APMLE Written Boards, Part 2

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Robin-jay

Robin-jay

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Alright. So I know Board Vitals and Watkins are good resources for this, but that's about all I know.

Are there any other sources for this board that's useful that you guys have? Higher yield topic documents, etc.?

Just curious, how much of APMLE part 1 material is relevant on this board exam. I assume it's nothing alike, but I don't want to assume too much.

I don't even know where to find the official breakdown of APMLE part 2.

Thanks for any help provided.
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I primarily relied on BVs and class notes. A few friends also used Watkins and the Crozer/prism manuals. IMO BVs is enough to pass this exam, granted you have a good background in years 3/4 materials. I am not sure which year you are in, but ask your current 4th years about their feedback after Jan 4th.

You should also check out the past threads on this topic. A few of the users then are now attendings like @heybrother :cool:
Take everything with a grain of salt, though, and your classmates are the best resource, i.e., ppl that have/will take this exam. GL!


forums.studentdoctor.net

APMLE part 2 boards

Getting to that time of year again.... Whats everyone using to study?
forums.studentdoctor.net forums.studentdoctor.net

forums.studentdoctor.net

APMLE Part II

So... with a full 24 hours to recover/digest whatever it was that we took yesterday, any comments about Boards Part II? I am a very good student and would not be surprised if I failed, there was no "feeling" like, oh I passed. I in no way felt that test adequately tested the knowledge I have...
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Is there any practice tests for boards part 2 anywhere? Or questions with high representation of the actual test questions besides Board Vitals?

I have studied those sources thoroughly but never actually came across a practice test.
 
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Robin-jay said:
Is there any practice tests for boards part 2 anywhere? Or questions with high representation of the actual test questions besides Board Vitals?

I have studied those sources thoroughly but never actually came across a practice test.
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There are the two practice tests (60 questions each) on Prometric like there were for part 1.
 
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MidnightSun32 said:
There are the two practice tests (60 questions each) on Prometric like there were for part 1.
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Are we allowed to review the questions indefinitely after we take it, or do you take it once , get a score, and cant review (or you can only review it over for a certain amount of time)?
 
Robin-jay said:
Are we allowed to review the questions indefinitely after we take it, or do you take it once , get a score, and cant review (or you can only review it over for a certain amount of time)?
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You can review it after you take it, can set it to tell you if you got it correct as you are taking it (showing the answer after selecting your answer), and you can take it multiple times. :)
 
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May the curve be in our favor!
 
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So honestly speaking, there was plenty of content from Watkins and Board Vitals. I felt those 2 resources were EXTREMELY adequate in helping you prepare coupled with practice questions / practice examinations that the APMLE Part 2 has.

While I still felt the exam was difficult, I did not feel it was as difficult or daunting as Step 1. This opinion definitely differs between students and how they prepare as well as their academic level from school prior to rotations.

A note worth mentioning, I was the type of student that studied Watkins and PRISM hard in my 1st few months out, laxed it out, for the next 5, and slowly picked up Board Vitals questions and ultimately cleared BV twice, with a good few weeks of grind similar to Part 1.

I did BV once as an initial 1st time pass with no study mode or any practice, just tested mode: I scored mid - to - low 60's.

On my second attempt (with studying), no practice mode, I scored upper 70's and low 80's.

I do not know if I passed obviously, so I will edit when results come out.

I hope this helps.
 
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I thought it was a fairly challenging examination that tested some rather obscure subject matter. It almost seemed like they pulled the non podiatry questions from thin air, meaning there was no way to cover some of the material that they tested you on. I did boardvitals questions 2.5x and while I felt like this was sufficient to probably pass the test, I still don't feel like there is any meaningful way to study all of the content they expect you to know. We shall see.
 
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de Ribas said:
In the manual they say 75% to pass. Does it mean we have to get 154/205 correctly to pass?
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It's been a while, but the scoring is similar to part 1, so it's not that cut and dry. Depends on the SD and the scaled scores that day for every test taker. I believe Part 2 has a higher pass rate throughout the nine programs. You will be fine!
 
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I'm just ready to find out my score. I thought that exam sucked, way worse than Part I. I'm in the bottom of my class and I walked out of Part I feeling confident because I knew exactly what to study and passed my first try. I studied so hard for Part 2, and felt like I got the most random mix of questions. Even if it was a topic I knew and had studied hard, I still didn't feel confident with my answers. It was almost like they went out of their way to avoid buzzwords or word things super weirdly. I felt like I was stuck between two choices on more than half of my answers. Also, BV was a complete waste of time. I scored high 70s both of my practice tests, but I would be shocked if I passed.
 
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icedcoffeepioneer said:
I'm just ready to find out my score. I thought that exam sucked, way worse than Part I. I'm in the bottom of my class and I walked out of Part I feeling confident because I knew exactly what to study and passed my first try. I studied so hard for Part 2, and felt like I got the most random mix of questions. Even if it was a topic I knew and had studied hard, I still didn't feel confident with my answers. It was almost like they went out of their way to avoid buzzwords or word things super weirdly. I felt like I was stuck between two choices on more than half of my answers. Also, BV was a complete waste of time. I scored high 70s both of my practice tests, but I would be shocked if I passed.
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I also felt it was harder than Part I. For part one I knew what to study and felt fairly confident coming out of the exam and had time left. Finished early. This time I barely finished on time, had no time to review anything or any flagged questions. There were too many questions where 2 choices seemed plausible. Is it test on ability to take tests or testing clinical knowledge? Will see what happens on Friday, but I think it was tough exam. There were similar topics that BV covered, but most were not. There is no amount of studying u can do to answer all questions. There were many questions definitely not covered by BV, Watkins, Presby or Crozer.
 
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de Ribas said:
I also felt it was harder than Part I. For part one I knew what to study and felt fairly confident coming out of the exam and had time left. Finished early. This time I barely finished on time, had no time to review anything or any flagged questions. There were too many questions where 2 choices seemed plausible. Is it test on ability to take tests or testing clinical knowledge? Will see what happens on Friday, but I think it was tough exam. There were similar topics that BV covered, but most were not. There is no amount of studying u can do to answer all questions. There were many questions definitely not covered by BV, Watkins, Presby or Crozer.
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Friday can't come soon enough. Do you know what time scores are being released? And agreed, there's no way to thoroughly study for this exam. I genuinely don't think there's anything I could've changed about my study habits that would've made me more prepared for it. It was just nuts. When I tried to remember questions to look up after the exam, I couldn't even remember them because of how bizarrely they were worded. There were several questions that I still haven't found the answers to.
 
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I thought Part 2 was 50% trivia. I seriously didn't realize of how much I was guessing until halfway through my exam. Hoping to pass this mess of an exam. I'm sure most of us will because every single person in my class felt the same way.
 
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Good luck today guys.. judging by literally everyone’s feedback both here and real world I’d assume the curve is in our favor
 
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nhtdung1007 said:
Do you know when the results will be released ? Thanks
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I don’t my school in their words said it’s basically random and there has never been a set time for any of the 3 parts any year. I think I remember part 1 getting released slightly before noon (ET/CT?)
 
EDIT: Prometric posted my score. Good luck everyone!
 
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PASSED (notified by school)
 
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Passed! School (Kent) sent an email with results
 
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Congratulations! What school are you and do you know the pass rate?
 
DexterMorganSK said:
Congrats everyone. Please post the resources used if you haven't already. Good luck with ranking and the match!! :giggle: :thumbup:
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Used mainly BV really. Crozer and Prism was skimmed during clerkships and interviews. Never was a fan of Watkins or the pocket pod. I feel like by far BV was most valuable, definitely repeats in there.
 
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Any news from any schools on pass rates? Just curious.
 
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med2345 said:
Any news from any schools on pass rates? Just curious.
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Personally, I always feel like the schools find a way to inflate their pass rates. Based on anecdotal reports from colleagues, I know of a handful that didn't pass.
 
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Robin-jay said:
Personally, I always feel like the schools find a way to inflate their pass rates. Based on anecdotal reports from colleagues, I know of a handful that didn't pass.
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Part 1 or part 2? Or both?

And completely agree.
 
med2345 said:
Part 1 or part 2? Or both?

And completely agree.
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Both.

However, when schools boast 95%+ pass rates for boards part 2 in the past, and the anecdotal evidence certainly points to a lower percentage currently, then I have to surmise that there is probably inflation going on somewhere for pass rates.

Also, love how your profile still says "pre-med".
 
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Robin-jay said:
Both.

However, when schools boast 95%+ pass rates for boards part 2 in the past, and the anecdotal evidence certainly points to a lower percentage currently, then I have to surmise that there is probably inflation going on somewhere for pass rates.
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I’m hoping you passed. And yeah Part 1 was low for SCPM last year like low 80 (I remember you mentioning you’re from SCPM I think). Hopefully you passed.

I haven’t asked around much but I don’t know anyone yet who didn’t (all of like 4 people) but I’d assume it’s somewhere around 88-90 percent which seemed like the normal national first time.

I think the numbers get confused between first time, second time, and previous class re-doers. No one knows what’s included.
 
med2345 said:
I’m hoping you passed. And yeah Part 1 was low for SCPM last year like low 80 (I remember you mentioning you’re from SCPM I think). Hopefully you passed.
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No worries here, its my friends that had trouble passing, not me. I actually lost a good friend to boards part 1.

med2345 said:
I haven’t asked around much but I don’t know anyone yet who didn’t (all of like 4 people) but I’d assume it’s somewhere around 88-90 percent which seemed like the normal national first time.

I think the numbers get confused between first time, second time, and previous class re-doers. No one knows what’s included.
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I know 4 people who failed, so maybe that's the limit, but I would be guessing there's more. The numbers do get confusing between first time, second, etc. but I still think there's inflation beyond even that manipulation of scores.
 
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Robin-jay said:
No worries here, its my friends that had trouble passing, not me. I actually lost a good friend to boards part 1.



I now 4 people who failed, so maybe that's the limit, but I would be guessing there's more. The numbers do get confusing between first time, second, etc. but I still think there's inflation beyond even that manipulation of scores.
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Wow 4? Out of how many you know that has passed thus far?
 
My brief tips for future students:

Obviously, part 2 is not covered as much here as part 1. Not many suggestions are available in terms of study materials which makes it more nerve-racking going for the test.

I found Watkins Manual to be the resource closest to the exam. It covers high yield topics and facts. I would use it for sure and know it well. It is an easy read and touches on main points for each section. IMO this is #1 resource for part 2. It helped answer at least 30-50% of the questions.

Board Vitals is a great resource. It allows you to go over 1500 questions, test your understanding of the material and read explanations. On average, it will take you about 2 weeks to go through all the questions, so plan ahead if you want to cover it 1-2 times. I didn't find BV questions as close to the test as Watkins, but it is still very valuable. You can read up on the topics you are weak on, get yourself into a test mode, and improve your test taking skills.

I have used Presby, Crozer, etc throughout the year, but didn't find them specifically helpful for part 2. They add to your general knowledge, but not APMLE specific. Still high yield info to review during your rotations.

Otherwise, follow candidate bulletin outline and outline in Watkins Manual. And you should do well.

Good luck.
 
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med2345 said:
Wow 4? Out of how many you know that has passed thus far?
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I assume the vast majority besides those 4 passed, as word can get around very fast with those forthcoming with their failing boards, but I would also surmise there's a low chance it's only those 4. It's just those who were most vocal about it.
 
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Agree with @de Ribas. I started doing BV questions throughout externships when there was downtime (app on my phone). I started doing more of them or more consistently around October because I had a December externship and knew I would be busy. Went through all of the questions twice. Build up the stamina to take a test with 205 questions again. I haven't been in classes or taken exams since third year so I tried to do a few hundred practice questions per day in December. I mostly studied Prism plus throughout the year. Added notes to it--- things learned on externships or through getting BV questions wrong.

I have the Watkins book and never really liked it. Flipped through it a bit here and there. Probably would have studied it a bit more if I knew it better aligned with the exam tbh. I would recommend going through it for part 2. Matched better than other resources.

My last couple of externships were helpful in the sense that residents sat us externs down and went ham with rapid fire questions, board style questions, what seemed to be random trivia at times. It was more helpful than I realized.

Took the practice exams on Prometric (two of them) twice.

The medicine, biomechanics, and radiology professors did some review sessions with hand outs that were helpful for those topics. These were in December so it was hard to watch on top of long days at clerkship but made it work. I definitely burned myself out a little bit in December tbh. Would have studied a bit harder during my October, November clerkship months vs cramming too much of it into December.
 
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The thing about Part 2 is I feel there's no right way to study for it. I had such random questions about very specific medical conditions not covered in any of the fore-mentioned resources. I focused on the podiatry, biomechanics, and anesthesia with the resources mentioned I think thats enough to pass. I completely ignored EKG's and I'm glad I did, not worth the time. Just keep in mind the test is designed for you to pass!
 
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de Ribas said:
I found Watkins Manual to be the resource closest to the exam. It covers high yield topics and facts. I would use it for sure and know it well. It is an easy read and touches on main points for each section. IMO this is #1 resource for part 2. It helped answer at least 30-50% of the questions.
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There's no practice questions in Watkins right? BV is the only source with practice questions?
 
OblivionGD said:
So honestly speaking, there was plenty of content from Watkins and Board Vitals. I felt those 2 resources were EXTREMELY adequate in helping you prepare coupled with practice questions / practice examinations that the APMLE Part 2 has.

While I still felt the exam was difficult, I did not feel it was as difficult or daunting as Step 1. This opinion definitely differs between students and how they prepare as well as their academic level from school prior to rotations.

A note worth mentioning, I was the type of student that studied Watkins and PRISM hard in my 1st few months out, laxed it out, for the next 5, and slowly picked up Board Vitals questions and ultimately cleared BV twice, with a good few weeks of grind similar to Part 1.

I did BV once as an initial 1st time pass with no study mode or any practice, just tested mode: I scored mid - to - low 60's.

On my second attempt (with studying), no practice mode, I scored upper 70's and low 80's.

I do not know if I passed obviously, so I will edit when results come out.

I hope this helps.
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Just wanted to make an edit and say that I did pass.

If anyone would like a reference to what they should be at with BV questions without really practicing on test mode vs actually studying, I'd recommend referencing my values.

Please note these are MY values purely, however, I am in the upper end of my class.

I always felt it was nice to be able to reference where I was in subjects so that I can focus more on those areas. I hope my values can help future students with this method, if you use them.

With that in mind, good luck to the next years students and anyone re-taking this examination next month!
 
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Are there images on the actual exam as much as board vitals?
 
icedcoffeepioneer said:
I'm just ready to find out my score. I thought that exam sucked, way worse than Part I. I'm in the bottom of my class and I walked out of Part I feeling confident because I knew exactly what to study and passed my first try. I studied so hard for Part 2, and felt like I got the most random mix of questions. Even if it was a topic I knew and had studied hard, I still didn't feel confident with my answers. It was almost like they went out of their way to avoid buzzwords or word things super weirdly. I felt like I was stuck between two choices on more than half of my answers. Also, BV was a complete waste of time. I scored high 70s both of my practice tests, but I would be shocked if I passed.
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Hi you post 10000000% fit me after taking the exam this past Thursday! Can I ask what school you went to?
 
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blessed.pod said:
Hi you post 10000000% fit me after taking the exam this past Thursday! Can I ask what school you went to?
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That user was not active on this site since early last year. I believe they went to Temple, though. Good luck with your exam result.

I am locking this thread.
 
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