In these unprecedented times, it is not certain when exactly we will finish rotations and be able to sit for the PANCE exam. Having said that, I created this preparation plan with the assumption that I will finish my last rotation during the first week of February. If this is the case, I would plan to take the PANCE about 5 to 7 weeks later which would be mid-late March. 

Using the information from our PACKRAT taken last year, I was able to pick the top 4 topics that I struggled with: Cardiology, Pulmonary, EENT, and Hematology. The PANCE blueprint provides the exact percentage breakdown of each of the topics tested on the exam. Cardiology is 13% and Pulmonary is 10%, placing these two topics at the top of the list of heavily weighted items on the PANCE. Therefore, I have been focusing on these two larger categories since the beginning of clinical rotations. I have been using the Rosh Rapid Review Physician Assistant book as a guide to ensure that I am doing a high yield review of each of the sub-topics on the NCCPA blueprint. I have been able to finish the entire Cardiology and Pulmonary chapters, and have been working my way through the EENT and Hematology chapters during down time on my rotations. Additionally, I try to do Rosh Review practice questions (approximately 15-25 questions per day or every other day) to keep my mind fresh and always in a testing mode.

Studying for each rotation’s EOR exams have certainly been helpful in preparing for the PANCE. While some rotations are more specific (i.e. psychiatry, pediatrics) my recent rotation (internal medicine) and my current rotation (family medicine) are all-encompassing and cover a wide range of topics. My final rotation, emergency medicine, will also cover a lot of high yield information that is sure to appear on the PANCE.

Besides continuing with the methods used so far, I plan to refine my studying and preparation after rotations end. In the remaining 5-7 weeks I plan to use my PANCE Prep Pearls as a guide for covering the sub-topics listed on the NCCPA blueprint. Additionally, I would aim to do Rosh Review and Kaplan questions that align with the material that I am studying. For instance, if the first week is dedicated to Cardiology, I plan to cover all topics in the PANCE Prep Pearls review book and to do as many accompanying Cardiology questions as possible. In addition to self-studying, I am looking forward to the group session with Dwayne. Williams that the program has set up for us.

Ideally I would like to save the last week or so to be dedicated solely to taking a couple of full length practice exams. This will allow me to become accustomed to sitting for the full five hours of 300 questions, divided into the 60 minutes per 60 questions time blocks. There is an account that I follow on Instagram called “all_things_pa_c” that provides a full length practice test for purchase. I would also look into purchasing other full length practice exams from Rosh and NCCPA if time allows for it.