A Comprehensive Review for the Certification and Recertification Examinations for Physician Assistants

I used the older version of this when I was in PA school to help prep me for the PANCE exam. After practicing for 4 years, I thought I would buy the newer version for a refresher and to get some CME hours in. I was disappointed. As mentioned in many of these other reviews, there are quite a few typos. I even noticed a couple of the review questions have the wrong answer (in the book- I haven’t logged in the online portion yet). I just would think those would’ve been caught during the editing process.

It does serve its intended purpose. I wish there was a little more about antimicrobials in here.

Overall, I would probably look into other review options before buying again, though I admit, I don’t know what’s out there. Still going to read through this to help brush up.

This was a great review for those of us who have been out in practice for a long while...still have to take the test but I'm feeling more prepared in those areas which are not a part of my daily responsibilities. I really like the post test disc which gives a rationale for the answers.

I studied a lot for the PANCE and did well. I would not say this book was the reason for my success, you just have to STUDY, but I would say that I was studying outside of what I needed to focus on and this book really helped me trim down and hone what is really important. So it gave me peace of mind and the level of detail is quite perfect. Furthermore, this book is worth a lot of CMEs, ongoing education, after you graduate and become a PA. I will rely on this book for future recerts because I wont have 40 hours a week to study like I did for the Pance while I was in school.

Excellent! I just passed my PANRE and can say that I know so much more from this book than the exam even tested. This book separates the specialties and begins with a review in outline format. I needed this "just the facts" style because I haven't examined a heart or a rash since school! I went over the 303 questions with explanations several times. Although I used another book, too, the O'Connell is the one I drew on most heavily. In fact, having this book AS A STUDENT will help keep the concepts you are learning in school from overwhelming you. Highly recommended!

The book is good but I bought the book MAINLY for the “additional questions on lww” for practice - GUESS WHAT FOLKS! Claire lied to us! The questions online are the EXACT quests in the book itself. There are NO ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS! (Except for self assessment CME quests which no one cares about when studying for an exam) All 204 in the book is the same online. So I wasted $72 of my hard earned money on this book for nothing!

I don't normally leave reviews but I feel I have to on this one. The book was missing large sections, 20 pages at a time. That alone is enough for me to not recommend it but the content is very superficial. I wouldn't feel prepared for the PANRE based off the superficial coverage of information in this book. I'm hoping to get a refund based on the fact that the book isn't complete. I'd pass on this one.

My copy was purchased new, but it jumps from page 80 to page 241! I did not notice this section missing until after the 30 day return period, and now I am stuck. Be sure to check right away that your copy contains all of the pages!!!

I was very disappointed with this book. I bought it mostly for access to the online quiz bank. When I logged on, I found out that i can't access it on my iPad! I called customer service and lol they could say is sorry. What a waste of money!

Fantastic book, thorough outline style review focusing on PANCE relevant material. I felt that this book gave me a great foundation to build upon for the test for each subject, and I was able to depend on the reliability of facts provided by this book, while other study material I used often had incorrect info.The practice test in this book (labeled as a pre-test but I waited to take it after reviewing almost all the topics) was very helpful and pretty accurate scoring compared to my real results. Also the online resources with the code you receive in the book provides a ton of tests (I only had time to use a few) but they were great. I didn't get through all the topics within this book and still passed (coming from someone who always needed to study in PA school, with a "just passing" PACKRAT score).
That being said, I do think it helps to have another source to study from for more "buzz words" and key facts/phrases, which I found by using the HELP PANCE site, despite their occasional inaccuracies. I also used some flash cards from a Lange book and any practice tests I could find online.

Great book so far. I am using it for my Clinical Medicine course now, but I can't wait to use the practice questions to study and gauge my preparation for the PANCE. It is a nice resource to have, and I don't have any complaints so far.

I used this as my main resource for the PANCE. I really liked the practice questions in this book and also the pre and post questions available online. In addition to this book I used Pance Prep Pearls, the PA Life's Academy (and it's podcast), Brian Wallace's Final Step (plus his podcast). Passed the Pance on my first attempt.

I studied for my past two board exams with the earlier editions. I passed with flying colors both times. I believe this book will give me the same results. The information is in a format that is easy to follow. I am also pleased with the fact that I can earn self-assessment CME, which is a new requirement by the NCCPA to maintain certification.

Don't waste your money on the 5th edition. It is essentially the same as the 4th, maybe 5% of the materials are new. I still hate the outline and is hard to study, at least for me, so I returned the book.

Buy it now. It's affordable and incredibly helpful whether you're in school, reviewing for the PANCE or just looking for some general information quickly. Currently using it to help me get thru PA school, I'm usually a harsh critic, but this was the best purchase I've made in a while.

Has all the requisite material, but the formatting is horrible-difficult to read. Small, single spaced text, front and back, from pages 1-300+. I enjoyed the online access with the last edition I owned. This edition doesn't include the ebook online--that was disappointing. The review questions are too basic. However, one benefit, the book has an online test to obtain credits for the NCCPA's new Self-Assessment (SA) CME requirement. That made me feel better about the my knee-jerk reaction to purchase this book again. I really like the Step-up Series for the medicine review, but it doesn't include prevention, patient education topics. So it is not a stand alone book.

I found this book difficult to read since no topic details were in bold. It was essentially like just reading a textbook from PA school and not a review book. Personally, I spent more time using different colored pens/highlighters for signs and symptoms/treatments/complications/etc. Maybe this isn't a big issue for other readers, but it was for me. No clinical pearls.

Holy crap this book is so filled with incorrect information and outdated practices it would be downright dangerous to apply the knowledge being tested here to the real world. What is even scarier to me is that I know what is wrong based on my own practice, recognition, experience, and verifying through review of literature and guidelines, however I am certain that there is an abundance of material that is wrong that I DON'T recognize as being wrong because it pertains to a field so far departed from my own.

While this may be helpful in passing the PANRE (I guess that is yet to be determined) it is horribly misinformed and could lead you down a dangerous path were you to think of any of this material as reflective of actual practice information. Once you have passed your test please forget EVERYTHING this book says!!!

What is even scarier is the notion that the PANRE is so poorly conceived as to be downright useless in testing for actual clinical knowledge. The AAPA should be ashamed of endorsing this book and all PAs in active practice should beware the nonsense contained within. Irresponsibly terrible book.

I'll start by saying I'm a current PA student who is scheduled to take the PANCE in several months. Students in the classes ahead of me said that the previous version (4th edition) was very helpful in passing their PANCE, so I figured I'd buy this new edition. As someone who hasn't taken the PANCE, I can't speak on behalf of this book's efficacy. However, I can say that it's laid out just like the 4th edition, which is nice and concise. As someone else pointed out, this book has around 400 pages, contrary to the 480 pages that the description claims... in my opinion, who cares? As long as it works, I'm fine. The book has about 300 pre-test questions with explanations. However, the Point code included gives you 2 years of online access to what appears to be 495 pre-test questions and 544 post-test questions. I'm not sure how many are repeated between the pre- and post-tests, but that's a lot of questions, which is nice. I'll try to post an update after I take my PANCE, but for now, I highly recommend this book.

I have compared this book with other books (such as NCLEX review guides). I understand that this book is obviously not for nurses. However, it's surprising to me that nursing exam study guides actually cover more information....

Just took my 3rd PANRE and used this book/CD-Rom. On the surface, it is a good concept. There are some errors that need to be corrected in the pre-test. The GYN section has some odd wording. The format of the CD-rom could use a major overhaul. It feels crude, like I'm using Windows 95 all over again. We should be able to save a test and restart where we left off. And there are way too many topic categories. Now for content. Based on the version of the exam that I took today, the book needs much more in-depth coverage of geriatrics and pharmacology. If these items are addressed in the next 6 years, I'll use that version when the time comes.

Total waste of time! What is in the book is great knowledge but has absolutely NOTHING to do with the actual test. Don't get me wrong, book is good, it just has no connect with the testing you go through so it is basically worthless from that perspective.

I took the PANRE a week ago after a six year hiatus from practice. Needless to say, I was very nervous and had forgotten much during this time. I did some basic review of systems in a book from my school days and then studied this text primarily. I used Current 2007 for more in depth study on some diseases (not many). I received my passing score today. The pre and post tests in this book are excellent and a great source for preparing for the exam. I would highly recommend this book to prepare for the test and feel it has adequate information to get you ready.

The second edition of the Comprehensive Review is great! The outline is more complete and inclusive. The depth of facts is just enough for review for PA boards. The two exams included are a great tool to help assess your preparedness for the boards! I highly recommend this book.

Just took the PANRE yesterday. This study guide is helpful in broad strokes. Much better than the Appleton & Lange books. However, study questions, for the most part, aren't in depth enough. My PANRE questions were at a much "deeper" level than those in this book. This book and CD are a good place to start. I supplemented with Current Internal Med.

No, this isn't a fun book to read. Yes, the chapters (some of them) seem to go on forever. BUT, its about the best guide there is for PANCE prep.

And PLEASE do the tests from the CD. Very important to read the entire book and do all of the questions.

I used this book and the A&L board review book,and I PASSED boards on April 2007! I studied these books like a pirate looking for buried treasure! And the study paid off! I started studying in Jan 2007, and took boards in April 2007! What more can I say???

Want to pass boards??? TRY THIS!!!!

Don't waste your money. I'm taking my recertification exam in March. The layout and more importantly the clinical information provided in the text is useless. The only positive statement I can make is that at least I can use the questions.

So, to be honest, I didn't purchase this book from the store. I purchased it directly from the publisher. But it was due to the misinformation that I received from the the store description of the book that I made the purchase. I loved the 4th edition which has 358 pages (index included). When I saw the description that his edition has 480 pages I was excited for all the new content as the new edition would be updated according to the PANCE blueprint. When the newer edition arrived I was disappointed to find that it only contained 398 pages (index included). Where are those other 90 pages???? I was instantly frustrated that I had been ill-advised. The book will still reflect newer information and an updated test I am sure. Just know ahead of time that the page count is incorrect!