PANCE REVIEW: Train Your Brain

Here are some more Word-Associations for your PANCE studies... I'll add any tricks that I have found or come up with to remember them. Remember, these are meant as a study tool. Read the entire question and use your clinical know-how to determine your final answer. These are in no particular order:

Retinal Artery Occlusion = cherry red spots [When I think artery, I think RED]
Retinal Vein Occlusion = blood and thunder

Hordeloum = Hurt (painful)
Chalazion = painless

Viral conjunctivitis = preauricular lymphadenopathy + bilateral + watery discharge
Bacterial conjunctivitis = purulent discharge

Macular degeneration = drusen deposits/central vision loss

Rinne/Weber - Conduction/Sensorineural 

Epiglottis = thumb print sign/tripod/drooling

Oral white patches
Candidiasis = uncomfortable/Can be scraped off
Leukoplakia = painless/cannot be scraped off (Left on)

HypOparathyroidism = + Chvostek's sign/Trousseau's sign [due to low Ca+]
Hyperparathyroidism = "bones, stones, abdominal groans, psychiatric moans, and fatigue overtones"

Essential tremor = can temporarily gets better with ETOH

Eczema = flexor surfaces
Psoriasis = extensor surfaces

Actinic Keratosis = sun exposure/pre-cancerous!

Seborrheic Keratosis = greasy/ "stuck on"

PANCE REVIEW: Pesky Vertigo

I can never keep these straight. Every practice exam I'm cursing myself when I get these wrong - so I finally decided to make a chart and learn them.

A couple tips to narrow it down:

*Those with the red circle are SUDDEN onset
*Those with blue circle involve hearing loss - so if it is sudden with hearing loss... you're down to Meniere's!

Source: AAPA and PAEA book

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PANCE: Buzz Words

When studying for the PANCE it is difficult to "know it all" - sometimes you need some helpful hints to jog your memory or lead you in the direction of a likely answer....  The following list contains some word association stuff that may help for which organisms in pneumonia are most common in particular populations. Word association is no substitute for knowing and understanding the clinical scenario, but it may help you narrow down the options.

I will put a list here... quiz yourself (see below for answers):

Which pneumonia organisms would you match with the following patient populations or buzz words?

1. ETOH 
2. COPD
3. Air conditioners/cooling systems
4. Cystic fibrosis
5. Asplenic
6. College
7. Leukemia
8. Kids < 1 yo
9. Kids > 2 yo

 Answers:

1. ETOH = Klebsiella
2. COPD = Haemophilus influenza (H.flu)
3. Air conditioners/cooling systems = Legionella
4. Cystic fibrosis = Pseudomonas
5. Asplenic = encapsulated organisms (strep pneumo/H.flu)
6. College = mycoplasm pneumo or chlamydia pneumo (longer prodrome, sore throat, hoarseness)
7. Leukemia = fungus
8. Kids < 1 yo = RSV
9. Kids > 2 yo = parainfluenza virus

Delirium vs. Dementia

Source: PSYCHIATRY for Medical Students and Residents Nabeel Kouka, MD, DO, MBA (available for free online)