Let me preface this by saying: Everyone has their own way of studying.
You have your flashcard dorks.
Your study guide fanatics.
Your color-coders.
Your crammers.
Your memorizers.
And many, many others and hybrids of the above.
I simply found a method that worked for me and thought I would share. Sometimes just seeing the way in which someone else prepares can be helpful in creating your own study routine. Think of this guide as a bunch of suggestions rather than a hard fast approach you need to adopt. Take the pieces that work for you!
When you first step into PA school, the PANCE seems like a universe away. I mean, let’s be honest, it’s basically all you can do to keep your head above all of the lectures, quizzes and exams in the beginning. But as it gradually creeps closer (think: clinical year), it becomes the only thing you can think about. Your sole objective. The Holy Grail. Forget graduation, all I want to do is pass the PANCE.
Thankfully, you are essentially studying for your PANCE from the moment you step into PA school whether you realize it or not. Officially speaking however (at least from my experience), studying for the PANCE begins with EOR exams.
See “My EOR Exam Study Routine (in 5 Steps)” blog to understand how I created my foundation for PANCE prep.
To recap: For each EOR exam, I would download the PAEA exam topic list and fill them out as study guides. From there, I made flashcards, utilized question banks, and kept to a fairly strict study routine. SO, when it came time to begin studying for the PANCE, I already had a plethora of material written up and ready to go.
The Set-up
I like simplicity and having all my information in one place. So to do that, I referenced the NCCPA PANCE Content Blueprint and my EOR exam study guides to create one MASSIVE study guide. The reason I decided to create a single PANCE study guide versus just going back and studying from my EOR study guides is because they differ enough that I didn’t want to waste time reviewing topics I didn’t have to.
This portion of your PANCE prep can realistically start anytime after your last EOR exam.
First, download the PANCE Blueprint here
and paste into a word doc. Like I did with my EOR exam study guides, I recommend keeping the original organization of the blueprint (i.e. Cardiovascular, Pulmonology, etc.), and typing each heading in underlined, bolded, and all-caps text so it's easy to jump from one body system to the next as you study.
Next, I transferred the information, topic by topic, from my EOR exam study guides into my PANCE study guide using the trusty ‘copy and paste’ technique. As I went through each topic, I dug out all of the flashcards I made for EORs, dumped them onto the floor, and attempted to retrieve the relevant ones. If I was unable to find a particular flashcard for a topic, I just made a new one right then and there. This part can be a little tedious, but as a fairly mindless activity, is easily doable sprawled out on the floor while watching Hulu and drinking a box—er, glass of wine.
The Study Schedule
A total must guys. If you don’t have a schedule to stick to, it’s likely you won’t cover everything you hope to.
I’m sharing my schedule with you, not because I think you should use it too, but because I want to explain how I made it and personalized it for me. Side note: The dates are obviously arbitrary for your use, but I kept them in place for inspiration purposes.
I began the “official” study process about 1 ½ months prior to my exam date. Towards the beginning, I liked to use my weekends as catch-up days (which typically turned into full-blown rest days if I’m honest).
The first half-ish or so of my study schedule involved reading my PANCE study guide one category at a time and completing related questions using whatever question bank I was feeling that day (Rosh Review, Exam Master, Smarty Pance, etc.). I included how many pages each content category was to determine whether I could do question bank practice questions on the same day or if I had to split it up into 2 days (anything over 15 pages was split into 2 days for my sanity’s sake). As far as the question banks went, I just did as many questions as I could that day. Nothing specific.
Once I had made it through my study guide, the second half of my study schedule encompassed primarily flashcards and practice exams from my question bank sources. Since I started with BIG ole’ pile of flashcards, I dedicated a few days right away to exclusively go through them. If you remember from my EOR study blog, I went through my flashcard deck pretty systematically:
I organized each card into ‘Know,’ ‘Sorta Know,’ and ‘Zero Clue.’ Once I had three different
piles, the ‘Know’ cards were stowed away. The other two piles were reviewed separately,
sorted once again using the same “3-pile strategy.” Eventually the ‘Sorta Know’ pile
disappeared completely, and I would be left with just a couple ‘Zero Clues’ to review by
exam day.
I alternated flashcard days with practice exam days. For the long practice exams, I split my allotted time into 2 days, giving myself plenty of time to review them too. And of course, if I had extra time in the day, I’d (surprise!) study a few flashcards too.
Lastly and MOST IMPORTANTLY…give yourself a break every once and a while. Holidays happen. Bachelorette parties happen. Let yourself enjoy those days! They can be a nice way to prevent complete and utter burn out and trust me, the studying will be there when you get back. On that same note, don't forget to give yourself a rest day before your exam. You earned it. And honestly, your brain will thank you for it. The PANCE itself is drainnnninggggg to say the least. Take a breath and relax the day prior so you go into the exam refreshed and ready to go.
TUES - 11/24: Cardiovascular (37 pages)
WED - 11/25: Cardiovascular Qs
THURS - 11/26: Derm (28 pages)
FRI - 11/27: Derm Qs
SAT - 11/28: Catch-up day
SUN - 11/29: Catch-up day
MON - 11/30: Endocrine (18 pages)
TUES - 12/1: Endocrine Qs
WED - 12/2: EENT (19 pages)
THURS - 12/3: EENT Qs
FRI - 12/4: GI (43 pages)
SAT - 12/5: GI Qs
SUN - 12/6: Catch-up day
MON - 12/7: GU (9 pages) & Qs
TUES - 12/8: Heme (18 pages)
WED - 12/9: Heme Qs
THURS - 12/10: ID (11 pages) & Qs
FRI - 12/11: MSK/Rheumatology (20 pages)
SAT - 12/12: MSK/Rheumatology Qs
SUN - 12/13: Catch-up day
MON - 12/14: Neuro (19 pages) & Qs
TUES - 12/15: Psychology (13 pages) & Qs
WED - 12/16: Pulmonology (24 pages)
THURS - 12/17: Pulmonology Qs
FRI - 12/18: Renal (13 pages) & Qs
SAT - 12/19: Reproductive (38 pages)
SUN - 12/20: Reproductive Qs
MON - 12/21: Start 50% flashcards
TUES - 12/22: Finish 50% flashcards
WED - 12/23: Start ‘SmartyPance Practice virtual PANCE’ (300 Qs)
THURS - 12/24: Finish ‘SmartyPance Practice virtual PANCE’ & review
FRI - 12/25: Start 50% flashcards
SAT - 12/26: Finish 50% flashcards
SUN - 12/27: ‘RoshReview Practice PANCE #1’ (155 Qs) & review
MON - 12/28: Flashcards
TUES - 12/29: Start ‘SmartyPance Practice PANCE Exam #1’ (225 Qs)
WED - 12/30: Finish ‘SmartyPance Practice PANCE Exam #1’ & review & Flashcards
THURS - 12/31: Flashcards
FRI - 1/1: Start ‘ExamMaster Practice PANCE’ (300 Qs)
SAT - 1/2: Finish ‘ExamMaster Practice PANCE’ & review & Flashcards
SUN - 1/3: Flashcards
MON - 1/4: RoshReview Practice PANCE #2 (155 Qs) & Flashcards
TUES - 1/5: Flashcards
WED - 1/6: Start ‘SmartyPance Practice PANCE Exam #2’ (225 Qs)
THURS - 1/7: Finish ‘SmartyPance Practice PANCE Exam #2’ & review & Flashcards
FRI - 1/8: RoshReview Practice PANCE #3 (155 Qs) & Flashcards
SAT - 1/9: Flashcards
SUN - 1/10: Flashcards
MON - 1/11: Rest day
TUES - 1/12: PANCE
The Wait
I think this was genuinely the worst part of the entire process for me. I wish I could give you the magic secret to not drive yourself crazy during this period, but reality is, you’re probably going to be anxious no matter what. All I can say is YOU DID IT. No matter your results, you proved to yourself that you are capable. True relief may not come until you open your score, but at the very least, try to use this waiting time to reward yourself and relax a bit.
To everyone going through this process: I know it’s hard. And it seems like it will never end. But I promise there is a super duper rewarding light at the end of this long dark tunnel!! Stay focused. Give yourself some grace every so often. And GOOD LUCK!!!
- Taylor