One year and two months till I take the PANCE-HELP

[Batman]

I am a few months away from transitioning to clinical rotations. Although I am excited I dont feel prepared. My school will have us take the PAEA exam shortly but I am concerned about my score. What would you recommend in preparation for the PANCE. As of now my school doesn't pay for Rosh Review. Should I go ahead and buy it on my own? I know there are several prep programs but Rosh seems to be the most common. I would love any feedback and to hear about any of your prep routines as well. Thank you!

Any random tips for storing all this information into the long term parts of my brain would be much appreciated as well.

[Meg232]

Hey! I just took the PANCE a few weeks ago, and I definitely felt prepared for it - and I passed!! I used Rosh Review all throughout clinical year, it is absolutely worth buying it. My class did some group discount thing so maybe you could look into that! 

We had End of Rotation exams administered by our school through the PAEA, and those were great for PANCE preparation. You don't quite realize it, but by studying for those exams you're directly studying for the PANCE.

I recommend downloading the PANCE Content Blueprint off of the NCCPA website and creating a template either with a chart/table or page headers for each topic. Add information as you go through your clinical year. Spend some time researching topics, and some time doing practice questions. As you get further along move away from topic research and focus more on the practice questions. The four weeks leading up to the exam I did solely practice questions. 

Podcasts were another great tool I used throughout clinical year! You get caught up reading so much information, it's nice to go back to what you're used to - someone explaining the information via audio. I used to listen in the shower, while folding laundry, sometimes on runs, and in the car. Awesome way to gain more information without having to sit at a desk. I mostly used Physician Assistant Exam Review, it's on apple podcasts and Spotify. He also has a website with all of his audio and written notes. 

Group studying was huge for me. Again, it tends to get lonely just sitting and reading to yourself in your head all year. It's great not only to talk out loud, but to use a friend to see where your information may be lacking. 

Overall, you're going to do great! A year is a LONG time to study!! Don't forget to take breaks and enjoy clinical year, I honestly believe that was the best year of my life.