Price: $649.00
Duration: 1-year access
Deliverables: 100 Hours of AAPA Category 1 CME Credit, 1,000+ board-style questions
Preparing for the Psychiatry End of Rotation (EOR) exam requires a disciplined focus on the specific content areas that carry the most weight. While your clinical rotations provide the foundation, the exam demands a mastery of DSM-5 diagnostic criteria and first-line pharmacotherapy. At CME Review Courses, we provide the tools necessary to bridge the gap between clinical experience and exam-day success. Our PANRE Review Course offers 100 hours of AAPA Category 1 CME credit, making it an ideal resource for PAs who want to refresh their knowledge while earning substantial credit.
For students and PAs specifically targeting the Psychiatry exam, our Psychiatry & Behavioral Health EOR Exam Review provides a concentrated look at high-yield topics. Additionally, our Pharmacology Review Course offers dedicated AAPA Category 1 credit to ensure you are proficient in the complex medication management required in behavioral health.
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Psychiatry EOR Content Review
The Psychiatry EOR exam is heavily weighted toward mood disorders, psychotic disorders, and personality disorders. Understanding the nuances of duration and specific symptoms is the difference between a correct answer and a distractor.
Mood Disorders: MDD and Bipolar Spectrum
Mood disorders account for approximately 18% of the Psychiatry EOR. You must be able to differentiate between Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), Bipolar I, and Bipolar II based on the duration and severity of symptoms.
Your patient is a 32-year-old female who presents with a two-week history of depressed mood, significant weight loss, and difficulty sleeping. She reports a loss of interest in her hobbies and feelings of worthlessness. She denies any history of elevated mood or decreased need for sleep.
Question 1: What is the minimum duration of symptoms required to diagnose Major Depressive Disorder (MDD)?
A. 1 week
B. 2 weeks
C. 1 month
D. 6 months
Correct Answer: B. 2 weeks.
Explanation: DSM-5 criteria for MDD require five or more symptoms to be present during the same 2-week period, with at least one symptom being either depressed mood or loss of interest/pleasure (anhedonia). One week is the requirement for mania, while six months is often associated with Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) or Schizophrenia.
When evaluating bipolar disorder, the presence of mania versus hypomania is the deciding factor.
- Bipolar I: Requires at least one manic episode (lasting ≥1 week or requiring hospitalization).
- Bipolar II: Requires at least one hypomanic episode (lasting ≥4 days, no hospitalization, no psychosis) AND at least one major depressive episode.
Schizophrenia and Psychotic Disorders
Duration is the most tested element in psychotic disorders. The symptoms are often identical; the timeframe determines the diagnosis.
Your patient is a 24-year-old male brought in by his roommates. He has been hearing voices for the past two months and believes the local news is sending him coded messages. His social and occupational functioning has significantly declined.
Question 2: Given that the patient's symptoms have persisted for two months, what is the most likely diagnosis?
A. Brief Psychotic Disorder
B. Schizophreniform Disorder
C. Schizophrenia
D. Schizoaffective Disorder
Correct Answer: B. Schizophreniform Disorder.
Explanation: The symptoms of schizophrenia and schizophreniform are identical, but the duration differs.
- Brief Psychotic Disorder: < 1 month.
- Schizophreniform Disorder: 1 to 6 months.
- Schizophrenia: > 6 months.
- Schizoaffective Disorder: Requires a mood episode (depression or mania) concurrent with psychotic symptoms, plus at least 2 weeks of delusions or hallucinations in the absence of a prominent mood episode.
Personality Disorders: Identifying the Clusters
Personality disorders represent 8% of the exam content. You must recognize the clusters and the classic "buzzword" presentations associated with each.
- Cluster A (Odd/Eccentric):
- Paranoid: Pervasive distrust.
- Schizoid: Voluntary social withdrawal, limited emotional expression (content being alone).
- Schizotypal: "Magical thinking," eccentric behavior, odd beliefs.
- Cluster B (Dramatic/Erratic):
- Antisocial: Disregard for rights of others (must be ≥18 years old with Conduct Disorder history before age 15).
- Borderline: Unstable relationships, self-harm, "splitting" (viewing people as all good or all bad).
- Histrionic: Attention-seeking, dramatic, sexually provocative.
- Narcissistic: Grandiosity, lack of empathy.
- Cluster C (Anxious/Fearful):
- Avoidant: Hypersensitive to rejection, desires relationships but is too afraid (unlike Schizoid).
- Dependent: Submissive, clingy, needs others to make decisions.
- Obsessive-Compulsive (OCPD): Perfectionism, ego-syntonic (they like their rules).
Essential Pharmacotherapy and Safety
Pharmacology is a critical component of the Psychiatry EOR. You must know the first-line treatments and their life-threatening side effects.
Your patient is a 45-year-old male with a history of schizophrenia who is currently taking haloperidol. He is brought to the emergency department with a high fever (104°F), "lead-pipe" muscle rigidity, and altered mental status. His heart rate is 120 bpm and his blood pressure is 160/100 mmHg.
Question 3: What is the most likely diagnosis and the appropriate initial management?
A. Serotonin Syndrome; give Cyproheptadine
B. Neuroleptic Malignant Syndrome (NMS); stop Haloperidol and give Dantrolene
C. Malignant Hyperthermia; give Succinylcholine
D. Anticholinergic Toxicity; give Physostigmine
Correct Answer: B. Neuroleptic Malignant Syndrome (NMS); stop Haloperidol and give Dantrolene.
Explanation: NMS is a life-threatening reaction to antipsychotics. It is characterized by the "Fever, Autonomic instability, Leukocytosis, Tremor, Elevated CK, and Rigidity" (FALTER) mnemonic. Lead-pipe rigidity is a classic finding. Management includes stopping the offending agent and using Dantrolene or Bromocriptine. Serotonin syndrome presents with hyperreflexia and clonus, not lead-pipe rigidity.
Pharmacology Quick-Hits:
- SSRIs: First-line for MDD and Anxiety. Watch for sexual dysfunction and 4-6 weeks for efficacy.
- Lithium: First-line for Bipolar. Narrow therapeutic index; monitor renal function and thyroid. Avoid NSAIDs and ACE inhibitors.
- Clozapine: Used for treatment-resistant schizophrenia. Risk of agranulocytosis; requires regular Absolute Neutrophil Count (ANC) monitoring.
- Bupropion: Avoid in patients with eating disorders (Bulimia/Anorexia) or seizure history due to lowered seizure threshold.
Conclusion
Mastering the Psychiatry EOR requires a high-yield approach to DSM-5 criteria and pharmacotherapy. Utilizing the PANRE Review Course ensures you are not only ready for your EOR but also building a foundation for your future certification exams. With 100 hours of AAPA Category 1 CME credit and the ability to add Amazon or Apple Gift Cards to your purchase, CME Review Courses provides the most efficient way to use your professional funds while advancing your clinical knowledge.
Whether you are a PA student preparing for rotations or a practicing PA-C looking for high-quality education, our content: written by physician assistants for physician assistants( is designed to help you excel.)