How to Study for the PANCE Exam: Tips from an Experienced PA-C

Passing the PANCE® exam: It’s the last milestone to reach in becoming a full-fledged physician assistant. Pretty exciting, right? But also nerve-wracking, as this transition from student to certified PA is a hurdle of questions: What is the best way to study? How long should you practice? And how do you prepare for the PANCE exam to pass with flying colors?

To help you prepare, we at Osmosis are excited to have Michele Neskey, PA-C. Michele is The Posh PA in our PANCE preparation webinar, where she shares effective study strategies, dos and don’ts, and a few practical learning tools for you to succeed on this important exam.

As an experienced Physician Assistant who graduated from the Yale PA Program and got recertified twice, Michele has all the inside scoop you need.

In this guide, find out what’s included in the exam, study tactics, and how to best prepare using effective learning tools for PANCE (and other certifications for your PA career)

Quick Recap: What Is the PANCE Exam?

When you graduate from an accredited physician assistant program, you can take the Physician Assistant National Certifying Exam (PANCE) to officially practice as a Physician Assistant (PA-C).

• It covers two categories of knowledge: diseases/disorders and tasks PAs perform
• It is five hours long
• It has 300 multiple choice questions segmented in five 60-minute blocks
• It costs $550
• It’s best to book early and register 90 days prior to graduation date.
• It has a min. score of 200, a max. score of 800, and the PANCE passing score is 350

You can learn all the essentials in this Complete Guide on PANCE!

7 PANCE Study Strategies: How to Best Prepare (and Pass!)

1. Set a Timeline That Works for You

This depends on what type of learner you are but also on your personal timeline.

It’s essential not to wait months and months after you graduate to take the exam. As Michele advises: “That information when you graduate PA school is as fresh as it's going to be. So establish a timeline that works for you”.

Some aspiring PAs start to prepare for the PANCE exam 30 or more weeks in advance; others, 8-10 weeks—it just depends on your learning style.

2. Focus Your Time on the Content Blueprint

Medical content categories with the highest percentage are the cardiovascular system (13%) followed by the pulmonary system (10%). Other categories, like hematology, take only 5%, which means there are going to be way fewer questions on them.

For example, if cardiology is not your strong suit, you should spend most of your time on that area. As Michele advises: “Focus on the bigger components of the exam, [like] cardiopulmonary, [...] gastrointestinal and nutrition, and then [...] move on to women and men’s health.”

Also, determine your strengths and weaknesses. What modules were easier for you in PA school than others? What topics did you struggle with? Focus on the ones you struggled with.

There's also task categories. Medical content comprises 95% of the exam, and questions are coded to the task areas. History taking and physical examination, using diagnostic and laboratory studies, and formulating the most likely diagnosis will have many questions on them.

One good idea is to take a pretest without opening a study book or preparing beforehand to see where you are. See the areas you really did well on, and see what areas you didn't do so well on—then you can modify your study tactics.

Overwhelmed by PA lectures and textbooks? Learn and retain faster with fun, short, easy-to-digest animated videos. Join Osmosis Prime today—also on iOS and Android.

3. Do as Many Practice Exam Questions as Possible

The more you learn how to break down a question and narrow down your answer choice, the better you will become at test-taking and the better you will be at getting the right answer. And remember, there's no penalty to guessing when practicing.

The most important thing that you should be doing to pass the exam is actually practicing taking the exam as closely as possible to the real deal. NCCPA has their own practice exams, so it’s a great idea to get those as well.

You can use Osmosis Prime as a resource, not just to practice PANCE exam questions, but also PANRE and any other future recertification. It helps reiterate what you're reading, asks you questions, and really gives you that retention you're looking for.

4. Use Time Blocking as a Study Strategy

When you start to prepare for your physician assistant certification exam, a great strategy that helps you get used to the real 5-hour exam is to use time blocking during your study.

Set a timer for certain amounts of time, 30 to 45 minutes, to complete your intense studying, then take a break. You can repeat this cycle a couple of times (maybe four or five), and then take a longer break. This tends to help you retain more information and reduce your stress level.

With Osmosis, you can test your knowledge with 16,000+ flashcards. Quiz yourself at optimal intervals for maximum retention. Choose your plan here.

5. Use Learning Tools to Your Advantage

The amount of resources that PA students have available right now to study for this exam is huge.

As Michele shares: “If I would’ve had Osmosis Prime when I studied for the PANCE, I wouldn’t have used anything else. They have 1,800 videos, notes with diagrams and tables, 16k premade flashcards, over 6,000 didactic case questions, and integration with Picmonic, which is another resource that uses Q&A and mnemonics that's connecting you to this information.”

Other resources you might find helpful are Pance Prep Pearls (one of the best books for PA students), SmartyPANCE, and Hippo PA.

Using too many resources might be very stressful and confusing. Pick the one or two that fits best to your learning style. If you're using Osmosis, you can also listen to the SmartyPANCE podcast. If you're more of a book person and you're using Pance Prep Pearls, you can supplement that with videos and things you see on Osmosis.

6. Don’t Compare Your Learning to Others

It’s probably not the study strategy you’d expect to hear, but just as in life and in PA school, if you start comparing yourself to what everybody else is doing, you're not going to focus on you and your learning process—which is the most important thing. If you're using one tool or timeline, and your friend is using different strategies, great! Just let that happen, and do what works best for you and your way to success.

7. Prepare for the PANCE with Osmosis Prime

One strong suggestion from Michele, which she exemplifies in the webinar, is to use medical learning resources as a supplement to what you have received in class—whether you’re still in a didactic year or graduated.

For example, if you had presentations and many notes, but you’re struggling with concepts, you can go to the 1,800 video library on Osmosis, which explains information in an interactive and fun way—in addition to other powerful study tools.

Also, Osmosis does have a Pance Prep section to cover any content-related weaknesses students may have. “If you're a video person, then what I would do is [...] utilize the videos and [...] the flashcards for topics that are very hard for you.”

Feel free to watch the entire webinar with Michele Neskey on PANCE preparation for more study strategies, dos and don’ts, and examples.

Kickstart your study with the best learning experience - Try Osmosis for free!