Preconception and prenatal care feels like pure memorization:

• Folic acid doses
• Visit schedules
• Quad screen patterns
• RhoGAM timing
• A pile of week ranges that all blur together

In this episode, Brian strips it down to what actually shows up on your EORs and the PANCE, and how to connect the facts so they stick.

Inside the episode:

• How to think about prenatal care the way the boards test it, not the way the guidelines list it
• Preconception counseling that gets tested: when to give 400 to 800 mcg of folic acid and when to jump to 4 mg
• The medications and conditions that should set off alarm bells: epilepsy on valproate or carbamazepine, warfarin, isotretinoin, lithium, methotrexate, ACE inhibitors, tetracyclines, and how they get hidden inside a question stem
• Screening vs diagnostic: first-trimester screens, cell-free fetal DNA, CVS, amniocentesis, and what the exam is really asking
• Quad screen pattern fingerprints for Down syndrome, Trisomy 18, and open neural tube defects
• The timelines you have to know cold: prenatal visit schedule, the one-hour glucose challenge, GBS culture, and exactly when RhoGAM goes in

At the end, Brian breaks down "studying" the way he defines it inside 33 Days: not hours in the chair, but how many points you walk away with from the time you're already working. And how to build a simple system so high-yield facts like RhoGAM timing don't slip through the cracks.

Show notes and full outline: https://www.physicianassistantexamreview.com/165

Learn more about the June 33 Days to Pass the PANCE cohort starting June 1: https://www.physicianassistantexamreview.com/33

Pelvic organ prolapse is one of those topics most PA students gloss over in school and then get burned by on exams. In this episode, Brian pulls from 15 years in urogynecology to make uterine prolapse, cystocele, and rectocele simple, visual, and memorable.

Instead of memorizing dense definitions, you'll learn to picture the anatomy, understand what's actually happening, and recognize how these conditions show up in question stems so you can grab easy points on EORs and the PANCE.

In this episode, you'll learn:

• What uterine prolapse is, key risk factors, and the first-line non-surgical treatment (pessary)
• How to distinguish cystocele vs rectocele on physical exam using anterior vs posterior vaginal wall bulges
• The pathognomonic symptom for rectocele (splinting) and how patients describe it
• How prolapse creates urinary and bowel symptoms you'll see in real-life clinical practice
• A practical study tip on when to memorize and when to understand and rebuildinformation

This is a short, focused episode designed to turn prolapse into straightforward exam points instead of confusion.

If the show is helping you, please share it with classmates or faculty. And if you're ready to go deeper into how you study, test, and perform under pressure, check out the next 33 Days to Pass the PANCE cohort starting June 1st at:
www.physicianassistantexamreview.com/33

Pelvic pain and pelvic masses show up all over your exams. The challenge is not memorizing four separate chapters, it is knowing what to do with the patient in front of you: watch, work up, or get them to the OR.

In this episode, we walk through four high‑yield causes of pelvic pain and masses in reproductive‑age women: endometriosis, uterine fibroids (leiomyoma), ovarian cysts, and ovarian torsion. What ties them together is the timeline and urgency: chronic versus acute, medical versus surgical, when "more ibuprofen" is fine and when delay means losing an ovary.

You will learn:

• How to recognize endometriosis on exams (cyclic pain, deep dyspareunia, infertility) and why laparoscopy is the definitive diagnosis
• Which fibroids cause heavy bleeding and how location drives symptoms
• How to sort functional cysts from more concerning adnexal masses
• Why normal Doppler flow does not rule out ovarian torsion and why clinical suspicion still controls the decision

We finish with a study tip on how to group related conditions so you think like the test writers (and like a clinician), not like a flashcard deck.

If you are working hard but your scores are not reflecting it, this episode will help you see pelvic pain questions more clearly and avoid the common traps that cost points.