PennPA4 Posted September 18, 2011 Share Posted September 18, 2011 Hey everyone I am new to this forum. I will be taking PANRE for the first time next year. Pretty nervous. 1. I wanted to know besides regular books (Lange and Kaplan and Current) and practice text from NCCPA, what other resources would you recommend. I am planning to go to the review course also. What is the best one out there for PANRE - Certified Medical Educators Review Course vs "Chicago Course"....? 2. I have been in Ortho for the past 4 years and kind of afraid of taking General PANRE test. Any advice? Thank for the help in advance Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobuddy Posted September 18, 2011 Share Posted September 18, 2011 Hi - I just took my 2nd PANRE a few days ago. I attended CME Resources reviews for this PANRE and my previous one. The Chicago course is very intense and very long - and I think they do an okay job - but this time I was disappointed because it seemed they glossed over some things that they should have covered more in depth. They do a 2 hour lecture on "how to take a test" - and none of those hints would have helped for this PANRE. That being said - their instructors are very good and were for the most part "entertaining" and kept you awake. The practice tests that you take each night (120 questions each) are helpful. I am not sure I will do the Chicago course for the next time - but maybe ask me again in 5 years when I am starting to panic again. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crosby1 Posted September 18, 2011 Share Posted September 18, 2011 i took the PANRE a few weeks ago (for the 4th time in my career) and failed. i have never failed ANYTHING before, EVER. i was pretty shocked at the result. i took the surgical exam as that has been my specialty for the past 25 years. i studied from the zarbock/o'connell book and used their online pre and post-test question bank. i also took the online kaplan course. i would not recommend that at all. i thought it was a bit too basic and was aimed mostly toward first time PANCE examinees. i didn't get too much out of it. in general, i think the exam in its new format is not a fair assessment of what PAs should know. honestly, i couldn't tell which questions were surgical and which were medical. some of the questions used trade names for meds, some used trade and generic. there was no consistency at all. now i have the pleasure of re-sitting for the exam in 3 months and the honor of paying nccpa another $350 for that privilege. as far as i'm concerned, this is nothing but a money-making scam for this organization and i'm pretty sick of it. if you're going to require me to take your ridiculous exam, at least test me on what i know; not on what some test-writing committee thinks i should know. i know surgery...i don't know dermatology, anemias, psychiatry, headaches, etc. i do surgery, i know surgery. test me on that. i'm probably going to order the emory review course DVD set for $360 and sit through that. in addition, i'll do more online questions, perhaps with paeasy.com. i think the chicago course is a bit too much crammed in to a short period of time. i don't learn by sitting in lectures for 10 hours a day for 5 days in a row. by the end of the 1st hour, i'm looking to get out of the room. also, they claim a 97% pass rate, but they never follow up and ask if you've passed or failed. so i'm not sure where they come up that number. also, it's pretty expensive...$800 for the course, you have to fly to one of the cities where they're giving it, pay for a hotel, eat, etc. it could be ~ $2500 by the time you're done, and there's no guarantee you're going to pass. as far as i'm concerned, there's really no way to efficiently prepare for this exam. i mean, you can't learn ob/gyn and neurology and dermatology and hematology in a few months. oh, and don't waste your money on the nccpa "practice tests". it's just a bunch of questions; you don't even get a review of what questions you got right or wrong. you just get a result telling you what areas you need to concentrate your studying on. really nccpa??? that's the best you can do for $35??? save your money go have a few beers with your friends instead. all i can say is "good luck". yeah, i'm bitter about this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmj11 Posted September 18, 2011 Share Posted September 18, 2011 Well, I'm taking it in a few hours (tomorrow morning to be exact). I've never been much of a cram-er or even a studier for that matter. Even in PA school, I just could not get in to marathon study sessions. I do it in an unorthodox way. I don't ever try to memorize anything. I try to learn broad concepts so I can figure things out on the fly. Etc. Psychosis, too much dopamine, Parkinson too little (an why neuroleptics or antipsychotics can cause a Parkinson's type syndrome), anxiety reduced activity at the GABA site. Depression . . . well you know about serotonin and norepinephrine. I figure out the EKG placements on the body so the positive deflections (or negative) tell me which dimension of the heart as where the problem is. Rather than memorizing what illness can cause a lung Transudate Vs Exudate, I figure out how each process works and then I can figure out which disease state does which (increase capillary pressure-increasing the gas flow in my TRANS Am-or increased capillary permeability in inflammation-Moses got gout during the EXOdus ). So, I end up tearing pages out of my books that deal with broad concepts and try to get to know them. I stick them in my hip pocket and glance at them between patients, going down a hill on a bike or out in a Kayak. The only book I’ve used for this test is Van Rhee and it looks like a roll of toilet tissue after just three weeks since I started. This system has always worked for me but tomorrow may be an entirely different story. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KCMA79 Posted September 19, 2011 Share Posted September 19, 2011 I just joined the seemingly long line of those not passing the current PANRE. This was my 5th PANRE passing the previous 4 with no probs. I used the AAPA book, NCCPA practice exams and just general review to prepare. None of this prepared me for the waaaay in depth and zebra questions on the current PANRE. One infectious disease question dealt with a disease in which <50 cases a yr are reported to CDC. I just didn't fail I went down in flames. My score was 52% lower than my score on the 2005 PANRE!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mnharrison Posted September 20, 2011 Share Posted September 20, 2011 I have also failed the PANRE for the 1st time in June. I am preparing to take it again in November and need to know if anyone knows of any study groups in NY, specifically close to long island. I find I do better with other people asking me questions and I think it would add flavor to the studying. Im desperate to try all avenues of studying as this will be my last opportunity to take the recert. uuuuuggggh! please help! thanx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
celtic33 Posted September 20, 2011 Share Posted September 20, 2011 good luck. when you find the answer to your question, let me know ... I failed last week. I am still in shock. I have never come close to failing anything. This was my 2nd recert. I do surgery but opted for the adult medicine as I have done more specialized surgery (Cardiac, vascular). I don't think the test was non-passable (missed it by about 5 questions) but there were some insane questions. I wrote the AAPA and NCCPA and have recieved NOTHING in return. For those that failed, please try to contact them. They need to know that we are pissed. I have 3 months to study and pass or lose my job Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mari Posted September 21, 2011 Share Posted September 21, 2011 I agree 100% the NCCPA practice exam is a waste of $35 because they don't tell you which questions you missed, just the percentage of each category. I just failed for the first time in 25 years! i am looking at doing board rview...which ones are best? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crosby1 Posted September 21, 2011 Share Posted September 21, 2011 i have no idea which ones are best. i took the online kaplan course last month in preparation. i thought it was a waste of time. pretty disorganized from my perspective. no online questions included in the $550 price; had to pay an additional $40 to get cme credits. i didn't get much out of it at all. right now, i'm looking at buying the emory PA review course on DVD. it comes with a 2 week log-in to exam masters questions. i'm also thinking about getting a 3 month subscription to paeasy.com for their question bank. i thought about going to the chicago course, but i think it's too much info crammed in to a very short period of time. i can't learn that way; that's just me. keep in touch...let me know what you're planning on studying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KCMA79 Posted October 10, 2011 Share Posted October 10, 2011 I just signed up for the Chicago Course (CME Resources). Has anyone attended since the PANRE change in June, and the resulting mess, and has this been discussed by the people presenting the course? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ridiculopathy Posted October 11, 2011 Share Posted October 11, 2011 after much research, today i bought the latest edition of kaplan's "master the boards usmle step 2 ck". it's copyrighted in 2011. i wanted something more comprehensive than the aapa book that was more up to date. i plan on buying the new version of the aapa book later. i'm also looking in the umdnj online review course. this will be my first panre, i have to take it next year. i did a lot of research looking for study material. there really isn't good guidance. and after the recent panre drama, it scared me. so let's hope it goes well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ridiculopathy Posted October 11, 2011 Share Posted October 11, 2011 after much research, today i bought the latest edition of kaplan's "master the boards usmle step 2 ck". it's copyrighted in 2011. i wanted something more comprehensive than the aapa book that was more up to date. i plan on buying the new version of the aapa book later. i'm also looking in the umdnj online review course. this will be my first panre, i have to take it next year. i did a lot of research looking for study material. there really isn't good guidance. and after the recent panre drama, it scared me. so let's hope it goes well. update i looked at the kaplan book, it sucks. not the review i was looking for. i chose it last minute because i had a coupon from barnes & noble that was about to expire. i'm going to return it and get "step up the medicine" (though it doesnt have a peds/ob/psych section) instead. so much for my crazy research. ha! if anyone knows anything better that's up to date, let me know. i've been in IM for 5 years. so i guess i'll choose adult medicine. does anyone know if radiology images are on the test? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KCMA79 Posted October 12, 2011 Share Posted October 12, 2011 i've been in IM for 5 years. so i guess i'll choose adult medicine. does anyone know if radiology images are on the test? I took the adult med. PANRE in mid Sept and it had about 6 images. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LHRLAX Posted November 2, 2011 Share Posted November 2, 2011 i took panre on friday and got results on monday morning i used Emory DVD and question and Exam Masters Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
c_jaros Posted November 30, 2011 Share Posted November 30, 2011 I took the panre last week and passed! Whew, I was worried from the posts I've read. I am in derm and have been since I finished school in 1999. I studied over several mos reviewing 1-2 systems a weekend and going over them during the week. I also spent 23 hrs on EXAM MASTERS, which was more difficult then the actual test. I also did an excellent review course with Michael Nowak of Certified Medical Educators, Inc. He is amazing, extremely bright and able to teach. My suggestion is to set up a schedule to review everything in the review books and take multiple tests to get you in the mode. Don't panic, it's passable...as I said I've only done derm and I managed it. Best of luck everyone! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swiss Posted January 14, 2012 Share Posted January 14, 2012 I'm curious Crosby1, were you one of the few that had their Fall scores amended and passed, or did you sit again? If you did sit, what was the best prep material for you. Based on discussions, I sound alot like you. Looking for wisdom and peace of mind as I prepare again..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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