How to Pass the PANCE

[PassPance2019]

I thought it was important to make this post because I see this mistake being made often.

I made the mistake of underestimating boards. The first time I took the PANCE, I did some mild reviewing and a ton of practice questions. This is NOT the way to study. I failed it was the biggest disappointment. But I dusted myself and got into some hard core studying. Below is how I prepared to take it the second time.

1. Not everybody can study for the PANCE in a few weeks. So if you need more than 2-3 weeks. TAKE IT!

2. STUDY STUDY STUDY!! I used PANCE PREP PEARLS the most. It literally has everything. My advise is to know it cover to cover. I don't care if it is in a chart, bold font, normal font, or off to the side. KNOW IT. Make note cards!

3. If you can afford it (My school sent us a discount code): Use Rutgers Review Course. It was very comprehensive and helped me to focus on what was important. The lecturers were all great. They provided so much useful info that I didn't fully understand in school. 

4. Questions: I used Rosh Review for supplemental questions just to make sure I was understanding the material. You can literally use any trusted QBank. Rutgers had some pretty good questions at the end of each lecture.

5. Supplemental: I also purchased the CME4Life lectures. I used the notecards as well (I borrowed the cards, but I believe they are on quizlet). He does a great job of simplifying information, differentiating similar topics (which is popular boards), and providing acronyms. I would not use this alone but it was great with bringing everything together. He has great test taking pointers like knowing triads and how to distinguish what test writings want you to focus on in the stem. 

FIRST MONTH AND A HALF: I started by doing 2-3 topics a week. Listened to the Rutgers review, studied the section in PANCE PREP PEARLS, made note cards, did practice questions on Rosh. Every couple of days I would re-review the note cards from all the sections I had done so far just to keep the info fresh. I literally studied like it was my job. 8-5. I am a parent of two so timing was crucial to me! Be sure to do something for yourself every once in a while to stay sane!

LAST MONTH AND A HALF: I reviewed PANCE PREP PEARLS, listened to CME4Life lections, used CME4Life note cards (1 week). The next week and half I listened to some of the Rutgers lessons again, studied PANCE PREP PEARLS, used my notecards and the CME4Life note cards.

I took the NCCPA practice and passed! Only one section was below. IF YOU DO NOT PASS THE NCCPA PRACTICE TEST....POSTPONE! Study for another 2-4 weeks and take a different practice test. I hear the PANRE practice exams are similar to the PANCE ones. 

I had two more weeks to study so I focused on really knowing PANCE PREP PEARLS. Retook some of the Rutgers Review quizzes.

The day of the test I was super nervous. I marked over 70 questions in all. I left feeling like I did better than the first time. A week later I got my score and it was OVER 200 points higher! 

MORAL OF THE STORY: You have to know some fine details for the boards so you cannot just gloss over with studying. You cannot simply do practice questions. You REALLY have to study and know as much as possible. Please don't give up! You don't have to be the best test taker to pass this test. You just have to know how to study for it. 

[trawls007]

Did you take the PACKRAT and EOR exams at your school? If so, how did your scores compare to your first PANCE? Did you find your weaknesses were similar?

 

 

[PassPance2019]

3 hours ago, trawls007 said:

Did you take the PACKRAT and EOR exams at your school? If so, how did your scores compare to your first PANCE? Did you find your weaknesses were similar?

 

 

I didn’t find them to be predictive at all for the first pance. After really pouring over the notes the second time I actually did better in everything than I did on the PACKRAT. 

[LexPAdams]

Do you think Kaplan review course is as helpful as the Rutgers review course? And which cme4life lectures did you purchase? 

[PassPance2019]

On 5/28/2019 at 10:10 AM, LexPAdams said:

Do you think Kaplan review course is as helpful as the Rutgers review course? And which cme4life lectures did you purchase? 

Not sure! The Rutgers worked for me because it was all online so I could self pace and rewatch if needed. I got the “demystifying boards 11 videos” one. Not sure about the actual name!