Course price: $399.99
Access: 30 months
Practice content: More than 2,500 board-style questions
Full-length exams: Five 240-question practice exams
CME: Up to 100 AAPA Category 1 CME credits through the PANRE Clinical Review Module
Optional add-ons: Paid Amazon or Apple gift cards from $100 to $1,500
The gift card options are paid add-ons. They increase the total purchase price and are not free gifts, discounts, rebates, or additional CME. Review your employer’s CME policy before selecting an add-on.
Preparing for the PANRE while working full-time requires more than collecting review materials. You need a plan that matches your recertification pathway, identifies knowledge gaps, and uses your CME budget for a clinically relevant activity.
Below are five common PANRE review mistakes and the more efficient approach for avoiding each one.
PANCE preparation and PANRE preparation overlap clinically, but they serve different points in a PA’s career.
The PANCE is an initial certification examination for PA students and recent graduates. PANRE is a recertification assessment for practicing PAs. A PANCE resource may still help with foundational review, but relying on PANCE prep courses alone can leave your preparation poorly organized for recertification.
PANRE review should address broad clinical reasoning across the organ systems and task areas identified in the NCCPA Blueprint. This includes cardiovascular, pulmonary, gastrointestinal, endocrine, infectious disease, neurology, psychiatry, dermatology, musculoskeletal, renal, reproductive, hematologic, and emergency medicine topics.
Your clinical practice may be concentrated in one specialty. The PANRE is not. A PA practicing primarily in orthopedics may need to spend more time on cardiology, infectious disease, or endocrine management than on familiar musculoskeletal conditions.
Begin with mixed board-style questions. Sort missed items by:
Then direct your study time toward weak areas rather than reviewing only familiar material.
Reading notes can create a false sense of competence. Recognizing that you have seen information before does not confirm that you can retrieve and apply it under exam conditions.
PANRE questions require you to identify the key clinical finding, select the next best step, and distinguish the correct option from plausible distractors. Active recall is more efficient than repeated rereading.
A practical daily routine is:
A question bank is most useful when the explanations teach decision-making. The goal is not merely to increase the number of questions completed. The goal is to improve your ability to recognize patterns and choose appropriate management.
Your patient is a 63-year-old man who is two days postoperative from total knee arthroplasty. He develops sudden dyspnea and pleuritic right-sided chest pain. His HR is 112/min, BP is 128/76 mm Hg, RR is 24/min, and SaO₂ is 91% on room air. Lung examination is clear. His left calf is swollen and tender. He has no known renal disease or contrast allergy.
Which diagnostic study is most appropriate next?
A. D-dimer assay
B. CT pulmonary angiography
C. Bilateral lower-extremity venous ultrasound only
D. Exercise stress testing
E. Transthoracic echocardiography as the first test
Correct answer: B. CT pulmonary angiography
CT pulmonary angiography is correct because this patient has a high pretest probability for acute pulmonary embolism based on recent surgery, tachycardia, hypoxemia, pleuritic chest pain, and unilateral leg findings. He is hemodynamically stable and has no stated contraindication to iodinated contrast.
D-dimer testing is less useful with high clinical suspicion and recent surgery. Lower-extremity ultrasound alone may identify DVT but does not directly assess the pulmonary vasculature. Exercise stress testing is inappropriate during an acute presentation concerning for PE. Transthoracic echocardiography may help evaluate right-heart strain, particularly in an unstable patient, but it is not the preferred initial confirmatory study here.
Traditional PANRE and PANRE-LA assess overlapping clinical content, but the testing environments differ.
| Feature | Traditional PANRE | PANRE-LA |
|---|---|---|
| Format | Single, proctored examination | Online longitudinal assessment |
| Questions | 240 questions in one testing session | 25 questions per quarter |
| References | Closed-book | Open-book, with permitted references |
| Timing | Concentrated exam-day performance | Repeated quarterly participation |
| Preparation emphasis | Pacing, endurance, and mixed-system review | Consistent review and efficient reference use |
The traditional PANRE is generally taken during years 9 and 10 of the certification cycle. PANRE-LA is an alternative longitudinal pathway conducted over multiple quarters. Confirm your eligibility, deadlines, scoring requirements, and current policies directly with the NCCPA PANRE-LA information page.
PANRE-LA is not an open-book shortcut. Five minutes per question is limited when you must interpret a vignette, identify the relevant issue, search a reference, and make a decision. You still need a broad knowledge base.
If you plan to take the traditional PANRE, use timed mixed blocks and full-length practice exams. Practice remaining focused across a long testing session.
If you plan to participate in PANRE-LA, establish a consistent weekly or monthly review routine. Use references selectively and practice identifying the central clinical problem before searching.
A full-length exam should identify problems early enough for you to correct them. Waiting until the final week may reveal weaknesses without leaving sufficient time to address them.
The PANRE Review Course includes five full-length 240-question practice exams. Use them as progress checkpoints:
Do not review only the total score. Analyze performance by organ system, question type, and timing. A missed question may reflect a knowledge gap, a misread stem, incorrect sequencing, or fatigue.
For traditional PANRE preparation, complete at least one simulation under closed-book, timed conditions. For PANRE-LA preparation, use the full-length exams to identify content gaps, then convert those gaps into shorter, focused question blocks.
Purchasing one product for exam preparation and another for CME can increase cost and divide your attention. A focused activity can support both goals when its credit designation matches your needs.
The PANRE Review Course costs $399.99, includes 30 months of access, and provides more than 2,500 board-style questions. It also includes five full-length 240-question exams and a complete PANRE Study Library.
The up to 100 AAPA Category 1 CME credits apply specifically to the PANRE Clinical Review Module within the PANRE Review Course. They do not automatically apply to the separate Pharmacology Course or other CME products. To earn the available credit, complete the required educational content, pass the post-test, and complete the activity evaluation. Claim only the credit commensurate with your participation.
Optional cme gift cards are available through Amazon and Apple in amounts from $100 to $1,500. The selected amount is added to the course price.
For example:
The gift card is a separate paid component. It does not increase the number of CME credits and is not a free gift, discount, or rebate. Confirm that your employer permits this type of purchase before using CME funds.
A short, consistent routine is more useful than irregular marathon sessions.
Use 20 to 40 questions. Choose mixed topics for traditional PANRE preparation or shorter, system-based blocks when addressing a specific weakness.
Read the explanation even when you selected the correct answer by guessing. Identify why the correct option is preferred and why the distractors are less appropriate.
Review one related section in the study library, then complete several new questions on that topic. Avoid opening multiple unrelated resources during the same session.
Use full-length exams to measure progress. Adjust your study plan based on performance data, not familiarity with the material.
PA students preparing for initial certification should use resources designed for the PANCE. PAtopia’s web version provides PANCE, PACKRAT, EOC, and EOR preparation resources.
PAtopia is also available through:
These resources are separate from the PANRE Review Course. PAtopia does not provide the up to 100 AAPA Category 1 CME credits associated with the PANRE Clinical Review Module.
Before purchasing or beginning your review plan, confirm:
The PANRE Review Course provides a structured way to combine recertification preparation and CME planning: $399.99, 30 months of access, more than 2,500 board-style questions, five full-length 240-question exams, and up to 100 AAPA Category 1 CME credits through the PANRE Clinical Review Module.
Review the PANRE Review Course and optional gift card add-ons.
Jeremy Boroff, MPAS, PA-C
Jeremy Boroff is a physician assistant, educator, CME developer, and founder of CME Review Courses with 24 years of Emergency Medicine experience. He develops PANRE, PANCE, EOR, and specialty review materials focused on practical clinical reasoning, board-style questions, and evidence-informed explanations.
Educational requirements and credit acceptance can change. Confirm current policies with NCCPA, AAPA, your employer, state licensing board, or certifying organization before claiming CME or using CME funds.
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