooks on campus.  The one that did me in was the field trip to Minneapolis where the class stayed in an industrial loft apartment of a local artist.  I woke up to the artist sitting crossed legged with eyes closed and chanting  ohm..ohm..ohm.  For a small town girl growing up in a farm community I thought this was very strange so I ended up quitting the art major, became a dietitian and ultimately a PA.  Thank you kooky ohm artist. 

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LOL!  How much would it pay?  I was, at one time in my life, an art major.  But back in the '70s there were quite a few kooks on campus.  The one that did me in was the field trip to Minneapolis where the class stayed in an industrial loft apartment of a local artist.  I woke up to the artist sitting crossed legged with eyes closed and chanting  ohm..ohm..ohm.  For a small town girl growing up in a farm community I thought this was very strange so I ended up quitting the art major, became a dietitian and ultimately a PA.  Thank you kooky ohm artist. 

Kinda reminds me of this ... tiwN42k.jpg LOL

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Somewhat related to what Paula said ... A friend of mine who recently took the PANCE said someone sat next to her who also was taking the PANCE had some medical issue and they had to call the paramedics. All while they were telling everyone just ignore what is going on and continue taking your test. Is the PANCE that intense?!?

 

Yeah, I would chalk that up more to the person who took the test rather than the PANCE itself.....

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If you performed well in PA school and your school has a good PANCE pass rate you should not have much to worry about. (If you just squeaked by in PA school, then it is worth worrying and doing some extra prep.) People get themselves all tied up in knots over the PANCE, but it has an extremely high first time pass rate. It is broad, but probably not as deep as your end of rotation examinations.

 

It is also important not to get psyched out if you get a string of tough questions in a row. When you take a test of this length, you know there will be material on it that you will have no clue about. Don't sweat it and move on. You are not trying to score 100% - you are trying to show you know most of the stuff most of the time.

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  • 3 months later...

If you performed well in PA school and your school has a good PANCE pass rate you should not have much to worry about. (If you just squeaked by in PA school, then it is worth worrying and doing some extra prep.) People get themselves all tied up in knots over the PANCE, but it has an extremely high first time pass rate. It is broad, but probably not as deep as your end of rotation examinations.

 

It is also important not to get psyched out if you get a string of tough questions in a row. When you take a test of this length, you know there will be material on it that you will have no clue about. Don't sweat it and move on. You are not trying to score 100% - you are trying to show you know most of the stuff most of the time.

This was really helpful and encouraging> i take mine on the 18th of this month! im nervous!!

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