OB-Gyn Shelf Exam

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Hi All,

I am a third year just starting Ob/GYN and wanted to see if you could offer me some help/advice on this rotation. I have a shelf exam and really don't know what to expect or how to prepare. In addition, if you can offer any advice on the rotation, stuff you wished you had brushed up on had known going into the rotation I would appreciate it. I have Blueprints and the NMS for OB/GYN, and also wanted to know if that is enough for a good performance on the shelf exam.

Thanks,
Vomer

Hi Vomer,

My school required Beckman which was pretty good and even has some questions in the back of the book. But many of my collegues used blueprints as well, so don't go crazy buying a whole bunch of books. As to advice for the rotation, well initially you'll notice a lot of time is spent waiting around for a delivery, your best bet is to follow the intern on the L&D while you are waiting around for your patient to progress. The more they know you the more they will let you do, same thing with attendings, if you go in on a C-section or delivery with an attending the next time they will let you do the delivery. All really depends on the attendings, you might want to find out from the residents which attendings will let you do the most. Try to prepare for each topic discussed and that should also help for the shelf. Well good luck.

Know your patients and read up on the big things that you see, like normal VS abnormal labor, PPROM, and premature labor for OB, and STDs and incontinence for GYN. I just finished my OB/Gyn rotation at the end of February, and used the Beckman text, NMS (highly recommended), PreTest (not so great for me) and Blueprints to study for the shelf. I just got my score back and was VERY happy. I felt that NMS was helpful for general and quick reading during the rotation as well. Just my 2 cents, and good luck.

drdaizy, MS3

The majority of the shelf consisted of medicine questions last year. There was some ob/gyn and peds thrown in and if I recall very few surgery questions. I would recommend that you read Boards and Wards cover to cover which should cover all the basics w/o going into to much detail. You should also do some test questions to get you ready for it. Our class used Samson's family med review and most of us thought it was helpful. There is also a website that has very good questions for the fam med boards.
http://www.familypractice.com
Go to the link for ABFP in-service training exam and it should take you to the questions.

hey guys -
does anyone know what types of questions are most frequently asked on the OBGYN shelf? amenorrhea, ob, prenatal care, etc?

also, what about staging/grading and treatment modalities of various cancers? any images?

thanks guys!!!

Just took last week. Seemed to have lots of ambigious genitalia questions, pelvic relaxation/incontinence, PCOS, and "what's the next test for diagnosis" questions. No staging/grading/CA tx questions that I can remember. No embryo. One rhythm strip image. Finally, as with all the other shelves I've taken, lots of medicine somehow intertwined with OB/GYN.

hot topics of my shelf (last year's)

postmenopausal bleeding
amenorrhea
std's
rhythm strips
appropriate contraception counseling
breast and cervical cancer screening

the scope of obgyn is pretty limited; even more so considering you're only responsible for really common things. just read blueprints and you'll be fine.

Also, complete Pretest OBGYN and that should help. If you're unsure of anything in Pretest use Blueprints to reinforce concepts. Goodluck!!!

P.S. If you have time, I thought Case Files: OBGYN was outstanding as well.

thanks everyone. how good was the appleton and lange q/a book for the OB shelf? did anyone use it?

I thought it was worth doing and better than pretest. Skip some of the earlier chapters on anatomy and embryo.

Case Files: OB/GYN by Toy et al. Best individual resource I used for any shelf thus far through MS3.

1%ile...How the hell is that humanly possible? I mean, I heard about this rotation as being the one with an incredibly rough shelf at the end...But what the #$@*? I especially prepared for this one in light of its reputation as a real nail biter, and so I am left wondering...how on earth did I score that low??

My other shelfs were in the 30s and 70s respectively. I never have been a great student despite putting in what felt like Herculean efforts just to keep from failing. I wonder if there is some chance that the test was misgraded!!
It seems to me now like the best way I could imagine to come to peace with the damn thing would be to see the test and the scantron I filled out with the master key in front of me. Then I could believe it if I saw what I had actually done wrong. But as I sit here thinking of it now....It's just really hard to believe that after reading through Blue Prints and making handwritten notes on every stinking chapter, and working so hard to get this stuff down--much harder than any of the 2 prior rotations which I did pass...How did this ever happen!?

My only other question is, given the chance to retake the test in 2 months, (end of March), or wait until the end of July--what would you advise I do? If I wait too long, I fear I'll forget this stuff. Take the test too soon without adequate time for preparation, and I run the risk of failing the test again (and then having to repeat 8 weeks on the wards with that rotation again!!!)--or messing up the current rotation I'm on while passing the OB-GYN one...

So my 2 questions recapped are:
1)anyone hear of someone getting NBME scantrons with tests back so that they could go through it--or getting it regraded and finding they passed from an initially miserable failing score?
2)When do you think I should retake this thing and why?
3)If any of you out there have heard of someone (or you yourselve) did fail the OBGYN shelf, what/how did you prepare for the 2nd time around (books, time of test, anything else that is pertinent) and how did it turn out for you/them?

Thank you for taking the time to write, since any help/thoughts are greatly appreciated.

roady (winding...)

OB/Gyn rotation to say the least is not a favorite among med. students. The long hours, and sleepless nights resulting in a failed study habit for many.
Try and recollect what sorts of questions you came across on the shelf and gear your preparation in that manner. OB/Gyn is a very detailed subject so focus your prep. on knowing what disorders occur in the trimesters i.e. 1st tri: Chromosomal defects./ abortions as a cause of fetal loss; 2nd tri: usually a maternal cause (incompetent cervix), mullerian anomaly, submucus leiomyoma; 3rd tri: abruptio placenta, etc... For Gyn: focus on oncology (they love that!), adnexal masses, abnormal bleeding (post., reproductive age, and premenarchal bleeding), etc...
Blueprints is a good book from what I hear but you need to do questions! Pretest is a great series.
Two months is a lot of time to prepare, any longer and you'll lose motivation.

can any OB shelf takers that have 'recently' taken the test give a heads up for HY stuff? Yah , i know everyone says it's 'easy' but i really havent been reading as much as I should so I dont see it as being 'easy' from where i'm at. I've been terribly busy doing some other stuff and am really trying to cram for this bad boy that I got coming up in about a week.


thanks

TF

If your just starting, get a Pocket Dilation Guide(pocketdilationguide.com). A handy little tool to help you with your cervical exams. You can practice with it before you even start, so you know what your supposed to be feeling for before you get to that point.

read through blueprints and do pretest questions. the obgyn shelf is incredibly easy.

Actually a month after I got jr. AOA, I failed my OB/GYN miniboard. So it was a little embarrassing. I basically don't think I studied enough...OB is tough....lots of new material you don't pick up first 2 years of med school. Here's what I did - I studied very intensly for 2 weeks. It coicided with my STep 2 studying, but I only studied OB/GYN for those 2 weeks. I read Beckman's 3 times(!) and I also read Blueprints 2 times. Know those books inside out becuase if you fail again it could be a disaster. I would also know pretest inside out and study Q-Bank if you have it available by then. Suffice to say I did very well during the retake and I only got my grade switched to a "pass" and it was never mentioned and no program ever knew about it. Good luck, don't worry about it and when it's time just study hard. I doubt you misbubbled since there are only enough bubbles for the amount of questions on the test. You probably just didn't have time to learn the large amount of new material while working the long hours.

Originally Posted by doc05

read through blueprints and do pretest questions. the obgyn shelf is incredibly easy.

This is what I keep hearing. I hope you're right!

Originally Posted by bigfrank

This is what I keep hearing. I hope you're right!

i read through blueprints once early on in the rotation and then did pretest questions (i use pretest always and have had great results). Of course I always read boards and wards and secrets step 2 the week before the exam. OB was very doable.

later

Is Case Files by Toy enough to study from and do well on the OB/GYN shelf or does this book need to be supplemented? Thanks.

i second Case Files. That book is the sh*t.

Hey all, I've been reading Blueprints for the OB/GYN shelf and it just seems awfully sparse in its coverage. Any opinions on its efficacy vs. First Aid? Also - how important is it to get a text like Beckmann? And is that Toy Case files better than the Blueprints clinical case series book? Most importantly...how important is anatomy on the exam??

Alright - thanks for your help everyone!

Originally Posted by Doc07

Hey all, I've been reading Blueprints for the OB/GYN shelf and it just seems awfully sparse in its coverage. Any opinions on its efficacy vs. First Aid? Also - how important is it to get a text like Beckmann? And is that Toy Case files better than the Blueprints clinical case series book? Most importantly...how important is anatomy on the exam??

Alright - thanks for your help everyone!

Really no need to read anything other than Blueprints. I wouldn't even recommend a question book (there aren't any good ones for OB anyway). Of course, there are a few questions that aren't in blueprints, but they tend to be from other specialties--IM, psych, etc. I don't think I am incorrect in saying that nearly all the pure OB questions can be answered with Blueprints alone.

I took the test on Friday:

I read Case Files twice and did Pretest for Q's. I felt pretty prepared, suppose I'll find out in a few weeks.

Originally Posted by Gibby Haynes

The majority of the shelf consisted of medicine questions last year. There was some ob/gyn and peds thrown in and if I recall very few surgery questions. I would recommend that you read Boards and Wards cover to cover which should cover all the basics w/o going into to much detail. You should also do some test questions to get you ready for it. Our class used Samson's family med review and most of us thought it was helpful. There is also a website that has very good questions for the fam med boards.
http://www.familypractice.com
Go to the link for ABFP in-service training exam and it should take you to the questions.

That site is discontinued and is now on aafp site but you must be registered for a review course to get the questions. Sorry.

I just took the shelf: Case Files is great -- not enough, blueprints question book did not help much, and i stopped reading pretest after sdn....but some classmates felt like they knew some questions only because of pretest. A&L not very helpful. Overall, very high yield info, more straight forward. Focus on patient management.

Did anyone take the Ob/Gyn shelf recently? I hear it can potentially be really tough and was wondering if A & L or pretest if better for questions. In terms of reading, is Beckman a lot longer than Blueprints?

Originally Posted by xme17

Did anyone take the Ob/Gyn shelf recently? I hear it can potentially be really tough and was wondering if A & L or pretest if better for questions. In terms of reading, is Beckman a lot longer than Blueprints?

I don't see how it could be. It's not a thick book to start and half of it is questions. You could easily read through it twice in a rotation. I like it.

I used Case Files and UW Q's. 80% raw and happy with it.

Any one used Blueprints Q&A Step 2 Ob/Gyn?

http://www.amazon.com/Blueprints-Q-S...rdr_bb_product

Originally Posted by riverie

Any one used Blueprints Q&A Step 2 Ob/Gyn?

http://www.amazon.com/Blueprints-Q-S...rdr_bb_product

I did and I thought the questions were pretty mediocre. Having just taken the test today, I would say the best question source is uwise followed by pretest.

I used case files, Kaplan notes, and pre-test. I felt very prepared for the test.

Originally Posted by hucm2009

I did and I thought the questions were pretty mediocre. Having just taken the test today, I would say the best question source is uwise followed by pretest.

I totally agree using Uwise..... awesome practice questions. I also used Case Files, and overall did not find the exam difficult (scored well too). I was anti-blueprints, it just couldn't keep my attention......I felt like I was reading the Bible (you know you should pay attention and read it, but when it came down to it you just kinda stare at the page and space out). Everyone is different though, hope you find what works for you

Used Case Files (outstanding), UWise (excellent), Pretest (great). Felt very well-prepared.

BUMP

any recent advice?

the advice from above still holds. casefiles and uwise are probably the most high yield. if you add pretest, there really isn't anything you won't have seen before on the test.

I really don't like the UWise questions at all. I'd stick with just the UW and Blueprints. OB/Gyn is a narrow enough field that those will be more than enough shelf prep.

I basically used Blueprints and the UWise questions (as well as CaseFiles and Pretest, but I really just breezed through those).

I didn't use UWorld, although I hear it's good for OB. I focused a lot on Blueprints and read it cover to cover twice, I think. Then I did all the UWise questions in the last two days of my rotation.

I scored a 90 raw, for what it's worth.

have about 2 wks left for the shelf and am freaking out since I havent had much time to study. HOw many questions are in each section topic of uwise? I def want to finish these...trying to manage my time wisely. thanks.

I definitely agree that going through Blueprints should be enough to pass. Anything else would just help boost your grade

Got my shelf score back. 79 lowest shelf score to DATE but still good enough at our school to honor.
Did Blueprints, Most of Casefiles, Uwise, and Pretest, and UWORLD

This is not a shelf to mess with. Everyone said how easy it was going to be so I didn't put my whole all into this exam! Study hard FolkS. Questions are like any other shelf exam, long and not clearcut (always two good answers).

What I wish I would have done? Crammed Casefiles the last day. It is SO HIGHYIELD. I am a spread out studier and I did alot of in the first month (including uworld) and didnt remmeber much of it. When I looked at my book after the exam, I wanted to slap myself!

Don't mess with this exam. Know your OB ****! They love asking questions about preganncy complications like know the hepatic stuff and jaundice in preganncy and they LOVE labor gone wrong questions: like to csection, forceps, or allow delivery to continue.

GOOD LUCK!

Hey GHDS, did u think the uWise questions were representative to the Shelf questions?

Anyone read Beckman this year for the shelf? I got a copy of it but its pretty dense. It seems like blueprints is pretty popular but our school has basically told us outright that you need one of the top 3 shelf scores in your rotation to get anything higher than a pass (I love them), so I'm willing to read the book if I get good feedback on it here.

Originally Posted by PokerDoc

Anyone read Beckman this year for the shelf? I got a copy of it but its pretty dense. It seems like blueprints is pretty popular but our school has basically told us outright that you need one of the top 3 shelf scores in your rotation to get anything higher than a pass (I love them), so I'm willing to read the book if I get good feedback on it here.

got a 99 w/ case files, blueprints and uwise, all 2x. First shelf of the year.

Originally Posted by NYMS86

Hey GHDS, did u think the uWise questions were representative to the Shelf questions?

It's been a few months, so I don't remember all the specifics, but my impression from back then was that they were pretty representative overall. The shelf questions may have been slightly more difficult, but overall I found the format and such very similar. For me, I think it was helpful to hammer all those questions the day or two before the exam, because there's a finite number of subjects they can test you on, and it really helped me to get better at quickly ascertaining what was going on in the vignette.

Your mileage may vary. Good luck!

TurkeyJerky, is there an exam you haven't slaughtered?

Originally Posted by PokerDoc

Anyone read Beckman this year for the shelf? I got a copy of it but its pretty dense. It seems like blueprints is pretty popular but our school has basically told us outright that you need one of the top 3 shelf scores in your rotation to get anything higher than a pass (I love them), so I'm willing to read the book if I get good feedback on it here.

I read Beckman's for this rotation and supplemented it with Casefiles, Pretest, and UWorld. The Beckman text is actually an easier read than it looks (a lot of pictures). I think it covers things relatively well and you can definitely get through the text during the course of rotation. I'm not sure how useful it is overall since I have yet to take the shelf, so take my thoughts with a grain of salt.

Originally Posted by caliprincess

I read Beckman's for this rotation and supplemented it with Casefiles, Pretest, and UWorld. The Beckman text is actually an easier read than it looks (a lot of pictures). I think it covers things relatively well and you can definitely get through the text during the course of rotation. I'm not sure how useful it is overall since I have yet to take the shelf, so take my thoughts with a grain of salt.

sweet thanks.. I have the book but I'm debating whether I should read it or Blueprints in addition to casefiles, uwise and UW.. i think beckman + blueprints might be overkill

Originally Posted by turkeyjerky

got a 99 w/ case files, blueprints and uwise, all 2x. First shelf of the year.

TurkeyJerky, That's so awesome...I wish I could rock the NBMEs even close to how you do! Any chance someone could please hook me up with access to Uwise as the $500+ is so much but I'd really love to be able to do these questions and my school doesn't have access.

Thank so much!

PS If u're wonderin what I can do for you as a trade, wellll I got Pestana audio which is awesome for surgery and maybe some other awesome stuff you may want for your current rotation...

generally free through your school. It's probably not legal to share institutional subscriptions.

You mean you guys get it free through your school? i asked about it today at mine and they laughed in my face... sweeeet