③ Top Tips for revising as a Physician Associate Student
Its not easy as a Physician Associate Student to get through your post-graduate studies whilst balancing your busy lifestyle. We’ve compiled resources including books and online tools, as well as general advice on how to cope with everything that goes on with your study for you to prepare in advance.
Are you sitting the Physician Associate Registration Assessment (PARA) in Summer 2025 onwards?
Check out the following link: New 2025 Blueprint
1. Revise continuously - do not leave things till the last minute
As a physician associate student, learning well over 500+ conditions in 2 years is a lot of hard work. It’s important that you plan ahead so that you won’t be stressed out closer to your exam time. It’s also worth noting that you only get 4 attempts at the Nationals, make sure you make it count.
Make sure to check the Matrix conditions on the FPA website which outlines what you need to learn. However remember that in the exam, a few common conditions that are not in the Matrix may come up.
If you have to cram in the revision in the last minute, we suggest you micro-manage your revision. e.g. if you have 100 conditions to study in 2 weeks, divide 100 conditions by 14 days.
We also offer a complete revision app for you to help you study with ease, all divided up into categories with 2500+ national examination style SBAs and concise notes with spaced repetition features. Each section is sorted by systems and categories according to the FPA Matrix Curriculum. Our revision app comes with a unique algorithm that will inform you on the areas you need to study depending on your weaknesses to help you study more efficiently.
Click here to see how best to use the Matrix app as a student.
Other recommended resources include:
Osmosis: A customisable learning resource designed to teach students about the anatomy, physiology and pathophysiology of medical conditions across the main specialities in medicine.
PassMedicine: PassMedicine is a website providing revision for medical exams including medical school finals, the MRCP, the USMLE, MRCPsych and other UK exams.
2. Know the depth of how much you need to learn
As a physician associate Student, it can be overwhelming with the amount of stuff you need to learn. However, the reality is, that you don’t need to know everything. See below for the topics you should learn for each condition:
Pathophysiology
Clinical Anatomy
Risk Factors
Presentation & History
Examination
Differential Diagnosis
Investigation (use BOXES acronym)
Management (e.g. Conservative, Medical)
Complications
Our app will include all the above in a concise manner for you to revise efficiently.
3. OSCE revision
You only get 4 attempts at the Nationals for OSCEs. It’s also worth pointing out that every year, OSCEs change and may become more challenging.
It’s important to learn the theoretical side, however, make sure to practice as often as possible. OSCE marking is very subjective, and it is vital that you come across as a confident, safe practitioner. If the examiners suspect that you could potentially put a patient in danger - it’ll be an instant fail for that station.
Taking a history or even breaking bad news - aren’t easy stations to tackle if you haven’t practised. Practice with your fellow students, friends, parents or anyone you know. It’s all about improving your soft skills and exposing yourself to difficult patients.
Make sure to check the OSCE Blueprint on the FPA website.
Recommended resources:
Book: Primary Care for Physician Associates
Book: OSCE Cases with Mark Schemes: A Revision Aid for Medical Finals by Susan C. Shelmerdine
Online: Geeky Medics
We also offer OSCE one to one Tutors and a 2-day intensive OSCE course where you’ll get to practise stations under timed conditions, with mark schemes for you to receive feedback. You will be examined and taught by Qualified PAs who have gone through the nationals already.
Our courses are designed according to the OSCE Blueprint. (with limited spaces of only up to 16 per course)