PANCE Musculoskeletal Practice Exam

PANCE Musculoskeletal Practice Exam: 60 Blueprint-Aligned Questions

The musculoskeletal system makes up 8% of the PANCE, and the NCCPA blueprint lists 42 musculoskeletal topics, from fractures, dislocations and sports injuries to rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, gout, back pain, bone infections, bone tumors and the pediatric hip and spine. This 60-question practice exam tests every one of them, with extra questions on the highest-yield topics such as upper and lower extremity injuries and the inflammatory arthritides. It is built the way the real exam is built: questions are spread across the NCCPA task areas, eleven involve a pediatric patient, vignettes range from quick-recognition stems to full workups with synovial fluid and imaging, and every item follows NCCPA item-writing standards. Members also get Masterclass Tutor mode, which highlights the lead-in, first sentence and clues the way our Test-Taking Masterclass teaches.

What this musculoskeletal exam covers

Every topic on the NCCPA PANCE Musculoskeletal System blueprint is tested, with extra questions on extremity fractures, dislocations and soft-tissue injuries, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, gout, osteoporosis, herniated disks and bone and joint infections:

• Rheumatologic disorders (17 questions): rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, gout and pseudogout, osteoporosis, juvenile idiopathic arthritis, polymyalgia rheumatica, polyarteritis nodosa, polymyositis, reactive arthritis, Sjögren syndrome, systemic sclerosis, fibromyalgia and connective tissue disease
• Lower extremity disorders (11 questions): hip and ankle fractures and dislocations, knee and ankle ligament and meniscal injuries, extensor mechanism injuries, avascular necrosis, developmental dysplasia of the hip, slipped capital femoral epiphysis and Osgood-Schlatter disease
• Spinal disorders (11 questions): ankylosing spondylitis, herniated disk disease, spinal stenosis, spondylolysis, spondylolisthesis, kyphosis, scoliosis, low back strain, torticollis and spinal trauma
• Upper extremity disorders and thoracic outlet syndrome (8 questions): scaphoid, supracondylar and radial head injuries, shoulder dislocation, rotator cuff tears, de Quervain tenosynovitis, lateral epicondylitis and thoracic outlet syndrome
• Bone and joint infections (4 questions): osteomyelitis and septic arthritis in adults and children
• Bone tumors (4 questions): benign and malignant bone tumors, bone metastases and Paget disease of bone
• Osteoarthritis, chest wall and compartment syndrome (5 questions): hand and knee osteoarthritis, chest wall deformities, rib fractures and compartment syndrome

Weighted like the real PANCE

The PANCE does not just ask for diagnoses. Questions in this exam are distributed across the NCCPA task areas in the same proportions as the exam itself:

Frequently asked questions

How many musculoskeletal questions are on the PANCE?
The musculoskeletal system is 8% of the 300-question PANCE, which works out to about 24 questions. Because any of the 42 blueprint topics can appear, this exam tests all of them.

How long should this practice exam take?
About 60 minutes. The real PANCE is given in five blocks of 60 questions with 60 minutes per block, so this exam is a full block of practice. Like the real exam, some vignettes are short and some include synovial fluid analysis, inflammatory markers and imaging findings, so pacing matters.

Are these real NCCPA questions?
No. These are original Smarty PANCE questions written to the published NCCPA PANCE content blueprint and NCCPA item-writing guidelines, and reviewed against current ACR, EULAR, AAOS, USPSTF and IDSA guidance. Smarty PANCE is not affiliated with the NCCPA.

Is this exam useful for the PANRE?
Yes. The PANRE and PANRE-LA blueprints cover most of the same musculoskeletal topics, so it works well for recertification review too.

Keep studying: review every topic in the PANCE Musculoskeletal course or try the original Musculoskeletal practice exam.