PANRE

PANRE and PANCE Prep: Test Taking and Critical Clinical Thinking

by Stephen · 0 comments

From the official Physician Assistant Certification and Recertification Exam Review Course. Upon Completion you should be able to:

  1. Describe the PANCE and PANRE “Item Blueprint”.
  2. Compare and contrast ”Norm-referenced” and “Criterion-referenced” examinations.
  3. Discuss “Passing Thresholds”.
  4. Discuss “computer-based” testing (CBT).
  5. List and describe common test-taking skills
    1. Familiarity with question formats
    2. Critical reading of questions and answers
    3. Answering questions in a timed environment
  6.  List and describe common test-wiseness skills
    1. Time-management techniques
    2. Error-avoidance techniques
    3. Deductive-reasoning skills
  7.  List and discuss methods to optimize “guessing” on standardized tests.
  8. . Describe methods to:
    1.  Select textbooks and study aids
    2. Improve one’s memory and enhance recall
    3. Create student-generated, focused learning guides

PANRE and PANCE Review: EKG

by Stephen · 0 comments

From the official Physician Assistant Certification and Recertification Exam Review Course. Electrocardiogram/EKG review by the amazing Carol Sadley, Med PA-C. Check out the complete collection of PANRE and PANCE review material HERE.

Suggested Review Books

How to Study for and Pass The Physician Assistant Recertification Exam (PANRE)

by Stephen · 0 comments

First of all let me give you a few truisms:

  1. Pass Rate Overall: 97%
  2. Pass Rate Guaranteed by those costly Exam Review Courses: 97%
  3. No matter how hard you study for the PANRE the consensus is this: When you leave the exam room you will feel like you failed.
  4. Don’t worry about if you have been in a specialty for the last 6 years. A study from 2004 proves that this is not a factor (Check it out Here)
  5. Sitting in that sterile, pin drop silent exam room for 5 hours is incredibly painful!
  6. When you leave the exam room you most likely will have passed.

You can choose one of three routes:

  1. Study extremely hard, take review courses, purchase review books, take a ton of review tests, take time off of work and away from your family to prepare excessively.
  2. Chose not to study at all and wing it.
  3. Take the middle ground and Eliminate the Non-Essential

The Process:

Whether you like it or not the time will arise when you have to recertify.

It is a big nuisance.

Unlike before when you were preparing for the PANCE you are no longer just a student with a bunch of responsibilities, you are a professional with a lot more responsibilities.

Also, for some reason even though we essentially have 4 goes at this exam the fear of failure still weighs heavily. I figure in this case it is less the fear of failure, but a fear of how this reflects on our proficiency as a PA. Also the fear of embarrassment among our colleagues.

Either way, now is a good time to be a PA. In 2012 we have some excellent options that will help you study and ace your exam with ease

Quick Points to Consider About the Exam:

Don’t wait till the last minute to register and pay for the exam: the cost is $350 to register and space is often limited at the nearest testing location. So register early, set a date and stick to it. Let me say that again: SET A DATE NOW, PAY AND WRITE IT DOWN ON YOUR CALLANDER!

Here is a summary of what you need to know (More detailed look here)

  1. PANRE is a computer-based, multiple-choice exam administered at one of 300 Pearson VUE testing centers
  2. The four-hour PANRE exam includes 240 multiple-choice questions administered in four blocks of 60 questions with 60 minutes to complete each block. There is a total of 45 minutes allotted for breaks between blocks
  3. You have a total of 4 attempts to pass
    • Two attempts in your 5’th yea
    • Two attempts in your 6’th year
  4. The Score is based on the number of questions you get right, not on the number of questions you missed: ANSWER ALL THE QUESTIONS!
  5. Lab values will always be available at the click of a button so don’t worry about that.
  6. You will receive your results usually in less than 2 weeks.
  7. Bad Case: you fail and have to wait 90 days to retake the exam.
  8. Worst Case: you did not Set a date early enough, have to wait 90 days to retake the exam and lose your certification in the process.

I will say it again so you don’t have to worry about this worst case scenario: SET A DATE NOW, PAY AND WRITE IT DOWN ON YOUR CALLANDER!

Review Options: Take the Middle Ground ELIMINATE THE NON-ESSENTIAL and look for the ZEBRAS

Steve Jobs once said:

You have to deeply understand a product to get rid of what is non-essential.

I think this is true as well in medicine. You have to deeply understand the human body, the physiology, treatment and diagnostic clues. This is what you learn in school and then later on as a practicing PA. After six years you have eliminated a good proportion of the non-essential. Unfortunately this is what the recertification exam is going to test you on.

So my first pearl of advice is this:

Eliminate the Essentials:  Yes you heard that right. What I mean by this is: Don’t waste your time studying things you already have a good working knowledge of. Look for the zebras!

Throughout the test you are presented with the Zebras and each one has a diagnostic clue. Know the Diagnostic Clue!

This is what I did:  Questions for 2 weeks! There are some very good condensed review books out there. These are the three titles I used. Honestly, the Lange Q&A book would have been plenty. I like purchasing the Swanson’s Family Medicine Review simply because I love the content and it really helps me with my practice.

Lange Q and A Physician Assistant Examination

Swanson’s Family Medicine Review

A Comprehensive Review for the Certification and Recertification Examinations for Physician Assistants

While taking the test I was constantly amazed how the content reflected that in the Lange Book! It really hit on those DIANGOSTIC CLUES!

If you absolutely must have more (Although I don’t think you need it)

It appears as though my wonderful professors at UMDNJ have put together a web based version of the PANRE/PANCE review course: It is reasonably priced at $289.00 and you can earn up to 27.25 hours of CME credit: You can also purchase standalone courses on a particular topic for just $79.

1. UMDNJ PANCE/PANRE REVIEW COURSE

Click Here to see a Demo of what you will get online! (P.S Carol Sadley taught me everything I know about EKG’s and Heart Disease… She is the best and it may be worth the course price for this alone.

2. NCCPA Practice Exams: Each Practice Exam includes 120 questions taken from the PANCE and PANRE test question banks. There is no better way to see what a “real” PANCE or PANRE will be like, and each exam costs only $35!

3. A great list of all the available PANCE/PANRE review courses can be found here through the AAPA web site. They are offered by more organizations than I have room to list in a single blog post.

Some Other Useful Links

More To Come:

I just finished taking the PANRE last year and have a secret stash of questions that I am going to share with you once I get it organized and uploaded… I am just getting started so stay tuned!

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Time Explored – Looking Back at 6 Years as a Physician Assistant

by Stephen · 0 comments

It has been 6 years since I began working as a Physician Assistant. I actually still can’t believe it, when the NCCPA sent me a letter reminding me that I had to recertify and take my boards I figured they must have miscalculated, yet it is true, I have been working 6 years in the field, and am 6 years older I suppose as well.

On this date, we as PA’s have to recertify, it is a “chance” to see how much we know or find out how much we have forgotten. In reality there is quite a bit of both, probably more of the latter.

This also has had me thinking a lot about my next six years, it is hard to sit there and study for 8 hour blocks and not think, “where will I be the next time I sit to take this exam” or “is this where I should be now”?

I absolutely love my job, I consider myself to be privileged in this matter, how many people can go to work each day and look foreword to being there? I am surrounded by wonderful supportive people, doing something I truly believe in. I am grateful for my work, for the fact that the organization I work for does not train us to be cogs in a wheel, gives us freedom to be more than just pushers of patients and providers of “numbers” and provides us with the autonomy we need to be able to do the kind of work I have always felt Pa’s were meant to do in the first place.

We are empowered to serve our community, care for our patients like we would care for our family, devise treatment plans that are patient specific, bring our ideas and our character to our job and the freedom to be “artists” each day. It is easy to get caught up in the complaints of any workplace, and maybe it is the economy that provides more gratitude for what we have, or maybe it is six years of more life lived, or maybe it is the community in which I work. A community that is fueled by long labor intensive work.

I am humbled by their love and commitment to family, I am jealous of their ability to find peace in the face of such adversity. I am reminded that as Seth Godin says in his wonderful book Linchpin, that “finding happiness in work is not about finding a job that matches your passion but about making your passion match your job”.

In other words, find something you enjoy well enough, and then bring your passion to it to transform that into something remarkable and meaningful.

You don’t have to get what you want when you want what you have!

So, as I prepare to take my test, and pour through medical review books and 3 cups of Seattle’s Best Coffee I am reminded of what it took to get here, reminded of the work I have left to do, and how time seems to go by without a moments notice. I hope that when I do this again in 6 years, I appreciate where I am and will still bring passion to my work.

I am reminded of a quote by Gandhi:

Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.

Too bad he didn’t have any advice on how to pass your board exams, or maybe that is it!