ShakaHoo Posted January 3 Share Posted January 3 Just finished my 5th set of questions for the PANRE-LA. I have done relatively well overall. My feedback would be there are several questions, where after reading the explanations, I still disagree with the answer. It would be nice if we were able to offer feedback, or at least defend our answer (even if the score doesn't change). Overall I have enjoyed the format, explanations, and experience. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator ventana Posted January 4 Moderator Share Posted January 4 agreed just like the panre some of it is outdated... and please explain why I need to answer peds questions when I don't see peds (much bigger issue here) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator rev ronin Posted January 4 Administrator Share Posted January 4 9 hours ago, ShakaHoo said: My feedback would be there are several questions, where after reading the explanations, I still disagree with the answer. It would be nice if we were able to offer feedback, or at least defend our answer (even if the score doesn't change). There was a feedback mechanism on the pilot program. If it's been taken out, that's unfortunate. I recall one question on the pilot exam (I've mentioned it here before) where the "correct" answer was to give a benzo to a minor c/o anxiety with stable VS and otherwise unremarkable presentation. I raised quite a bit of a stink about that question through the listed channels. There were a number of others where information was presented in a nonsensically disjointed way, e.g. "Here are your lab results, what physical examination are you doing?" and I would like to think that the criticism of the pilot participants weeded out a lot of that nonsense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sas5814 Posted January 4 Share Posted January 4 I haven't started this quarter's questions yet. For the most part I have found them to be pretty strait forward with a few odd questions and one or 2 I disagreed with or, at best, were subject to some varying opinions and didn't lend themselves to a "correct" answer. They also haven't made any information available, as near as I can tell, about what a passing score is. Its possible they don't know yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kyoung1 Posted January 4 Share Posted January 4 You can see your interim score by going to PANRE-LA Progress/Launch. Lower on the page there are other menu options. Choose "Score Status" It will give you your current score, passing score and average score. 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sas5814 Posted January 5 Share Posted January 5 (edited) so I started this quarter's questions having done just fine before this and the questions have gotten bad. There are questions that are pretty obscure and do not include normal values for some less common lab tests making the questions challenging. There are some pretty esoteric questions. Then you get whiplash because you get a couple that are so basic you are looking for the trick. Then the ones that make me grind my teeth. "What is the next thing that should be done" and 3 of the 5 answers are all appropriate but if you pick the "wrong" one....... One I flatly disagree with. I had to step away for a break because I was getting frustrated after missing too many where I didn't think I was wrong. Edited January 5 by Hemmingway Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swooshie1 Posted January 11 Share Posted January 11 So glad I read this thread ! I just finished this quarter's exam and did not do nearly as well as I have over the past year. Agree with everything stated thus far above, and apparently Rev, your feedback went nowhere ..... would definitely like to have a review process to dispute or argue validity of responses. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted January 11 Moderator Share Posted January 11 3 minutes ago, swooshie1 said: So glad I read this thread ! I just finished this quarter's exam and did not do nearly as well as I have over the past year. Agree with everything stated thus far above, and apparently Rev, your feedback went nowhere ..... would definitely like to have a review process to dispute or argue validity of responses. I had the same experience this quarter as well. A lot of the questions were wrong or completely out of the blue. If we all miss them, I assume there is some mechanism for throwing them out, like on pance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator rev ronin Posted January 12 Administrator Share Posted January 12 20 hours ago, EMEDPA said: If we all miss them, I assume there is some mechanism for throwing them out, like on pance. Unfortunately, enough people who read the books from 5+ years ago without any actual clinical experience will get the questions right enough. I've volunteered to help NCCPA vet questions, haven't got a call yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted January 12 Moderator Share Posted January 12 2 hours ago, rev ronin said: Unfortunately, enough people who read the books from 5+ years ago without any actual clinical experience will get the questions right enough. I've volunteered to help NCCPA vet questions, haven't got a call yet. The only person I know who got called to help write NCCPA exams is full time faculty and has not worked clinically in > 10 years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CornellSPA Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 Hi! Agree with above - there are some questions that clearly the answers do not match UpToDate. Also, I am not sure if a surgical PA signed off on some of the surgical questions! Currently on the Exam page--click on PANRE---click on score status it says the minimum passing score is 1150 and so far the average of all takers is 1259. Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reality Check 2 Posted January 17 Share Posted January 17 I have to start my first quarter of PANRE LA and am horribly discouraged reading all this. How are people who aren’t in the trenches allowed to write test questions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator ventana Posted January 17 Moderator Share Posted January 17 17 hours ago, Reality Check 2 said: I have to start my first quarter of PANRE LA and am horribly discouraged reading all this. How are people who aren’t in the trenches allowed to write test questions? it is not bad, easier the testing. Most are okay, some questions are stupid, but if you just focus on the PASS thats all that matters 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reality Check 2 Posted January 17 Share Posted January 17 I completed my first ever quarter of Testing today. I must say that whoever is writing these questions has not worn a stethoscope or touched a patient in quite a while. Yeah, I passed…. My soapbox of principles was very triggered though. I would seriously contest at least four of the questions I had today. The treatment plans were outdated, the steps in the treatment and diagnostics are completely out of date and one was just completely wrong based on my research of the question. Is there anyone to contact about these questions? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator rev ronin Posted January 18 Administrator Share Posted January 18 Just treat it like taking EMT recertification classes: Ask yourself "How would this have been answered 5-10 years ago?" and go with that answer. I still do EMT OTEP courses. Some have interesting takes on things, but most are rote wastes of my time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted January 19 Moderator Share Posted January 19 the most recent quarter had several questions with more than one(sometimes as many as 3) correct answers. I am 4 quarters in and "passing" , but not by a huge margin. That being said, I am not researching any of the questions. NCCPA touts this test as "walking around knowledge every PA should know". 27 years in, I should be at least average. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reality Check 2 Posted January 19 Share Posted January 19 If the questions were to be fair............ Several should have started out with the following: You are alone with the patient in a shack in the woods, 100 miles from anywhere and you have a Swiss Army Knife, a can of beans, a stethoscope and your own brain............. what would you do? Otherwise they are not clinically relevant in a realistic environment and do not reflect the current best practices in how one evaluates a patient and moves forward with diagnostics - assuming primary care as a basis. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted January 19 Moderator Share Posted January 19 some were super vague with multiple correct answers. The following is not a test question, but it might have been: A new patient in your practice is found to have DM type 2 with a blood sugar of 280, htn with a bp of 160/100, and hyperlipidemia with a cholesterol of 320. Which of the following is appropriate treatment (PICK 1): LISINOPRIL ATROVASTATIN METFORMIN 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShakaHoo Posted January 19 Author Share Posted January 19 34 minutes ago, EMEDPA said: some were super vague with multiple correct answers. The following is not a test question, but it might have been: A new patient in your practice is found to have DM type 2 with a blood sugar of 280, htn with a bp of 160/100, and hyperlipidemia with a cholesterol of 320. Which of the following is appropriate treatment (PICK 1): LISINOPRIL ATROVASTATIN METFORMIN This is close, but my question would be: What would be the most appropriate way to treat his new onset Type II DM: A) Diet, Exercise, Lifestyle changes. B) Metformin C) Januvia D) Refer to Endocrinology 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sas5814 Posted January 19 Share Posted January 19 40 minutes ago, EMEDPA said: some were super vague with multiple correct answers. The following is not a test question, but it might have been: A new patient in your practice is found to have DM type 2 with a blood sugar of 280, htn with a bp of 160/100, and hyperlipidemia with a cholesterol of 320. Which of the following is appropriate treatment (PICK 1): LISINOPRIL ATROVASTATIN METFORMIN This and the questions that simply didn't give enough information to make the "right" choice. We aren't supposed to discuss specifics so I won't but there were several that would have had obvious answers if enough information was provided. It makes me wonder if they intentionally give you inadequate information to see if you can guess "right". Information that would have been patently obvious if the patient was right in front of you. Derm questions that ask about treating a certain lesion should include a picture. I still remember a dermatologist telling me on the phone (when I was a student and my ER preceptor thought it would be amusing to have me call derm at home from the ER) "son...you can describe what you have all night and it means nothing compared to me taking a 5 second look." Then I got pimped about "what are the 4 true derm emergencies?" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted January 19 Moderator Share Posted January 19 Just now, Hemmingway said: "what are the 4 true derm emergencies?" we are out of botox the espresso machine is broken my pay got cut to 1.5 million/yr the jag is in the shop again. the red one, not the blue one. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SedRate Posted January 20 Share Posted January 20 On 1/19/2024 at 1:44 PM, Hemmingway said: Derm questions that ask about treating a certain lesion should include a picture. I still remember a dermatologist telling me on the phone (when I was a student and my ER preceptor thought it would be amusing to have me call derm at home from the ER) "son...you can describe what you have all night and it means nothing compared to me taking a 5 second look." Good lesson although I'm sure not the most fun lesson to learn firsthand. Similar lessons have been taught for wounds and fractures. That is if they even got X-rays or looked at the skin first... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator ventana Posted March 5 Moderator Share Posted March 5 Reviving thread. just finished this quarter. either I am getting dumber (possible) or these Q’s are getting a bit crazy. also enough with the childhood illness!! I have not seen a kiddo in like 2 decades!!!! we gotta get am IM/Geri board. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator EMEDPA Posted March 5 Moderator Share Posted March 5 This quarter had wacky questions, certainly not walking around knowledge. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reality Check 2 Posted March 6 Share Posted March 6 Makes me look forward to opening the next set of questions…. About like getting a root canal. Maybe I should not have signed up for this. Another sparkling vote of (no) confidence for NCCPA. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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