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Physician Assistant Student: The Ultimate Resource

The Ultimate PA Student Resource

From practicum to practice these are the tools you need to rock your PA school student years
;

Welcome to this special student section of The PA Life Website

You have finally made it and trust me I know it isn't all sunflowers and stethoscopes. PA school is hard. There were times when I was on my knees begging for the mercy of God that I would make it through my EOR exam. I made so many deals with my higher power that I am sure I am in some serious trouble. So to save you from the fiery bowels of hell I have created this resource as a path to your salvation! OK, maybe that is a bit over the top, but here are some excellent tools that I can not live without.

PA STUDENT RESOURCES

Tools For The Didactic Year

In the words of Meghan Trainer it is all about those books!
;

The Didactic Year

The most important part of the didactic year is learning to study effectively. This includes prioritizing your time by focussing on what matters and learning test taking skills that will

Learn how you learn Then just do it

PA School can be a bit of a shock. We all know it will be hard, requiring long hours, but the sheer enormity of knowledge we need to master (or at least make a passing acquaintance with) can be overwhelming.

You will need to figure out how you learn best, and most efficiently.

  • Is it taking copious notes in class?
  • Drawing pictures of dissections?
  • Re-listening to lectures on your iPhone while out for a run?

I was a solitary studier all through college, poring over all the required reading and taking notes. I tried to continue this pattern in PA school. This worked fine during the first term, which was largely a review of basic science principles I knew well already.

However, after getting my results back on the first anatomy exam at the start of our second term, I realized something had to change. My response was to join a study group. While I might have avoided my areas of weakness when studying alone, in a group, we’d be sure to go over all those annoying branches of the brachial plexus. This is a habit that will help you beyond PA school.

The field of medicine is one of life-long learning. We will constantly need to update our knowledge of our field by reading journals, attending conferences, and discussing interesting cases with our colleagues.

My Favorite Tools For the Didactic Year

Every PA program has its own required textbooks. These almost always include Current, Netters and Bates. They are so common I can use just one word and I am sure you know what I am talking about. There are also some books that aren’t required but I find a useful addition to the PA students arsenal.

Textbook Essentials

CURRENT Medical Diagnosis and Treatment 2019
  • CURRENT Medical Diagnosis and Treatment
  • Netter Atlas of Human Anatomy: Including Student Consult Interactive Ancillaries and Guides
  • Bates’ Guide to Physical Examination and History Taking

Makes Studying a Breeze

  • The Anatomy Coloring Book
  • Clinical Microbiology Made Ridiculously Simple
  • Physiology, sixth edition
  • Osmosis
  • Picmonic
  • OnlineMedEd

Great Apps

  • Essential Anatomy
  • UpToDate
  • Osmosis
  • Picmonic
  • Shots Immunizations
  • Diagnosaurus® DDx
  • LabGear by Med Gears
  • Tarascon Pharmacopeia
  • Epocrates Pharmacopeia
  • MedCalc – The Professional Medical Calculator
  • The Sanford Guide to Antimicrobial Therapy
  • Medscape
  • Essential Clinical Procedures
  • Medical Spanish: Healthcare Phrasebook with Audio
  • Perfect OB Wheel

Zygote Body 3D Anatomy - Free Web App

Zygote Body is hands-down the best web-based anatomy application and to top it off it is 100% Free. Once you sign up for an account you can use all the tools interactive 3D tools. It is beautiful, brilliant, and yes it is free.

Go to Zygote Body

Free Medical Spell Checker for MS Word

  • Free Medical Spell Checker For Microsoft Word, Custom Dictionary: You will be typing a lot of medical papers in your lifetime. This free custom dictionary by civil engineer and medical transcriptionist "Raj" is wonderful. Just follow the instruction on the page, it is easy to install.
  • I also use Grammarly, which offers a feature-rich set of spell-check and proofreading options in their free web app.  They also have an MS Word plugin that will take your spellcheck to the next level.

Tools For The Clinical Year

Do you want to make your preceptor cry with tears of joy? Then start here.
;
THE BEST MEDICAL GEAR FOR PA SCHOOL

What equipment do you need for PA School?

This was a question I had as a nascent first year PA student excited to get my hands on a “real” stethoscope.  At the time, I just listened to whatever my school recommended and bought most of my PA school equipment from the bookstore. Bad idea on both counts.

After a decade’s worth of trial and error and real world use the following is a treatment of everything your PA school says you should buy and what I think about it.

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The Two Greatest Workhorse Stethoscopes

Littmann Cardiology IV $164

Littmann Cardiology III

The Littmann Cardiology IV is a great acoustic stethoscope and is the gold standard. Most PA schools will say the same. Having used almost every stethoscope on the market I find the Littmann Cardiology III to be the only stethoscope that allows you to auscultate even the most difficult to hear heart sounds, especially in a loud clinic environment. It is a bit heavy when compared to the Littmann Classic II and my first one broke after 11 years of hard daily use and tons of curious pediatric patients playing with it. But in my opinion this is a no-brainer, buy the Littmann Cardiology III and you will be very happy you did.

Buy on Amazon

Littmann Classic III S.E $79

Littmann Classic II SE

The Littmann Classic III is a very lightweight and well-built stethoscope with good acoustics although not as good at noise canceling as the Cardiology III. My wife (an RN with 14 years experience) swears by this one because she likes the lightweight feel and durability. I used this stethoscope for a year when my Littmann Cardiology III broke and I was too cheap to purchase a proper replacement. It wasn’t until I finally replaced my Cardiology III that I realized what I was missing. If you are a student with a tight budget this may be a good option. But I still think you should consider a worthwhile upgrade later.

Buy on Amazon

Pharmacopoeia

The Tarascon Pharmacopoeia is the one pocketbook I cannot live without. Although, after PA school I have transitioned to their amazing iOS app the small pocketbook is something I still recommend to all of my students. The pediatric dosing instructions alone make it worth every penny. Yes, you can use free apps such as Epocrates, but after 11 years Tarascon is still my go-to source for prescribing and I wouldn’t leave home without it.

Buy on Amazon
Tarascon Pocket Pharmacopoeia

Sanford Guide to Antimicrobial Therapy

The Sanford Guide is a wonderful little resource packed full of information that goes far beyond antibacterial treatments and causative bacterial agents. My only regret as a student was that I didn’t spend enough time understanding the book prior to using it. Grab a copy, spend 30 minutes fully grasping its utility and you will carry it with you through retirement. They also have a wonderful iOS app.

Buy on Amazon
The Sanford Guide to Antimicrobial Therapy

Maxwell’s Quick Medical Reference

This is a classic! Great quick guide to SOAP notes, notes for surgery or OBGYN, quick reference to review of systems and physical exam. Also a handy visual acuity eye chart and other great quick reference info.  I used this daily during my PA school rotations and stashed it in my desk drawer after graduation. I just recently pulled it out again and couldn’t believe all the useful information.

Buy on Amazon
Maxwell Quick Medical Reference

The Standford 25 - Bedside Exam Skills

The Stanford 25: Demonstrate one or more of the 25 technique dependent physical diagnosis maneuvers, then have the residents perform, demonstrate, perfect and show you how they teach. This is a cool site!

Rotation Essentials

Below are select resources for clinical rotations by specialty. Here are six of my all-time favorites that cover all specialties.

  • Smarty PANCE and Rotation Exam Review: With seven end of rotation exams, and three courses along with a searchable index of blueprint topics this is my recommended go-to guide.
  • Rosh Review: Board exams review and top-notch Q-Banks
  • Osmosis: Their videos break down complex topics, now with flashcards, quizzes, and high-yield notes.
  • Picmonic: If you like visual learning with mnemonics then Picmonic is for you. You can get a 20% discount by clicking here (affiliate link)
  • MedBullets: this is a hidden gem, with wonderful review tables and lots of practice questions. They also have a site dedicated to orthopedics at orthobullets. Focus on their Step 2 content.
  • OnlineMedEd: 70 + hours of video covering 250+ topics and 19 specialties.

OB/GYN Rotation

  • Atlas of Pelvic Surgery

Recommended Textbooks:

  1. Blueprints: OB/GYN
  2. Case Files: OB/GYN
  3. Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Infertility (Great pocket guide) 

General Surgery Rotation 

  • Smarty PANCE General Surgery Course
  • Smarty PANCE General Surgery EOR exam
  • Basic Suturing Technique

Recommended Textbooks:

  1. Essentials of General Surgery
  2. Blueprints Surgery
  3. Surgical Recall
  4. Dr. Pestana's Surgery Notes: Top 180 Vignettes for the Surgical Wards

Emergency Med Rotation

  • Smarty PANCE Emergency Medicine Rotation Exams
  • Yale’s Cranial Nerve Learning Resource
  • Life in the Fastlane

Recommended Textbooks:

  1. Tintinalli’s Emergency Medicine
  2. Blueprints: Emergency Medicine
  3. Atlas of Emergency Medicine

General Surgery Rotation 

  • Univ of Wisconsin-Madison: Dermatology Tutorial

Recommended Textbooks: 

  1. Swanson’s Family Medicine Review
  2. Goroll, Primary Care Medicine
  3. Blueprints Family Medicine

Internal Med Rotation

  • Online Meded

Recommended Apps

  1. BB pocket cards app, set of all pocket cards
  2. Sanford guide to antimicrobial therapy
  3. ICD9 consult
  4. Medical eponyms
  5. Tarascon pharmacopeia

Recommended Textbooks:

  1. Medicine Recall
  2. Blueprints Medicine
  3. Pocket Medicine: The Massachusetts General Hospital Handbook of Internal Medicine
  4. Maxwell Quick Medical Reference
  5. Tarascon Pharmacopoeia
  6. The Washington Manual

Pediatrics Rotation

  • Merck Manual – Pediatrics
  • Case-Based Pediatrics
  • Pediatric Emergency Manual

Recommended Textbooks:

  1. Blueprints: Pediatrics
  2. Harriet Lane Handbook
  3. Nelson Textbook of Pediatrics

Psychiatry Rotation

  • American Psychiatric Association Clinical Practice Guidelines
  • Smarty PANCE Rotation Exam Course and EOR Exam

Recommended Textbooks:

  1. First Aid for the Psychiatry Clerkship
  2. Blueprints Psychiatry
  3. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition: DSM-5
  4. Case Files: Psychiatry
  5. Clinical Psychiatry Essentials

Other Specialties

Dermatology Atlas -  is an online source of over 23,000 images of skin disease brought to you by Loyola University.

ECG Library is an online collection of realistic-looking recordings that can help clinicians improve their ECG skills. It contains detailed

Wheeless' Textbook of Orthopedics is the largest, most comprehensive online medical textbook on orthopedics with 11,000 pages of text and over 5,000 images.

Other Super Useful Resources

  • Life in The Fastlane: A spectacular blog that is helpful for Cardiology review as well as your ER rotation. I seem to always end up at this site after a google search and there is a good reason for that.
  • Geeky Medics is a medical student learning platform that aims to make revision less painful and more productive.
  • Practical Clinical Skills provides free training and reference guides. Their Simulation-based lessons cover heart sounds, murmurs, lung sounds, carotid bruit, blood pressure measurement and EKG training. The quick reference guides are a timely information source at the point of care.
  • Picmonic: Picmonic founders and medical students Ron Robertson and Adeel Yang took the idea of image mnemonics and applied clever pictures and humorous characters tied together with story and audio — and put it online to create the ultimate studying system for retention and recall.

iOS and Android Applications

Essential Anatomy 5

This is an app I wish I had found sooner. Not only is it wonderful during the didactic phase of your studies, I find this to be an extremely useful tool in the clinic that my patients (and my kids) absolutely love.

Download

Tarascon Pharmacopoeia

There are lots of Pharmacopeia apps out there, but Tarascon continues to be my favorite. Loaded with some amazing tools (especially the pediatric dosing charts), blazing fast load times and zero advertisements the Tarascon Pharmacopoeia is well worth the one-time annual investment. I couldn't practice without it.

Download

LabGear – Medical Lab Values & Tests Reference

Having a good lab reference is a must. If you are going to use one, Lab Gear is by far the best

Download
The Best Medical Apps for Physician Assistant and PA Students

The Best Medical Apps for  Physician Assistant Students, PAs and Medical  Professionals

Over the years I have tried (and continue to try) just about every medical app on the market. Distilled here is my extensive list of the very best (free and paid) medical apps designed to cover you in just about every situation.

The apps below will make you and your patients better because sometimes computers do work better than humans, let's just hope they don’t take our jobs in our lifetime.

Read More

PANCE Preperation

I recommend a combined method of review books and online review materials
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My Favorite PANCE and PANRE Prep Books

Time tested and PA program approved these are hands down my favorite PANCE prep books

Pance Prep Pearls 2nd Edition 2nd Edition
Buy on Amazon
A Comprehensive Review For the Certification and Recertification Examinations for Physician Assistants
Buy on Amazon
LANGE QA Physician Assistant Examination Seventh Edition Lange QA Allied Health
Buy on Amazon
Swansons Family Medicine Review
Buy on Amazon

Easy Listening

Why not accomplish more during your long commutes? These two podcasts can make the hours seem like minutes and help you ace your EORs as well as your boards.

The Audio PANCE and PANRE Physician Assistant Board Review Podcast

The Audio PANCE and PANRE Physician Assistant Boards Podcast
Download on iTunes

Physician Assistant Exam Review Podcast by Brian Wallace

Download on iTunes

Smarty PANCE Board and EOR Review

Get Smarty PANCE 20% OFF

14 NCCPA™ Content Blueprint Courses

  1. Cardiology 13% »  51 disorders
  2. Pulmonary 10% » 31 disorders
  3. GI and Nutrition 9% » 38 disorders
  4. Musculoskeletal 8% » 36 disorders
  5. ENT 7% » 61 disorders
  6. Reproductive 7% » 46 disorders
  7. Neurology 7% » 34 disorders
  8. Endocrinology 7% »17 disorders
  9. Infectious Disease 6% » 41 disorders
  10. Psychiatry/Behavioral Science 6% » 18 disorders
  11. Genitourinary 5% » 25 disorders
  12. Renal 5% » 14 disorders
  13. Dermatology 5% » 55 disorders
  14. Hematology 5% » 15 disorders

Total: 14 organ systems and 482 diseases/disorders

Topic Specific Practice Exams

  1. Cardiology Exam - 147 Questions
  2. Pulmonology Exam - 143 Questions
  3. GI and Nutrition Exam - 149 Questions
  4. Musculoskeletal Exam -126 Questions
  5. ENT Exam -111 Questions
  6. Reproductive Exam - 107 Questions
  7. Genitourinary Exam - 72 Questions
  8. Neurology Exam - 84 Questions
  9. Endocrinology Exam - 76 Questions
  10. Psychiatry Exam - 78 Questions
  11. Dermatology Exam - 66 Questions
  12. Hematology Exam - 39 Questions
  13. Infectious Disease Exam (coming soon)

Comprehensive Practice Exams

  1. 225 question exam 1
  2. 225 question exam 2
  3. 225 question exam 3
  4. 225 question exam 4
  5. 225 question exam 5
  6. Virtual PANCE
  7. Virtual PANRE
  8. 60 question Academy exam 1
  9. 60 question Academy exam 2
  10. 60 question Academy exam 3
  11. 60 question Academy exam 4
  12. The Daily PANCE and PANRE Exam 1
  13. The Daily PANCE and PANRE Exam 2
  14. The Daily PANCE and PANRE Exam 3
  15. The Daily PANCE and PANRE Exam 4
  16. The Daily PANCE and PANRE Final Exam

Posts to Read

Overview of the PANCE, PANRE and Pilot Alternative Blueprints

by Stephen Pasquini PA-C | March 3, 2019 | Exam Content Blueprint, PANCE and PANRE Exam Preparation | 0 Comments

New 2019 PANCE, PANRE and Pilot Alternative to PANRE blueprints. With a look at the new PANRE three-tier assessment system.
Read More

How Many PANCE and PANRE Practice Exams Should You Take?

by Stephen Pasquini PA-C | October 30, 2018 | PANCE and PANRE Exam Preparation, Practice EXAMS | 2 Comments

Along with practice questions, taking full-length PANCE and PANRE practice tests is an indispensable part of preparing for the PANCE and PANRE. How many full-length mock exams should you take, though? And how often? Let’s use a sports analogy to shed some light on...
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The 4 Best PANCE and PANRE Study Guides and Review Books

by Stephen Pasquini PA-C | September 2, 2018 | Books, PANCE and PANRE Exam Preparation, PANCE Preparation, Physician Assistant Student | 39 Comments

Tired of flipping through pages and death by tiny text? Check out my NEW PANCE/PANRE board review website at smartypance.com and watch as the NCCPA Content Blueprint comes to life. What are the best PANCE and PANRE board review books? Here are my picks for the top...
Read More

2019 NCCPA PANCE Content Blueprint Updates

by Stephen Pasquini PA-C | April 17, 2018 | Exam Content Blueprint, PANCE and PANRE Exam Preparation | 1 Comment

Did you know that the NCCPA has updated the PANCE Content Blueprint for 2019? With the update came some changes both to my SMARTYPANCE Board Review Website and your board review checklist which I will be discussing here in detail. NCCPA PANCE Content Blueprint 2019...
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The Power of Picmonics Plus Get 20% OFF!

by Stephen Pasquini PA-C | March 22, 2018 | Clinicals, Didactic, PANCE and PANRE Exam Preparation, PANCE Preparation, Physician Assistant Student | 0 Comments

Let’s start with a simple question… You're studying for your PANCE exam, and you need to memorize 1000's of clinical pearls from 467 topics covering 13 content blueprint organ systems, the culmination of two years of hard work and endless pimping from sadistic, but...
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Welcome to Your Virtual PA School Clinical Rotation

by Stephen Pasquini PA-C | September 5, 2017 | Clinicals, PANCE ACADEMY, PANCE and PANRE Exam Preparation, PANCE Preparation, Practice EXAMS | 0 Comments

What if you could take a virtual tour through the NCCPA Content Blueprint? Not just mindless memorization of key terms and test-worthy pearls but matching those facts with faces. What if you could go bedside and visit patients with real conditions, even rare...
Read More

Episode 51: The Audio PANCE and PANRE Board Review Podcast – Comprehensive Audio Quiz

by Stephen Pasquini PA-C | July 11, 2017 | Free PANCE and PANRE Exams, Mixed PANCE and PANRE Content Blueprint, PANCE and PANRE Exam Preparation, Podcast | 0 Comments

Welcome to episode 51 of the FREE Audio PANCE and PANRE Physician Assistant Board Review Podcast. Join me as I cover ten PANCE and PANRE Board review questions from the Academy course content following the NCCPA™ content blueprint (download the FREE cheat sheet). This...
Read More

PANCE Failure and Pass Rate: Physician Assistant Certification Exam

by Stephen Pasquini PA-C | May 9, 2017 | PANCE Preparation | 16 Comments

The PANCE examination has been in existence since 1973, and as of 2017 over 115,547 people have taken the exam. In 2003 the number was just over 50,000 which represents a 43% increase in just 14 years! In most years the number of those taking the PANCE has risen. In...
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The PANCE and PANRE Content Blueprint Checklist

by Stephen Pasquini PA-C | November 15, 2016 | Exam Content Blueprint, PANCE and PANRE Exam Preparation, PANCE Preparation, PANRE PREPARATION | 0 Comments

Your Blueprint to Success Starts Here! If you are at all like me the hardest part of studying for your PANCE or PANRE is figuring out where to begin. There is an ever-growing list of review books, podcasts, online programs, in-person review courses, and anecdotal...
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Episode 41: The Audio PANCE and PANRE Board Review Podcast

by Stephen Pasquini PA-C | August 30, 2016 | Mixed PANCE and PANRE Content Blueprint, PANCE and PANRE Exam Preparation, PANRE PREPARATION, Podcast | 0 Comments

Welcome to episode 41 of the FREE Audio PANCE and PANRE Physician Assistant Board Review Podcast. Join me as I cover 10 PANCE and PANRE board review questions from the Academy course content following the NCCPA™ content blueprint. This week we will be taking a break...
Read More
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