APMLE Part 3 2023

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
iridocyclitiss

iridocyclitiss

Full Member
2+ Year Member
Joined
Feb 24, 2021
Messages
261
Reaction score
527
I figured I would make this thread seeing as there isn't any. Planning on taking part 3 in May. I've heard its pretty similar to part 2 (crozier, school medicine stuff, and watkins) so I think i'l study the same for it, except I don't want to pay for board vitals lol. Anyone else taking it?
Members don't see this ad.
 
Also, do you have to take it in the state you will be doing residency in or can I take it in any state?
 
Members don't see this ad :)
May as well get it out of the way, less to review later on since people will forget most of it.
 
are you all planning on utilizing board vitals as well? or just the same resources as for boards part 2?
 
Bumping this thread .
I honestly don’t know much about this exam. What’s the format like ?
Are the questions multiple choice ?
 
I felt like board vitals is kinda worthless. The questions didn’t help me pass part 2 at all. Did about a quarter of it and gave up bc I realized it was testing minutia and not concepts I’d be actually tested on.
Is Watkins enough to pass ?
 
prepod2016 said:
I felt like board vitals is kinda worthless. The questions didn’t help me pass part 2 at all. Did about a quarter of it and gave up bc I realized it was testing minutia and not concepts I’d be actually tested on.
Is Watkins enough to pass ?
Click to expand...

Use whatever you used for Part 2 and were comfortable with.
 
There was a saying before these exams were computerized about the difficulty levels of each of these tests.

For part 1, study 2 months.
For part 2, study 2 weeks.
For part 3, just show up with your #2 pencil.

DO NOT OVERSTUDY.
 
Members don't see this ad :)
Adam Smasher said:
There was a saying before these exams were computerized about the difficulty levels of each of these tests.

For part 1, study 2 months.
For part 2, study 2 weeks.
For part 3, just show up with your #2 pencil.

DO NOT OVERSTUDY.
Click to expand...

Amen. I studied at most 1 month for part 1 and zero for the other two after how bad they are. Students - this is NOT the USMLE 😂
 
prepod2016 said:
What’s the difference between part 2 and part 3?
Click to expand...
They're both on clinical science but Part 3 is more narrowly focused on clinical podiatry. No questions about heart sounds or which antibiotics are processed through the liver vs the kidney. More like difference between gastroc and gastrosoleal equinus, max dose of lidocaine, dancers pad vs varus post, etc. I don't think too many surgery questions either. Part 3 is a vestige from a time when DPMs may have started solo right out of school, this was all you needed to know to operate a C&C clinic. I should disclose that I took this test in 2014 so I don't know if they changed the content.

My study strategy for part 3 was that I flipped through the PI Manual for about 4h the day before the test while watching Cartoon Network. Good times.
 
Does anyone recommend purchasing the part 3 subscription for Board Vitals? My school does not offer that so it will likely be out of pocket. Also, it seems medicine is 28% of the exam so I am surprised there are no questions on murmurs, thyroid, etc.?
 
Aresnebula said:
Does anyone recommend purchasing the part 3 subscription for Board Vitals? My school does not offer that so it will likely be out of pocket. Also, it seems medicine is 28% of the exam so I am surprised there are no questions on murmurs, thyroid, etc.?
Click to expand...
It's not a hard exam, especially if you have started residency. I took it prior to starting residency, mostly used Board Vitals, did some light studying and passed. I wasn't super motivated at the time to be honest.

I don't know that I needed BV but I had no idea what to expect going into it. It's more clinical. If you did fine on your rotations, you'd likely be alright with a light refresh.
 
Aresnebula said:
Does anyone recommend purchasing the part 3 subscription for Board Vitals? My school does not offer that so it will likely be out of pocket. Also, it seems medicine is 28% of the exam so I am surprised there are no questions on murmurs, thyroid, etc.?
Click to expand...

I can only recommend buying part 3 Qbank if you answer the part 2 ques based on memory alone. Part 3, like the others, is a board exam, and you want to pass it on the 1st try. It is on the easier side vs. 2 and 1 (as stated in this thread), but a few unlucky ones fail it and have to pay the 1K again. So if you remember most of the part 2 questions/answers, get the part 3 Qbank. Otherwise, most of us have only done part 2 materials and passed part 3.
 
DYK343 said:
Dont some programs require you to pass part 3 before starting residency?
Maybe im remembering that wrong.
And it was easy but I studied pretty hard for it. I studied for all my board exams hard.
I didnt want any chance to fail.
Click to expand...
All Pennsylvania programs because it's needed for licensing. Not sure where else but I thought there might have been 1-2 other places.
 
MidnightSun32 said:
All Pennsylvania programs because it's needed for licensing. Not sure where else but I thought there might have been 1-2 other places.
Click to expand...
I think we had to pass it by the end of 1st year to continue to 2nd year. I think its because we technically had a full license after 1 year residency.
I cant really remember though.
Regardless take it as soon as possible. Just get it out of the way.
 
Ever heard of the 2-2-2 rule? Thats what I'm sticking to. Study 2 months for part I, 2 weeks for part II and 2 days for part III.

Except for me it was more like 1.5-1.5 so far 🙃
 
Is there a good way of prepping for the biostats questions on Part 3? Getting a lot of those on board vitals w/ no good resource to review them/prep for them
 
Adam Smasher said:
There was a saying before these exams were computerized about the difficulty levels of each of these tests.

For part 1, study 2 months.
For part 2, study 2 weeks.
For part 3, just show up with your #2 pencil.

DO NOT OVERSTUDY.
Click to expand...

I always felt like when people say they study 1 week, it's usually 2 months.

While I agree overstudying can be a thing, [I guess]...I do think people drastically underestimate how long they studied when giving advice to others.
 
If people learned the material properly the first time they'd pass no matter.

It's the APMLE not USMLE so mainly baby level 1st ordered "What color is an apple?" type of questions, but it still requires a tremendous amount of medical knowledge acquired throughout the basic sciences years.

If people took shortcuts (cheaters) then a year wouldn't even be enough. Good luck covering 2 years of material in a few weeks (>$250k on the line). These are the people who make podiatry look bad and harder for the profession to obtain parity since they know nothing on the clinical wards.

I'd imagine it would be a major red flag if someone has a 4.0 GPA and fails the board lmao.

Edit: thought this was about part 1 wrong area my bad.
 
Last edited:
heybrother said:
No one is blowing smoke at you on part 3. We really didn't study. Do not buy a fancy program for it. Do not devote more than 1-2 days to it.
Click to expand...
Would you say even a week is too long for most students
 
prepod2016 said:
Would you say even a week is too long for most students
Click to expand...
Honestly a day might be too long.

The simple truth is that most people taking the test have (a) just wrapped up 4th year (b) hopefully at least some of the time went on good rotations (c) and hopefully cranked it up / studied a lot for Part 2, ugh, but really for interviews.

There's space between Part 1 and Part 2. There isn't any real space for Part 2 and Part 3. I really believe an intelligent nurse with a copy of pocket pod could pass Part 3.

APLME used to have a pass rate of like 98-99%. I know we're talking about people who already passed Part 1 and 2 and are committed enough to podiatry to waste another $900 but there's still a lot of dumb in this cohort.
 
heybrother said:
Honestly a day might be too long.

The simple truth is that most people taking the test have (a) just wrapped up 4th year (b) hopefully at least some of the time went on good rotations (c) and hopefully cranked it up / studied a lot for Part 2, ugh, but really for interviews.

There's space between Part 1 and Part 2. There isn't any real space for Part 2 and Part 3. I really believe an intelligent nurse with a copy of pocket pod could pass Part 3.

APLME used to have a pass rate of like 98-99%. I know we're talking about people who already passed Part 1 and 2 and are committed enough to podiatry to waste another $900 but there's still a lot of dumb in this cohort.
Click to expand...
Is part 3 really that easy lol?

1680892674503.png
 
I'll put it this way. Part 3 is so easy that if you find yourself struggling, you need to give up on podiatry. Give up on anything more ambitious than a nursing home job, because you lack the capacity to be manage anything more complex than nail nippers.

Yes I am shaming you. This profession does not gatekeep well and relies on self-assessment. So use any trepidation over Part 3 as a self-assessment about what your capabilities really are. Because far greater challenges lie beyond this test.
 
I think part 3 is only easy because you should have studied and passed part 2, which I've heard is essentially the same.
 
Adam Smasher said:
I'll put it this way. Part 3 is so easy that if you find yourself struggling, you need to give up on podiatry. Give up on anything more ambitious than a nursing home job, because you lack the capacity to be manage anything more complex than nail nippers.

Yes I am shaming you. This profession does not gatekeep well and relies on self-assessment. So use any trepidation over Part 3 as a self-assessment about what your capabilities really are. Because far greater challenges lie beyond this test.
Click to expand...
Sounds like a money grab.
 
Hey guys as the date is approaching, I am getting more and more anxious. I will admit that I have not been studying for it as hard as I did for part 2. I have been doing BV and scoring in the 70s but 2-3 times I scored in the 60s. My brain is so burnt out but I also wanna pass this exam. Any last minute tips from the folks who took it would be greatly appreciated.
 
Aresnebula said:
Hey guys as the date is approaching, I am getting more and more anxious. I will admit that I have not been studying for it as hard as I did for part 2. I have been doing BV and scoring in the 70s but 2-3 times I scored in the 60s. My brain is so burnt out but I also wanna pass this exam. Any last minute tips from the folks who took it would be greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...
I think BV is one of the worst metrics you could use to gage preparedness for this exam. The questions don’t represent the test. At all.
I didn’t use it to pass either part 1 or 2 once I realized how awful the practice Q were
 
Aresnebula said:
Hey guys as the date is approaching, I am getting more and more anxious. I will admit that I have not been studying for it as hard as I did for part 2. I have been doing BV and scoring in the 70s but 2-3 times I scored in the 60s. My brain is so burnt out but I also wanna pass this exam. Any last minute tips from the folks who took it would be greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...
I have been scoring around the same on BVs from mid 70s to mid 80s with an occasional bad score in the 60s and occasional high 80s score. I have not been studying too hard. Just doing some BV daily and reading through Watkins. I did take both the prometric practice exams and got 85 and 82 on those.
 
As mentioned, you don't really have to study for pt3 student boards (just take it right after pt2... same info).

The studying, for any of these exams, began years prior. You won't suddenly learn all of the anatomy or the micro that you failed to learn back in basic sciences years. The actual time leading up to the exams is just to learn the exam format and to brush up on what you know, review high-yield and oddball stuff (classifications, bone tumors, abx and bugs, etc).

I did PI manual for most exams, Kushner book is ok for pt2 (and 3) student boards. The best thing is always the example practice questions/exams from the test itself (via app or website).

You got the needed info for pt1 student boards through years 1 and 2 of pod school.
You get requisite info for pt2 and pt3 of student boards from 3rd year pod school and clerkships.
You study the mateiral for ABFAS BQ during later school and residency, etc (and even 1st year anatomy, histo, etc comes back if you didn't learn it well initially).

The bottom line is just to apply yourself in the classes, pick places (school, residency) that help you prep, and just do reinforce and high-yield leading up to the tests. Part 3 is basically the same as part 2 (minimal competency, easy for anyone who was half awake in pod school).
Of course someone who barely passes the classes in pod school might fail APMLE.
Likewise, someone who doesn't read much and goes to a residency that does little/no academics or board prep is at high risk to fail ABFAS.
Don't be those people 🙂
 
Last edited:
prepod2016 said:
I think BV is one of the worst metrics you could use to gage preparedness for this exam. The questions don’t represent the test. At all.
I didn’t use it to pass either part 1 or 2 once I realized how awful the practice Q were
Click to expand...
What did you use instead?
 
Feli said:
As mentioned, you don't really have to study for pt3 student boards (just take it right after pt2... same info).

The studying, for any of these exams, began years prior. You won't suddenly learn all of the anatomy or the micro that you failed to learn back in basic sciences years. The actual time leading up to the exams is just to learn the exam format and to brush up on what you know, review high-yield and oddball stuff (classifications, bone tumors, abx and bugs, etc).

You got info for pt1 student boards through years 1 and 2 of pod school.
You get info for pt2 and pt3 of student boards from 3rd year pod school and clerkships.
You study for ABFAS BQ during later school and residency, etc.

The bottom line is just to apply yourself in the classes, pick places (school, residency) that help you prep, and just do reinforce and high-yield leading up to the tests. Part 3 is basically the same as part 2 (minimal competency, easy for anyone who was half awake in pod school).
Of course someone who barely passes the classes in pod school might fail APMLE.
Likewise, someone who doesn't read much and goes to a residency that does little/no academics or board prep is at high risk to fail ABFAS.
Click to expand...
Do you think part 3 was easier than part 2 overall? I heard part 3 was more clinical vignettes. I won't lie I did forget some of those classifications and have to brush up on those.
 
Aresnebula said:
Do you think part 3 was easier than part 2 overall? I heard part 3 was more clinical vignettes. I won't lie I did forget some of those classifications and have to brush up on those.
Click to expand...
Pt 3 is supposedly more applied, but it's the same info (dx, path, anat, etc).

They are both incredibly easy because your academic knowledge should be basically as high as it ever will be at that 4th year student time. I personally considered it studying more for clerkships and interviews at good programs... if you do that, you will know more than enough to pass the minimum competency boards. It never hurts to skim books/manuals to make sure you learn the oddball stuff and commonly asked stuff for boards.
 
I found it helpful to incorporate principles of resistance training to Part 3 prep. Much like how you can add elastic bands and weights to regular body weight exercises in order to build your strength and stamina, the same holds true for Part 3 studying. If you consume alcohol while studying, you will first experience impairment in much the same way that a novice trainer is unable to complete a difficult routine. But with repetition, your brain rebuilds and reinforces its memory pathways, ultimately becoming more efficient to increase your alertness and recall abilities. It's normal if you don't see immediate results. It just means you should drink more.
 
Are there any NBPME practice exams other than the Prometric ones?
 
Do the prometric and nbpme practice questions from part 2 show up on part 3?
 
prepod2016 said:
I think BV is one of the worst metrics you could use to gage preparedness for this exam. The questions don’t represent the test. At all.
I didn’t use it to pass either part 1 or 2 once I realized how awful the practice Q were
Click to expand...

Boards will literally take questions from BV (or BV took the questions from boards). At least for part 1.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

H
APMLE PART 3
Replies
1
Views
3K
Adam Smasher
Adam Smasher
E
APMLE Part 2/CRIP Prep
Replies
3
Views
3K
Robin-jay
Robin-jay
N
APMLE Part 2- Class of 2025
2 3
Replies
111
Views
24K
Dr. Extra
Dr. Extra
G
APMLE part 1 retake scores
Replies
6
Views
2K
Bored Snorlax
Bored Snorlax
G
  • Locked
APMLE Part 1 August RETAKE
Replies
4
Views
2K
Weirdy
W
Top