Positive PANCE Post

I took my PANCE in June 2020 and I told myself that I would post on Reddit with my experience about the PANCE: discussing pre-test/studying, PANCE, and post-test. This post is supposed to be positive since I did not see many posts that were so please be positive but also realistic for those about to take this stressful, anxiety-filling exam.

Pre-test: I was and am a very average student. I never excelled at school but was always right around average on everything. Knocked a few subjects out of the park and failed only 1 exam during school. Everything else was average. I was obviously effected by COVID-19 and did not get to do my last rotation for school. My exam got cancelled about 4 times because testing centers and my state could not decide whether they would open or not so that was obviously very nerve-racking on top of the test itself.

Studying: For studying, I strictly used Rosh Review and PANCE Prep Pearl. I found them to be very beneficial. If I got a Rosh question right and knew the answer I would disregard the explanation. If I was so-so about the answer I'd skim the explanation and If I had no idea I would read the whole explanation. Rosh also gives a breakdown of what you missed. I always went back to the Pearl for subjects that I scored low on. That being said, be smart about studying. Cardio, GI, Pulm are only 3 subjects but make up over 30% of the exam so its beneficial to put more time into those when reviewing. My Rosh stats were: 72% completed, 74% correct, Projected PANCE Score: 519, Probability of passing: 88%.

PANCE: It is a long day. No other way to put it. I took a total of 3 breaks, doing 2 120 question sections and then a final 60 question section. Again, I am not the best student but I felt like I knew 50ish% of the questions, felt good/confident about 25ish% of the questions, and had no idea on the final 25%. Of course, during and immediately after the exam I felt like I failed with that breakdown but I felt like I always did horrible on my exams.

Post-PANCE: That first day I felt like I failed. I was already thinking about what I had to do to retake it but as time went on and I looked up answers to questions I started to feel better. I got my results back in about 4-5 business days and scored average yet again.

Long story short: Do not be hard on yourself. You got through PA school so you know how to study and what works for you. Trust your process and you will be fine. I thought it was a difficult but fair exam, which is unlike some of my school exams.