Best Pediatric Board Review

[rabite]

Hey everyone,

I am getting ready to really start preparing for my board exam in October. Since I want to get a head start I wanted to get the opinions of a larger group of people than my pediatric residency program and have the following questions:

1. What is the best pediatric board review book? If you have passed successfully, which book helped you the most? (I know this has been discussed before but in old forums and the same may not be true)

2. I noticed there are a whole lot of super expensive classes. Are those worth it? It seems a little over the top... but I would consider if you told me they are great

3. One of the attendings told me about Laughing Your Way to Passing the Pediatric Boards and I was considering purchasing it but wanted to know your opinions first? If they are good, are any of there other pediatric board review titles worth it?

Thanks so much! I am kind of freaking out about this process and could use guidance!!!

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[Stitch]

There are multiple threads discussing this topic, so be sure and do a search and hear what people have to say. The short of it is that there's no one single best review. There are many good reviews out there that are different in terms of density and length. You have to find one that fits your study style. I usually say pick one and study it very thoroughly for months (read it around 5 times).

 

[rabite]

There are multiple threads discussing this topic, so be sure and do a search and hear what people have to say. The short of it is that there's no one single best review. There are many good reviews out there that are different in terms of density and length. You have to find one that fits your study style. I usually say pick one and study it very thoroughly for months (read it around 5 times).

Do you think you can point me to a current thread that discusses it? All I have found were several years old

If you don't mind, do you think you can answer some of my questions I posed?

 

[PedPalMed]

I passed this year.
The books I used were the MedStudy series and Laughing Your Way. I feel that both were quite helpful. I used MedStudy more in my long term prep and as the test approached, I reviewed LYW because it is filled with mnemonics and other catchy ways to help remember high yield points. Some of the LYW mnemonics are a little ridiculous.
MedStudy has plenty of details.
I used these in combo with Prep questions and felt I was quite prepared for the exam.
I do have a copy of MedStudy that I will sell to you for $175. It is the 2010 version (2012 just came out) but the new versions go for over $500! Mine is in great condition, I am just trying to get rid of things.

 

[rabite]

Hey, do you have any used LYW? I am looking to get another copy because I have marked up the one I bought originally with notes! Preferably the 5th edition of the pediatric review book

 

[jonb12997]

Med study! I slowly read, and outlined in a separate notebook the entire 4 books cover to cover. for the last 2-3 months before the test, I took the flashcards and would flip through them at random times (watching TV in the evening).
Laughing your way - I bought this, I spent about 2 hours trying to read it and decided I didn't want to waste my time. It just didn't work for me. So that was a waste of $70ish for me...
PREP. I went through every single question for the last 5 years (Yeah, I have more CME than I know what to do with this time around). I printed out every single table or chart that they have in the critique and reviewed those the week before the test.
University of Michigan Board Review. It was GREAT. I highly recommend it! their first time board pass rate for attendee's is something in the mid-90's for people that come (and pay attention) to the whole thing.

That's my two cents....

 

[rabite]

Thanks for all your help. I am currently using this and this to study for my board exam per the forums and colleagues advice! So far I like both LYW and medstudy. I think they provide a good mix of the "classic" review book which is a bit heavy and dense on the brain, but important and the unique LYW style of humor and mnemonic approach (although it can be a bit corny haha it helps me remember).

I really think the mindset of going into this as an intensive review has helped me a lot. Thanks for letting me know to steer away from the pediatric board review classes!