Board studying

[chillaxbro]

I'm going to take my written boards in a month, haven't been studying as much as I should

How much did you study?

Did you feel prepared?

I'm just doing rosh questions atm, only done about 300 so far. Am I gonna make it?

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[gro2001]

Depends on how much studying you did throughout residency and how well you did on the inservice exams. I felt those were very similar in terms of content, particularly testable topics.

If you went through residency reading up on the core knowledge and did well without too much effort on the in service exams, you will probably do fine with relatively little prep.

If you slacked off, never studied, and didn't do well on the inservices then you probably need to do a pretty intensive prep in that month. Would probably take a board review course and do lots of practice questions.

If you are somewhere in between you will probably be fine if you do the last couple of PEERs. Assuming you've been a reasonably skilled test takes in your career so fare.

Either way, you definitely want to take it seriously. Apart from the expense, if you fail the boards your program director gets an email and you will be added to the wall of shame.

 

[clibby]

Basically what @gro2001 said. I did well on the ITEs and did Rosh x1 and then re-did everything I got wrong. I did just fine with that approach. If you did not do well on the ITE, you may want to consider both Rosh and PEER, but with only 1 month to go, you should probably stick to one approach and make sure to maximize it.

 

[Restart13]

FWIW I was one of the 76ers from two years ago…partly my fault for not studying enough, partly just life stuff that got in the way. Studied much more seriously the second time around (did all of Rosh) and did Anki flash cards and passed safely. Also was on full time nights the second time around and studied a lot on shift.

 

[RustedFox]

FWIW I was one of the 76ers from two years ago…partly my fault for not studying enough, partly just life stuff that got in the way. Studied much more seriously the second time around (did all of Rosh) and did Anki flash cards and passed safely. Also was on full time nights the second time around and studied a lot on shift.

76er?

(Need a score of 75 to pass, iirc?)

 

[Janders]

Agree with the excellent advice above that you need to self-reflect on prior experience with the in service exam which is your best barometer.

I have a talent for multiple choice tests, and did well on the in service exams. I did all of… PEER VII? Whichever one was most current at the time, and probably spent a couple hours each day a week before the test studying topics I knew were weak spots or questions I missed… I think I had a legal pad where I’d jotted down such topics.

I think this approach worked well for me, but if you had tenuous scores on inservice I would recommend a more lengthy/aggressive study plan… You’ve taken a TON of high stress exams at this point in your life, so you probably have a sense of your needs.

 

[Franzd'Epinay]

I thought the inservice exams were extremely accurate in predicting how I would do on the real thing.

 

[Restart13]

76er?

(Need a score of 75 to pass, iirc?)

77 now 🤦🏻‍♂️

 

[EthylMethylMan]

What's the best to use? Okuda? AAEM course? Both? Something else?

 

[gamerEMdoc]

I think if you have CME money to burn from your job, just do the AAEM course. It's virtual, so at this point, doesn't require travel costs. I think going through all the cases will decrease peoples anxiety about the exam. That being said, its also not a necessity. You can certainly do cases in the Okuda book just to get your process down and pass.

 

[CajunMedic]

77 now 🤦🏻‍♂️

Yup. I guess I'm a charter member of the "74 club" for this year. Didn't do so hot on my PGY-2 ITE. Spent the year studying my weak points in Tintinalli, doing EM Coach (started residency with Rosh, program changed halfway through), and worked the entire 1200 questions book. Last ITE predicted a 90% chance of passing. I started PEER 9 and read "The Ultimate Emergency Medicine Guide." It was a complete kick in the gut.