If you’re given lab values, quickly check the reference range and write down whether they are high or low (I typically use arrows for quick and easy interpretation, multiple arrows if they are VERY high or low). Don’t forget AGE! I often found myself confused by answer choices only to look back and see that the patient was a child. Use your scratch paper with each question to jot down the most important (and easily overlooked) bits of information from the case.
The vignettes are typically long and wordy with potentially extraneous information that is not relevant to the correct answer. (Shout out to my classmate Jennifer for this helpful hint!) Use your scratch paper (like really use it) Find out what the question is asking to avoid wasting your already limited time. The answer choices included no diagnoses whatsoever! Of course, every question wasn’t like this exactly but you catch my drift. Not only did I need to know the diagnosis, but I needed to know the initial screening and confirmatory tests or what the first step in management was. This became problematic for me, as I read the vignettes and prepared an answer (typically diagnosis) in my mind, then got to the end of the question and answer choices and they were asking from something entirely different. It might be asking for which medication is CONTRAINDICATED. It might be asking for the GOLD STANDARD diagnostic tool. Rarely is the question asking for the actual diagnosis (that would be way too easy)! It might be asking you for the INITIAL STEP in management. With limited time, it is critical to understand what the question is actually asking you. (By the way, these are my best exam-taking strategies for any PA school exam, not just the PACKRAT!) Read the END of the question first. It’s important to know your strengths (and more importantly) your weaknesses so that you can improve before the real deal, make or break, board exam. Of course, the PACKRAT is typically not taken for a grade or anything other than your own personal knowledge but I like to take practice exams as if they were the real thing. Now that you know what to expect, let’s talk about strategies for taking the exam. *The time you have to take your exam is adjustable between 4 and 6 hours depending on your proctor. The breakdown of topics is similar to the PANCE with cardio and pulmo being the “heavy hitters.” I’ll list the actual percentages of each topic below. There is a list of normal lab value reference ranges to the side that you can open at any time. That math breaks down to roughly 1 minute and a few seconds per question. It is a totally computerized exam consisting of 225 multiple choice questions and you have 4 hours* to take it with no built-in breaks. Also, after posting about PACKRAT day on my Instagram story, I received multiple questions about it so I thought it would make for a good blog article!įirst let’s talk about the basic set-up of the exam. There are endless resources and blog articles regarding the PANCE but not much about the PACKRAT. Every program is a little different but at UAB, we take it at the end of didactic year and again at the end of clinical year before taking the boards.īefore taking the exam, I did some googling for information about it but did not find much. My classmates and I are nearing the end of didactic year (WOOHOO) and recently took the PACKRAT exam which is a “practice PANCE” that PA students can take to predict how they will perform when taking the boards.
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