Price: $399.99 for the PANRE Review Course
Access: 30 months from purchase
Deliverables: 100 hours of AAPA Category 1 CME, 2,500+ board-style questions, five full-length 240-question practice examinations, and a comprehensive PANRE Study Library
Preparing for the PANRE requires more than reviewing the conditions you see every day. The exam evaluates broad clinical knowledge across multiple organ systems and task areas. A focused strategy helps you identify knowledge gaps, practice clinical reasoning, and use your CME budget efficiently.
The PANRE Review Course from CME Review Courses is designed for practicing PAs preparing for the traditional PANRE or PANRE-LA. Completion of the PANRE Clinical Review Module provides up to 100 AAPA Category 1 CME credits, subject to completion requirements and credit claimed commensurate with participation.
The following five mistakes can cost you study time, CME value, or both.
Mistake 1: Studying Only the Specialty You Practice
Your clinical experience is valuable, but it does not replace generalist exam preparation.
If you work primarily in emergency medicine, orthopedics, cardiology, or dermatology, you may be highly efficient in your daily practice area while becoming less familiar with topics outside that setting. The PANRE requires you to move across systems and presentations. Your preparation must do the same.
A common example is a PA who reviews chest pain, fractures, and sepsis extensively but gives minimal attention to reproductive health, psychiatry, dermatology, or endocrine disorders. Those lower-frequency topics can become avoidable missed questions.
Use the NCCPA PANRE/PANRE-LA Content Blueprint as the organizing framework for your review. Then use question performance to determine where additional study is needed.
Practical correction: Start with a broad diagnostic assessment. Do not assume that years of practice automatically identify your weak areas. Let performance data show you where to focus.
Mistake 2: Treating Every Topic as Equally Important
You have limited study time. Spending the same number of hours on every diagnosis is inefficient.
The NCCPA Blueprint assigns different emphasis to clinical content areas. Your study plan should reflect that weighting while still covering the full exam. High-volume areas deserve consistent question practice, but smaller sections should not be ignored entirely.
A better approach is to divide your preparation into three phases:
- Initial assessment: Complete mixed questions to establish a baseline.
- Targeted review: Study the systems and task areas with the lowest performance.
- Exam simulation: Complete timed, mixed practice examinations to evaluate readiness.
Avoid spending an entire week rereading one familiar section because it feels productive. Review should be based on exam relevance and demonstrated weakness, not comfort level.
Practical correction: Track your percentage correct by organ system. Revisit missed questions after a delay rather than immediately memorizing the answer.
Mistake 3: Using Too Many Disconnected Resources
Collecting multiple books, apps, question banks, and short courses can create the appearance of preparation without producing an efficient workflow.
Every new resource requires time to learn its format, organize notes, and determine whether its content overlaps with what you already reviewed. Fragmented preparation also makes it harder to measure progress.
Choose a primary resource that combines:
- Broad content coverage
- Board-style questions
- Explanations and references
- Full-length practice examinations
- Performance tracking
- Sufficient access time to support your schedule
The CME Review Courses PANRE package includes five full-length practice examinations with 240 questions each, or 1,200 examination questions, in addition to system-based question modules and the Study Library. This allows you to use one structured platform for learning, assessment, and review.
This principle also applies when comparing pance prep courses with PANRE resources. PANCE and PANRE preparation overlap in clinical content, but you should select a course that specifically addresses your certification or recertification objective.
Practical correction: Select one primary review course and a limited number of supplemental references. Use additional sources only when a specific question requires clarification.
Mistake 4: Failing to Plan for Your CME Requirement
A review course that does not provide usable CME may leave you with two separate problems: preparing for the exam and completing your Category 1 requirement.
For PAs, the PANRE Review Course provides up to 100 hours of AAPA Category 1 CME through the PANRE Clinical Review Module. This credit applies to the PANRE Review Course. It should not be attributed to the separate Pharmacology Review Course, which has its own Category 1 designation and credit amount.
To earn the PANRE course credit, you must review the activity content, complete the post-test with a passing score, and complete the evaluation. Confirm your individual NCCPA requirements before relying on any activity for certification maintenance.
The course also offers Amazon and Apple gift card add-ons from $100 to $1,500. These are optional, paid add-ons. They are not free gifts, rebates, or additional CME. The selected gift card amount is added to the total purchase price.
For example, a $399.99 PANRE course with a $300 Amazon gift card add-on has a total package price of $699.99. The $300 is the cost of the add-on, while the course provides the educational content and eligible CME.
These cme gift cards may help some PAs use an employer-provided CME allowance for educational technology, books, or other permitted professional resources. Employer policies differ, so verify that your organization allows this type of purchase before ordering.
Practical correction: Review your CME balance and employer policy early. Decide whether you need the course alone or whether a paid add-on fits your remaining allowance.
Learn more about the PANRE Review Course with Amazon and Apple gift card options.
Mistake 5: Waiting Until the End to Practice Questions
Reading alone does not show whether you can apply information under exam conditions.
PANRE-style questions require you to identify the key clinical finding, prioritize the differential diagnosis, and select the best next step. You should begin question practice early enough to use missed questions as a study guide.
Do not wait until the final week to complete a full-length examination. Timed practice helps identify pacing problems, knowledge gaps, and fatigue-related errors. After each examination, review both incorrect answers and correct answers reached through guessing.
PANRE/EOR-Style Clinical Practice Question
Your patient is a 62-year-old man with hypertension and tobacco use who presents with abrupt, severe chest pain radiating to the back. His BP is 190/110 mm Hg in the right arm and 160/90 mm Hg in the left arm. HR is 108/min, and SaO₂ is 96% on room air. Chest radiography demonstrates a widened mediastinum. Which diagnostic study is most appropriate in a hemodynamically stable patient?
A. Transthoracic echocardiography
B. Exercise stress testing
C. CT angiography of the chest
D. Serum troponin level
E. Coronary artery calcium scoring
Answer: C. CT angiography of the chest
This presentation is concerning for acute aortic dissection. Abrupt tearing chest pain radiating to the back, pulse or BP differential, and widened mediastinum are classic findings. In a hemodynamically stable patient, CT angiography is an appropriate definitive diagnostic study because it rapidly evaluates the aorta and is widely available.
Transthoracic echocardiography may miss portions of the thoracic aorta. Troponin testing can evaluate myocardial injury but does not diagnose dissection. Stress testing and coronary calcium scoring are inappropriate in an unstable acute chest-pain presentation.
A More Efficient PANRE Review Strategy
To protect your time, use a repeatable daily process:
- Complete a defined number of mixed or system-based questions.
- Record missed concepts by organ system.
- Review the explanation and cited source.
- Reattempt flagged questions after a delay.
- Schedule regular timed examinations.
- Adjust your study plan according to performance rather than preference.
The goal is not to complete the largest number of resources. The goal is to use a structured panre review course that combines comprehensive content, practice questions, performance feedback, and eligible CME in one plan.
Additional PA Exam Preparation With PAtopia
If you are also preparing for the PANCE, EOR examinations, PACKRAT, or EOC, PAtopia provides browser-based review resources for PA students. The platform includes exam-specific practice questions, study libraries, and performance analytics.
You can:
Use the platform that matches your current training or certification goal. The PANRE Review Course is intended for recertification preparation and provides the specific 100-hour AAPA Category 1 CME opportunity described above.
Final Daily CME Tip
Avoiding PANRE review mistakes is largely a matter of planning. Cover the full NCCPA Blueprint, use questions to find weak areas, limit resource overload, account for CME requirements, and begin timed practice before the final weeks.
The PANRE Review Course is $399.99 with 30 months of access and up to 100 hours of AAPA Category 1 CME. Optional Amazon and Apple gift card add-ons from $100 to $1,500 are paid additions to the purchase and may help eligible customers use their CME budget more efficiently.
Review the CME Review Courses catalog to compare available options.
About the Author
Jeremy Boroff, MPAS, PA-C, is an emergency medicine physician assistant with 24 years of Emergency Medicine experience. He is an author, educator, CME developer, and founder of CME Review Courses. Jeremy creates PANRE, PANCE, EOR, and specialty review materials for physician assistants and other healthcare professionals.