Is anxiety or ADHD an issue? I had to take it three times to pass. First time, I didn't study much because I had done so well on the PRITES. Second time I barely failed. Third time, I spent 4 months studying mostly 6 days a week morning to night. I am guessing you are close to not being BE and would have to take the oral board if you don't pass this time? I would put your ALL into it. Start studying now. Make sure you really know the material cold. If you have ADHD or anxiety that isn't treated, I would do that ASAP. . I was close to having to take the oral boards if I didn't pass , so I really put a ton of effort in my third time (I didn't take it the first year out of residency). I did the Kauffman course in NY (personally didn't find it all that helpful). Did you use beat the boards? If so, you can keep it for free and email Jack and your exam results and he will reply and offer suggestions. I would do BTB for content and do the the practice questions for practice. I did get special accommodations and was able to get double time my third try, I have ADHD (can't tolerate the meds) and severe GAD and they gave me the accommodations for GAD. I am sure that help, but the other thing I did my last time was as many questions as possible. I spared no expense and worked pretty much a day a week for four months, I studied morning until night the other six days a week. I did the questions and read the explanations, any online q bank . Muskin wrote a book about diagnoses and has a q book and I did that, I did a lot of online Q banks too and read the answers in detail . I think practice questions are what got me the pass on my third try. I didn't use it, but the ABPN has a study guide on their site you can buy, I would have bought that if I knew about it in time. Kenny and Spiegel is a must and know it cold.
Do you work at a facility where there is a psych residency or is there a psych residency near you that would let you sit in with their residents for board review sessions? Did you keep in touch with any of your attendings who could help? With my ADHD I study better alone. Maybe a group would help. BTB has some people who do virtual groups. Another nifty thing about BTB is that they have vaults with a lot of quick stuff that is pretty high yield in their vault, you have to dig for it, but it is gold. I was terrified of having to take the oral boards, which is why I studied so hard and so long and spent a small fortune my third try. Honestly, it's a BS exam. For some questions, there was definitely more than one right answer. But not passing it and having the BC closes the door to a lot of jobs. If you want to be BC, I would spend as much time and money as possible. But I can also say some psychiatrists have cash only private practices and aren't BC. There's a stick thread with a lot of helpful information. Some people just needed to read Kenny and Spiegel once or a few times or BTB, that's not enough for you and it wasn't enough for me. I would read that thread. Good luck. I KNOW the feeling of failing and it was horrible. But if I passed, you can pass. By reviewing how you do on a practice test, you may be able to find out if you are not reading the question correctly, or if timing is an issue, or knowledge.................... In BTB Jack said that you need to know the ONE distinguishing factor between two similar diseases and I found that helpful. If the question is asking what the next best step is, the answer is always whatever is needed to keep the patient alive and safe or others safe. I also used the DSM 5 as a resource for criteria and prevalence, most common comorbidities. The one thing that Jack says that I disagree with is to focus on the high yield sections on the ABPN site. Some sections which were supposed to be really high yield and weren't. I would know all psych. I actually ran out of time (despite all the time I spent) and pretty much skipped neuro. I felt that may have been an error because the neuro questions were straightforward but neuro is so vast. You have like three and a half months. Maybe you can't take the next few months off and study, but I would suggest starting now and using most of your free time studying so you can put this behind you. I have always had severe test anxiety and didn't study for any of the COMLEX exams and barely squeaked by. Some of us aren't good standardized test takers. Last piece of advice, try not to worry about how many questions you got wrong or guessed on while you are taking it. I was "SURE" I failed the third time and devastated, and I was surprised I passed and by a big margin. I gave my books away to a psychiatrist who needed them otherwise I would offer them to you. I did use all of the books and courses as a tax deduction.
