In this episode of the Physician Assistant Exam Review Podcast, we walk through the "Do I worry?" side of derm: how to quickly sort benign vs concerning skin lesions using pattern recognition, not panic.

Instead of memorizing every lesion in isolation, you'll learn to organize them into buckets you'll actually see on exams and in clinic:

• Keratotic lesions: Actinic keratosis vs seborrheic keratosis – rough "sandpaper" vs waxy "stuck‑on," and when premalignant SCC risk should be on your radar
• Vascular lesions: Cherry angioma, infantile hemangioma, purpura, and telangiectasias – which ones are harmless dots and which should make you think platelets or systemic disease
• Benign soft tissue growths: Lipoma vs epidermal inclusion cyst – the "soft, rubbery, freely mobile" mass patterns and why the central punctum matters
• Chronic inflammatory lesions that mimic infection: Hidradenitis suppurativa – why recurrent "boils" in the axilla/groin aren't just another abscess

By the end, you'll be able to answer:

• Recurrent abscesses in the axillae or groin – what diagnosis?
• Rough, scaly, sandpaper‑like lesion on sun‑exposed skin – what diagnosis?
• Waxy, stuck‑on pigmented lesion in an older adult – what diagnosis?

If you're working hard but your scores aren't reflecting it, that's not a character flaw, it's a systems problem. We fix that inside 33 Days to Pass the PANCE, where we train how you study, how you approach questions, and how you manage yourself on exam day so your effort actually shows up as points

In this episode of the Physician Assistant Exam Review Podcast, we walk through five derm vignettes that show up on high‑stakes exams: melasma, alopecia areata vs telogen effluvium, onychomycosis, paronychia/felon, vitiligo, acanthosis nigricans, and stasis dermatitis.

Instead of memorizing another list, you'll learn how to recognize the patterns in the question stem, how to organize these conditions while you study, and how to avoid the thinking traps that quietly cost you points. If you're working hard but your scores aren't reflecting it, this is how you turn effort into exam points.

In this episode of the Physician Assistant Exam Review Podcast, we tackle one of derm's most intimidating corners: desquamation and vesiculobullous disorders. You'll learn how to quickly separate erythema multiforme, Stevens–Johnson syndrome, and toxic epidermal necrolysis by asking three simple questions: sick or well, mucosa or not, and how much body surface area is involved. Then we contrast bullous pemphigoid and pemphigus vulgaris using tense vs flaccid blisters and mucosal involvement so you can stop memorizing and start recognizing patterns.

Along the way, you'll work through priming questions designed to train your brain to notice what actually matters on exam day, not just random trivia. We'll also dig into a controversial topic: extra test time. For some brains, more time helps; for others, it destroys scores. You'll hear a specific way to practice with less time and a smarter way to use approved extra time so you don't talk yourself out of right answers.

If you're working hard but your scores don't show it, this episode will help you think different, work different, and score different