What Is On The Pance Exam
The exam consists primarily of medical content, which makes up 95 percent of the test. The other 5 percent of content fits into the category of issues in professional practice. Although the PANCE test is generalized in nature, up to 20 percent of it may focus on topics in general surgery. Altogether, takers of the PANCE test must complete 300 multiple-choice questions, split into five 60-minute blocks, which short breaks in between.
How Hard Is The Pance
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Doctoral-level physician assistant training is a significant step in the right direction, but its not the end of your journey. A state-issued license is required before you may begin practicing medicine under the supervision of a supervising physician.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, you must pass the PANCE exam in order to obtain this license . Find out more about the PANCE test and how difficult it is to pass in the next sections of this article.
Is Rosh Review Harder Than The Pance
My main resource was Rosh Review, and I can confidently tell you that the questions are very similar to those on the PANCE. I even think I had some of the exact same questions during the PANCE. If anything, Rosh Reviews questions were a little harder and went a bit more in depth than the test questions.
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How Can Osmosis Help Me Succeed On The Pance
Osmosis has a rich body of resources to help you pass the PANCE with flying colors. In addition to thousands of videos, premade didactic flashcards, and High-Yield Notes, Osmosis helps you test your knowledge with 6000 didactic case questions. While the PANCE exam is a stressful undertaking, you can be sure that Osmosis will give you the confidence you need to tackle it effectively and pass.
When it comes to PANCE review, its important to be organized and use great resources. Hopefully, this blog post gave you the insight, confidence, and tips you need to succeed. See you on the other side!
PANCE® and PANRE® are registered trademarks of the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants . Osmosis is not affiliated with NCCPA.Try Osmosis today! Access your free trial and find out why millions of clinicians and caregivers love learning with us.
About Pance Physicians Assistant Test

Definition of PANCE is needed. The National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants administers the Physician Assistant National Certifying Examination, which is an essential step of obtaining your license to practice as a physician assistant.
However, they arent physicians, theyre just people who work in the medical field as clinical assistants. Its better to say that they operate in conjunction with and are overseen by fully licensed doctors who have earned their MD or DO degrees.
Physician assistants and doctors have considerable distinctions in terms of education, training, and work responsibilities, but one thing they both have in common is the requirement for professional license.
A licensure exam while not the same one as for doctors is required for physician assistants as well in order to be able to practice their profession. Those who pass the PANCE test can use the official title Physician Assistant-Certified, or PA-C, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Basic generalist understanding of various diseases and the information and abilities required to treat medical disorders are covered by the PANCE license exam. However, statistically speaking, the PANCE test has a high success rate, but you still need to study thoroughly in order to pass.
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Smarty Pance 225 Question Practice Exams
On Smarty PANCE, we have five 225 question PACKRAT style practice exams.
They are administered in “tutor mode,” which means you get immediate feedback on the questions you missed and are provided with the correct answer choice.
There is a rule of thumb in cognitive neuroscience that says if “you fire it, you wire it,” which basically means if you don’t correct a mistake at the moment you make it, you are likely to repeat it again.
Practicing and performing a self-evaluation in tutor mode allows you to gauge your strong and make corrections along the way.
Like the NCCPA practice exams, I recommend taking one practice test early or ideally before beginning your studies. You can take another exam two to three weeks out to reevaluate yourself.
During the examination, take the time to correctly “wire” your brain by referencing corresponding lessons on Smarty PANCE or making a list of topics to review later.
We have also created the “Virtual PANCE” timed exam with five blocks and a 45-minute break timer to simulate exam day.
You will find the exact lab value reference sheets used on the PANCE in the Smarty PANCE website’s footer.
Taking the entire virtual PANCE or even a part of it during your exam preparation is a fantastic way to get a feel for how you will perform under pressure. Research shows working in these simulated environments results in better exam-day performance.
Have a fabulous day, and happy studies!
Warmly,
Stephen Pasquini PA-Cwww.smartypance.com
Focus Your Time On The Content Blueprint
Medical content categories with the highest percentage are the cardiovascular system followed by the pulmonary system . 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, cardiopulmonary, gastrointestinal and nutrition, and then move on to women and mens 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 onthen you can modify your study tactics.
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Focus On What You Know
With each question, focus on what you DO know rather than mentally berating yourself when you encounter unfamiliar terms or other elements in questions. Ask yourself what more general principle or concept the question is assessing, and then reason from that more general knowledge to eliminate choices and to select an answer more likely to be correct. Giving up too soon and marking your favorite letter should be a final resort option used only when you are truly clueless about what’s being asked.
Everything You Need To Know And How To Sign Up For The Pance Exam
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The time to take the PANCE has finally arrived! All of the blood, sweat, and tears you have poured into your future career are coming to a head.
You may be wondering now what? How do I sign up for the PANCE exam? How much does continuing medical education cost? Where do I take the exam? Are there practice questions? Today we will answer all of these questions relating to the PA educational program and more.
Test details
The PANCE exam consists of five 60-minute sections. Yes, you read that right, it is a 5-hour medical exam! Each section has 60 test questions, giving you 1 minute to complete each question. A total of 45 minutes of break time is allotted to each student. You are responsible for managing this time. If you leave the exam during a 60-minute section, this time will be taken away from your actual exam time. You will also not be able to access your locker or materials.
When taking a break after finishing a block of questions, you may check your locker. I personally bring a review sheet for that break. I do not recommend studying in between sections, but I do recommend checking the information you were unsure of that came up in a section.
Paperwork and test location
Test timelines
Section 1: 60 minutes
Break 4: 10 minutesSection 5: 60 minutes
Anything else?
For more tips on studying, check out some of these PANCE Prep Tips.
Good luck!
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Pance Vs Usmle Exams For Medical Professions
As stated before, both the PANCE and the USMLE are licensure examinations intended to qualify medical practitioners for license, and their pass rates are comparable. However, they cannot be substituted.
A candidate with an MD cannot become a doctor by passing the PANCE in fact, he or she is not even eligible to sit for the PANCE and a future physician assistant cannot substitute the USMLE for the PANCE.
The test format is a major distinction between the PANCE and USMLE. In contrast to the PANCE, which is administered in a single sitting, the USMLE consists of three distinct phases. Step 1 is an eight-hour exam consisting of 280 multiple-choice questions designed to assess a candidates understanding of fundamental sciences and their ability to apply these principles to the clinical practice of medicine.
This examination may contain questions about the mechanisms that contribute to health, disease, and therapy. Step 2 of the USMLE is another one-day examination consisting of 318 multiple-choice questions delivered over the course of nine hours.
In this phase of the USMLE examination, test-takers respond to questions about the clinical sciences and medical abilities required to provide patient care, enhance health, and avoid disease. Step 3 is a two-day exam with 232 multiple-choice questions on the Foundations of Independent Practice and 180 multiple-choice questions and 13 computer-based case simulations on Advanced Clinical Medicine .
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How Much Does The Pance Exam Cost
PANCE Registration Basics
Before scheduling an appointment to take the PANCE, you must submit a registration application to the NCCPA, and pay the PANCE examination fee of $475. After obtaining a scheduling permit from the NCCPA, you can then register to take the PANCE at any Pearson VUE Testing Center.
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Take The Day Off From Studying
Research has shown that anything you study right before an exam is more likely to hurt than help your performance. Why? Because the last-studied information is still floating around in your short term memory and actually interferes with recall of information that you studied days, weeks or even months before.
How Many Times Can You Fail The Pance

You may take the PANCE exam up to a maximum of six times within the six years following the date of your graduation from PA school. If you happen to fail the PANCE after six attempts, or if you dont take and pass the PANCE before your six-year window has lapsed, you will no longer be eligible to take the exam.
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Are There Pictures On The Pance
A number of the questions include images, including EKGs, X-rays, digital images, and photographs. Candidates may answer the questions in any order, and if time remains during one block of questions, they may go back to review their answers. The exam is administered by computer in Sylvan Prometric testing centers.
How Hard Is The Pance Test For Physician Assistants
Is the PANCE test hard? This is a common question, particularly among prospective PAs who chose the career path because it seemed easier, at least in some ways, than becoming a physician.
The good news is that most aspiring physician assistants successfully complete the PANCE exam. Among test-takers who fail the PANCE, they often fall short of a passing score by only a relatively small amount and are able to make improvements to pass the test on the next attempt.
Still, the content of the PANCE test is challenging. After all, its a test intended only for examinees who have already completed a masters degree program in physician assistant studies, including classroom, laboratory and clinical work. Since this test is a mandatory part of acquiring a license to work in clinical practice, test-takers are naturally expected to demonstrate that their knowledge of medicine is sufficient to practice medicine on real patients in clinical settings. As such, it would be a mistake to go into the exam under the impression that the questions will be easy simply because the pass rate is fairly high.
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An Overview Of The Pance Physicians Assistant Test
What exactly is the PANCE? The Physician Assistant National Certifying Examination, administered by the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants , is an essential part of acquiring your license to work as a physician assistant.
PAs perform the work of practicing medicine in a clinical capacity, but they arent doctors. Instead, they work in collaboration with and under the supervision of fully licensed physicians who have attained their Doctor of Medicine or Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine degree. Although there are some differences in the education, training and job duties of PAs compared to physicians, one of the many similarities between these two career paths is the need for professional licensure. Like doctors, physician assistants face the requirement to pass a licensing exam but not the same licensing exam to attain the credential needed to practice. Passing the PANCE exam qualifies a candidate to use the credential and official title Physician Assistant-Certified, or PA-C, according to the BLS.
The PANCE licensing test covers the basic generalist knowledge of different types of disease and the knowledge and skills needed to treat medical conditions. Statistically, the pass rate for the PANCE test is high, but you still need to study sufficiently to prepare for the exam.
What Is A Passing Score On The Pance
The maximum score on the PANCE is 800, but you need at least 350 to pass. Because there are different versions of the PANCE, and since they are scaled with different levels of difficulty, a passing score on one version may be 350, while on another version it could be closer to 500.
Remember: youre awarded one point for every correct answer and zero points for incorrect answers, so theres no penalty for guessing. Make sure to answer every question!
The percent of first time test takers who pass is consistently over 90%, which is good news. Your actual score largely does not matter. Once youve passed, youre ready to get licensed by the state you reside in and begin practicing as a certified physician assistant. Congratulations!
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What Is The Pance Exam Like
Ninety five percent of the exam consists of medical-related questions. The remaining 5% of information falls under the topic of professional practice difficulties. Although the PANCE is a broad exam, up to 20% of the questions may focus on themes in general surgery. The PANCE exam consists of 300 multiple-choice questions, which must be completed over the course of five 60-minute sessions with brief pauses in between.
What Is Pance All About
According to Kaptest.com, the PANCE exam is a computer-based, timed test comprised of 300 multiple-choice questions evaluating medical and surgical knowledge required to become a certified physician assistant.
It is distributed in 5 blocks of 60 questions each, with 60 minutes given for the completion of each block.
Exam of the question in the PANCE exam falls under two categories: organ systems and diseases, disorders and medical assessments that relate to those systems and knowledge and skills needed to confront those diseases, disorders, and assessments.
The PANCE exam is conducted by computer year-round at more than 200 Pearson VUE testing centers throughout the U.S.
Below, we will discuss how to pass PANCE exam.
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What Is A Passing Pance Score
The short answer to this question is 350. A score of 350 certifies you are knowledgeable and able to safely and effectively practice as a Physician Assistant. But what does this score actually mean? Where does this number come from? What is a passing PANCE score in practical terms? Well lay it out for you today.
Pass The Pance Guarantee

You must meet the following criteria to be eligible for the Picmonic Pass the PANCE® Guarantee:
No shenanigans, no funny business! Just guaranteed success!
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What Do I Need To Bring To My Pance Exam
You must present two forms of valid and current ID. One ID must contain a permanently affixed photo with your printed name and signature and the second ID must contain your printed name and signature. You will not be admitted to the test if the names on your ID do not match your name listed with NCCPAs.
What do I need to bring to my PANCE test?
Make sure you bring 2 forms of identification: a primary identification, which contains a permanently affixed photo of the examinee, along with the examinees preprinted name and signature , and a secondary
What can I bring to the PANCE?
Checking in to take the PANCE or PANRE is roughly equivalent to boarding a commercial airline flight, except you dont have to submit to a random search. When you arrive at the test center, you must show two forms of valid, current identification.
Are lab values provided on PANCE?
There are a few quick tips that are important to know about the PANCE exam prior to taking it. There is a tab for normal lab values. Also, the temperature will be given in Fahrenheit and Celsius.
What should I do the day before PANCE?
If youre preparing to sit for the PANCE exam, here are a few tips to keep in mind.
- Practice Questions in Advance.
- Arrive at the Test Early and Set Yourself Up for Success.
- Manage Your Time During the Test.
- Use the Process of Elimination to Answer Every Question.
- Watch for Signs of Fatigue.