AP/CP Board Study 2014

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pathperson

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Hi everyone. What are some pointers for boards? I know all the obvious ones, like study a ton, Osler, ASCP lectures, Lefkowitch, etc, but what are some rare gems y'all found helpful? Are there any common resources that anyone found to be a total waste of time? Is the RISE question format similar to the actual boards? I have heard both that the questions on the RISE are far too simple, and also that the questions on boards are much more straightforward than the RISE - either you know it or you don't.

Please no remembrances, I don't want to be carted away in the night.

If anyone did not pass, what would you have done differently?


I also wanted to let you all know I am wearing a t-shirt today to honor this forum as I study this afternoon:

"The time for action is past. Now is the time for senseless bickering."

I also have a mug from the same website that reminds me of this forum:

"It may be that the purpose of your life is to serve as a warning to others."

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Hi everyone. What are some pointers for boards? I know all the obvious ones, like study a ton, Osler, ASCP lectures, Lefkowitch, etc, but what are some rare gems y'all found helpful? Are there any common resources that anyone found to be a total waste of time?

For cytology image questions, I'd recommend ASCP's Cytopathology Review Guide. Don't bother doing the non-image questions if you're short on time; I found them to be less helpful.

I bought Quick Compendium Companion: Challenging Questions in Surgical Pathology and didn't like it very much. The questions were too nitpicky and focused almost entirely on trivia. By the way I loved the quotes in your post. I share the same sentiment as you.
 
Members don't see this ad :)
Washington manual of surgical pathology has everything you need to know for AP (minus images and cytology)
 
try the search function... I know we've tackled this topic at least half a dozen times in the last three years.

Yes, but the resources continually change and fluctuate in their usefulness. The boards change too, and those who recently failed may have insights to share which haven't been mentioned yet. I'm sure a search for prior threads may be useful, but I think this new thread can still be useful, too.

I personally find the Lefkowich book questions to be less than stellar. Their format and many of their topics seem a bit off-target, and I've heard similar sentiment from several people who took the boards and passed. I have sold my copy off and have chosen to focus on other sources. I do think it is better than nothing, and covers plenty of useful info, don't get me wrong. I just feel like my time can be better spent on something else.

The ASCP compendium books just drive me up the wall. But some people swear by them, and they seem to work. I know two guys who studied nothing but the ASCP compendium books and the Osler notes, and consistently got in the 90+ percentile for the Rise exams each year and passed their boards no problem. I just can't do bullet-points though. My brain doesn't work that way. 😛

In relation to the Rise vs. real boards, I've been hearing that they are fairly similar. However, several folks have told me the boards have more direct "what is the diagnosis" types of questions compared to the Rise, and fewer molecular or genetic based questions. They say the boards still had plenty of genetic and molecular questions of course, as well as convoluted or multi-step questions, but over all the fraction of such questions seemed smaller than on the Rise.

My personal favorite study tools are:
  • P-Rise question bank (after completing a section, you can download a PDF of the questions and answers; very nice for review!)
  • Osler lectures and notes (though, the quality of the lectures are very hit-or-miss...a few are amazing, while some are beyond useless and may actually be harmful to listen to!)
  • For AP books, I prefer the McGraw-Hill Specialty Board Review Anatomic Pathology, as well as its accompanying set of Flashcards. Note that the flash cards cover material that is already in the book, but I find them easier to study from. Also, the book has more than the flashcards, so between the two the book is more important.
  • For cytology, I found the following nice and slim, with decent pictures and I think good quality questions: Cytopathology Review
I'll report back after my boards, to let you all know what I think of these in retrospect. If anyone can comment on them now though, feel free!
 
Yes, but the resources continually change and fluctuate in their usefulness. The boards change too, and those who recently failed may have insights to share which haven't been mentioned yet. I'm sure a search for prior threads may be useful, but I think this new thread can still be useful, too.

I personally find the Lefkowich book questions to be less than stellar. Their format and many of their topics seem a bit off-target, and I've heard similar sentiment from several people who took the boards and passed. I have sold my copy off and have chosen to focus on other sources. I do think it is better than nothing, and covers plenty of useful info, don't get me wrong. I just feel like my time can be better spent on something else.

The ASCP compendium books just drive me up the wall. But some people swear by them, and they seem to work. I know two guys who studied nothing but the ASCP compendium books and the Osler notes, and consistently got in the 90+ percentile for the Rise exams each year and passed their boards no problem. I just can't do bullet-points though. My brain doesn't work that way. 😛

In relation to the Rise vs. real boards, I've been hearing that they are fairly similar. However, several folks have told me the boards have more direct "what is the diagnosis" types of questions compared to the Rise, and fewer molecular or genetic based questions. They say the boards still had plenty of genetic and molecular questions of course, as well as convoluted or multi-step questions, but over all the fraction of such questions seemed smaller than on the Rise.

My personal favorite study tools are:
  • P-Rise question bank (after completing a section, you can download a PDF of the questions and answers; very nice for review!)
  • Osler lectures and notes (though, the quality of the lectures are very hit-or-miss...a few are amazing, while some are beyond useless and may actually be harmful to listen to!)
  • For AP books, I prefer the McGraw-Hill Specialty Board Review Anatomic Pathology, as well as its accompanying set of Flashcards. Note that the flash cards cover material that is already in the book, but I find them easier to study from. Also, the book has more than the flashcards, so between the two the book is more important.
  • For cytology, I found the following nice and slim, with decent pictures and I think good quality questions: Cytopathology Review
I'll report back after my boards, to let you all know what I think of these in retrospect. If anyone can comment on them now though, feel free!

The new compendium is written in a narrative style and it feels like a CP textbook more than a review book but it is quite solid, esp with certain parts of Osler (namely micro) being totally useless. Otherwise, I am using pretty much the same resources.
 
I'm also using fairly similar resources.

CP - Compendium for most things, although I have added a TON of extra info in the margins and on folded pieces of paper stuck in between various pages. I did not use the blood bank section at all; I read Petrides instead and I have a extensive set of my own hand-written notes from the lectures we got from our own blood bank staff in residency, which were fantastic. I also listened to all of BBguy's Osler lectures, looked through his handouts on the web and did his practice questions (I wish there were this many resources for other topics!). I did not use the neoplastic hemepath section at all (I have the older/2nd edition compendium); I used the 2008 WHO book and some of my own notes. I also listened to Daniel Mais' hematology/hemepath lectures from the ASCP board review course. I did not use the coag section at all; I read the relevant McClatchey chapters and made my own notes. I also listened to Michael Laposata's coag lectures from the ASCP board review. I didn't listen to very many lectures (neither Osler nor ASCP) for micro or chemsitry, it was just too tedious, so I mostly reviewed using questions instead.

Other sources of CP questions (I didn't necessarily use ALL of these for EACH topic) - Compendium Companion, questions provided as part of Osler/ASCP reviews, PRISE, "item descriptors" from the RISE (you often can't really tell what the questions were actually about because they are really vague, but you can at least read over whatever they felt was a relevant section of a reference textbook if the topic sounded unfamiliar to you), some of our CP staff have multiple choice questions they use as pre/post tests. I also subscribe to the blood bank and microbiology "Question of the Day" emails.

AP - I am not actually using an all-encompassing review book to study for AP. I have a Molavi, which I used a lot first year but haven't really used very much since then, and a Washington Manual (older 2008 one) that I never used much at all. I never bought Differentials (several people told me they thought it was not detailed enough) or Essentials. I have more AP than CP studying left to do, but so far for each organ system I have covered I have reviewed my own notes from my personal studying/residency lectures (really good in some areas, a bit spotty in others), listened to the ASCP board review lecture(s), done the ASCP questions (I haven't done the Osler to compare, but I have been really pleased with the ASCP lectures so far and have had several prior test-takers say they preferred ASCP to Osler for AP topics), done questions in either Lefkowitch and/or the new AP question book and/or PRISE, and looked at study sets/recut collections of glass slides in that area.

I also plan to do more general AP studying in a couple of weeks when I've finished all the organ systems using a review of virtual slides/pictures online (i.e. CAP case of the month, PathOutlines case of the week, Johns Hopkins unknowns) and more glass (we have California Tumor Registry and I think the ASCP checkpath samples?...although I don't think anyone in our department subscribes to the CAP PIP). I haven't decided what to use for cyto yet.
 
Thank you all very much, this is helpful!

I can add that Koneman, of the microbiology textbook, has come out with a Question Bank and Image Atlas which is pretty good. If anyone wants the info so their program can order it, here it is. It just came out last month. I'm not trying to advertise for them, but here is the info in case anyone wants it. I cannot find a direct link to this online, hence the cut and paste.





Program Overview:
The Koneman Question Bank for Clinical Microbiology was designed to assist educators and laboratory supervisors in the development of assessment tools for "in-house" competency assessment, student examination development and proficiency testing.
This program is also ideal for students, laboratorians and pathology residents to use for: self-assessment, re-training as well as board / certification examination preparation.
Both Single-User and Network Licenses available
3 Modules:
Clinical Bacteriology
includes: Anaerobes, Enterobacteriaceae, Acid Fast, Nonfermenters, Gram-Positive Cocci, Gram-Positive Bacilli, and Misc. Gram-Negatives
Clinical Mycology includes: Aspergillus, Chromomycosis, Dermatophytes, Dimorphics, Hyalohyphomyces, Phaeohyphomyces, Yeasts, and Zygomycetes
Clinical Parasitology includes: Blood & Tissue Parasites, Cestodes, Nematodes, Protozoa & Flagellates, and Trematodes
Key Features:
- Edit/revise questions and images to reflect current institution/program
practices and educational objectives
- Covers the most common isolates encountered in the clinical microbiology
laboratory.
Slide Practicals- "Virtual Unknowns"
345.jpg

# Questions
Clinical Bacteriology: 155
Clinical Mycology: 192
Clinical Parasitology: 153
TOTAL 500
Features and Use:

  • Create your own practical exams by copying and pasting screens from the group/genus-specific PowerPoint presentations.
  • Use as "Virtual Unknowns" for practice proficiency and student laboratory testing
  • Answer Keys provided for each group of organisms
_________________________________________________________
Multiple-Choice Questions
353.jpg

# Questions
Clinical Bacteriology: 150
Clinical Mycology: 115
Clinical Parasitology: 135
TOTAL 400
Key Features:

  • Most questions contain images
  • Copy and paste questions from genus/group-specific MS Word Files and create your own examinations.
  • Answer Keys included for each group of organisms
___________________________________________________________
Use the Question Bank as a template and substitute images from the 3 Koneman Image Atlases to create your own exams.

No Limit to the Number of Possible Questions!!
Introductory Discount
This offer expires March 1, 2014

Koneman Question Bank for Clinical Microbiology - (Single-User License)
$225 CACMLE Member
$250 Non-Member

After March 1st: $250 CACMLE Member
$275 Non-Member

Add one or all of the Koneman Image Atlas CDs to your order:
CACMLE Member Non-Member

Image Atlas and ID Guide for Clinical Bacteriology $250 $275
Image Atlas and ID Guide for Clinical Mycology $250 $275
Image Atlas and ID Guide for Clinical Parasitology $250 $275
Order all 3 Image Atlases and the Question Bank $895 $995
Network Licenses for Atlases and Question Bank - $395/CD
Network Package - 3 Images Atlases & the Question Bank - $1,250

($1,580 if purchased separately)
Click here for: Question Bank & Image Atlas Order Form (pdf)

For more information: Koneman Microbiology Image Atlases
Questions? Please Contact
Christie Grueser: [email protected]
(303) 321-1734​
 
It is amazingly obvious how profit-driven the boards and all the board study materials have become
 
Yep. $2200 for boards, about $2500 for Osler including flight, etc, $500 if you buy PRISE, plus I haven't even looked at flights and hotel in Tampa. And the question books are expensive too. If you're lucky your program will buy PRISE and the Koneman micro Q bank, but it all adds up fast.

Plus who knows what awaits us in Tampa; I just got an email from the MBA who is the "board administrator" today telling me they will debut a "new question format" in 2014 for the AP practical section, called "extended answer format." I guess they have to do something with all their cash we pay them.....like sit around and think up new ways to torture us....

OH JOY!!!!!

I operate on a basic principle: If you have to give something a stupid name, its probably bc its a stupid idea. "Enhanced interrogation techniques," "extended answer format," - same difference. Stupid name, stupid idea. It will probably be something like: "Put the following in reverse alphabetical order of least wrongness." And we all get to become repeat customers of the ABP!!

🙂
 
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