How To Study for End Of Rotation (EOR) Exams in PA School
I don’t want you going through what I went through during my first EOR exam, which was a HOT MESS.
Ya’ll I passed by the skin of my tail. Now, in my defense, my first clinical rotation was *unexpected* 80 hour weeks at a place where they recommended first clinical rotations should not be held because of the rigor. So, I mean, I did my best ya’ll.
What is an End of Rotation (EOR) Exam
An EOR is a 120 question multiple choice test that you take after your 7 major rotations in PA school. With that being said, how in the world do you actually study for the EORs? Every PA school is a little different, with a little different curriculum and testing, etc. But the EORs? Those babies are the exact same across the board. As the PAEA website states:
“PAEA End of Rotation exams are a set of objective, standardized evaluations intended to serve as one measure of the medical knowledge students gain during specific supervised clinical practice experiences.”
EOR: Where To Start
I would start by going to the PAEA website and pulling up the Topic List and Blueprint for your EOR. The topic list is going to be a list of topics and diseases that the EOR will cover for that specific test (i.e. Emergency Medicine, Women’s Health, etc). I would put them all in a Word document chart or on Quizlet flashcards or whatever. While you may run across other diseases on your rotation, the topic list is THE list of diseases you will actually be tested on. Focus on that. Next, print out the Blueprint- this is a guide to how much of each system you will see (20% of the test is cardiovascular, 15% pulmonary, 4% hematology, etc). Based on the percentage, that’s *kind of* how much studying you should prioritize for each system. If out of 120 questions, 4% are hematology, that still means 5 questions will be heme related! It will help you understand what needs to take priority. Additionally, it will give you a percentage of what types of questions there are (example: 10% on physical exam, 20% on management, 10% on scientific concepts). This information will further identify what TYPES of things you need to know about each disease and system. I mean they totally break it down for you and give you the exact number of questions you will get on each system and on each type of question. Don’t get overwhelmed by this, let it simply guide your studying priorities.
EOR: Timeline
Please trust me when I say this, a little bit of studying every day will go a long way. I recommend you use your first week of the rotation to get your feet under you and learn the ropes. Take some time to set up a study plan that will guide you over the next 3-5 weeks of studying. Try to do 10-20 practice questions every day, study/read review books, or split up the topic list and tackle a certain number of diseases per day. I simply wouldn’t leave everything for the last week because rotations won’t give you time off to study and the last thing you want to do is spend your last week stressing about the EOR and stressing about finishing the rotation strong. Make a timeline using the EOR topic sheet (see below), then figure out HOW you want to study said topics (books, questions, Quizlet, your didactic powerpoints, etc).
EOR: Type of Studying
Practice questions 100% is the way to go. Question after question after question. We all know that test taking is just as much about knowing the material as it is about knowing how to take the exam. Of course, you know what type of studying is best for you, but I would HIGHLY recommend getting some practice questions in your regimen- at least the 2nd half of your study schedule. I usually started the first few weeks of my rotation with studying the actual material, going over study books, reading through past notes, and reminding myself of information. Then the last few weeks I would take tons of practice questions. I also found killing two birds with one stone was GREAT (i.e. if I had a patient in clinic with a disease, I would study it for the next day and look up buzz words and practice questions for the EOR).
EOR: Resources
My very favorite resource was Rosh Review. I think it asked good questions and prepared you well for EORs (however, for the PANCE I had different favs!) I would use their practice exams frequently and do most of my studying through their website. Additional resources I used were the Case File books. I usually didn’t get around to finishing them (because I prioritized Rosh Review) but I thought they were well done, easy to read, and VERY comprehensive. Other common resources
BONUS tip
I want to say this: medicine is a game of two sides of the same coin. First, you need to know what to ACTUALLY do for your real life patient, on the wards, with your team. THIS information, knowledge, and practice may be different from what you have to learn for the EOR. At the end of the day, you need to know both. But, while you are a student, and ESPECIALLY for your EORs, focus on studying for the test- learn the buzz words (though they aren’t used much anymore), learn how to study a patient vignette, learn the main treatments from review books, take practice questions, etc. Studying for the boards IS different than studying for your real life patients. That’s ok. Take it one day at a time and focus on passing your EOR. With the right type of preparation, following the PAEA blueprints, and prioritizing a little studying every day, you will kill it.
Trust me, if I can do it, so can you! I’m already so proud of you!!! Get after it!
If you liked this article, check out my posts about how I survived my Surgery Rotation and Pediatric Rotation!
Cheers!
