Board Certification in Psychiatry

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How are you guys scoring on old prites? They kind of look like Kenny and Spiegel questions. So my guess is if you are at least scoring 70-75% on those as well, probably good chance of passing?
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randomdoc1 said:
How are you guys scoring on old prites? They kind of look like Kenny and Spiegel questions. So my guess is if you are at least scoring 70-75% on those as well, probably good chance of passing?
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Haven't done any recently, are they supposed to accurately reflect boards questions, because I heard they don't and that they only predict if you'll pass or not?
 
PistolPete said:
Haven't done any recently, are they supposed to accurately reflect boards questions, because I heard they don't and that they only predict if you'll pass or not?
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I thought someone on this thread said that some of the exams on the boards looked like they were nearly lifted out of the prites. I'm also guessing there is probably some overlap in the material and you can only formulate so many questions on HIV related CNS diseases, drug drug interactions in psychiatry, etc. Or at the very least, there will be some common themes that taking old prites might be helpful in hammering in some more?
 
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Just got done with my first pass through Kenny and Spiegel, and about to start the vignette section. My BoardsVitals subscription is expiring, don't think I'll renew it, the questions are pretty nit picky and too detailed, in my opinion. How's everyone else doing?

Sometimes it's just so hard to get motivated ughhhh
 
What percent did you score on the board vitals? I also found some of the questions to be a little too detailed. I'm getting 64% on board vitals, a little lower than average. But just slightly.
 
randomdoc1 said:
What percent did you score on the board vitals? I also found some of the questions to be a little too detailed. I'm getting 64% on board vitals, a little lower than average. But just slightly.
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I'm at 64% too, actually, doing better on Kenny and Spiegel. I mainly got it for the vignettes section which I found fairly disappointing.
 
this is painful. started board vitals, but lost momentum. ditched btb. I'm gonna ask a lame question but which K&S 2nd edition or 3rd edition... the one that just came out?
Anybody use trulearn? the add up top?
 
splik said:
well I bought the 2nd edition the 3rd edition is pretty similar only worse as they tried to update it to DSM-5 but ended up making some errors from what I can tell so it's an epic fail. also the boards are not even on DSM-5 until next year
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I'm using 2nd edition. Didn't even know they came out with a third edition!
 
The third edition is not much different from the second edition, from what I can tell. So I guess I just spent 70 bucks for 8 video vignettes. And what's up with vignette number 19? Ugghggh
 
Tough, and slightly inaccurate. I've noticed that trend with K&S. Overall, it's a pretty good review though. Hey, anyone here studying in Portland, OR? Would be great to meet up for a study session sometime before doomsday! :D
 
thetawave said:
The third edition is not much different from the second edition, from what I can tell. So I guess I just spent 70 bucks for 8 video vignettes. And what's up with vignette number 19? Ugghggh
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I was thinking about buying the third edition just for the video vignettes. Sad to hear that there are only 8. :-/ I guess I should just keep my money then and stick with the second edition that I have?
 
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Dr1216 said:
I was thinking about buying the third edition just for the video vignettes. Sad to hear that there are only 8. :-/ I guess I should just keep my money then and stick with the second edition that I have?
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yes, esp as DSM-5 is featured in this 3rd edition which is not useful for the upcoming exam.
 
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I haven't done them yet, but I can let you know if they are any good... I'll be so glad when this is over...!
 
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BTB says that dosing of meds is not tested, but S&K does test dosing. Does anyone know if dosing is or is not tested on the exam?
 
Anyone using Focus?
I've gone through K+S questions twice and most of the Kauffman neurology questions. Wondering if I should repeat some of this stuff more vs. buy the Focus question book. I thought about BV but it doesn't sound great...
 
pinkladies said:
Anyone using Focus?
I've gone through K+S questions twice and most of the Kauffman neurology questions. Wondering if I should repeat some of this stuff more vs. buy the Focus question book. I thought about BV but it doesn't sound great...
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Working on my 2nd pass through K&S now. I did the FOCUS book, the questions are easier than K&S. They go a lot faster too because the book only gives you info on the right answer. Not like K&S which explains why the others are wrong. It's a good book if you're looking for more questions to test yourself but the answer section is definitely not as thorough as K&S. I felt like it was worth the money but I would rather be over prepared and get exposure to as many questions as possible.
 
Hi Folks , how's everyone doing with the prep ?
I am on my 3rd pass through K&S. Just got done with test # 3 today.
Have also done the BTB Q bank 3 times. Have only seen a handful of videos though. The videos are a drag to watch really.
On my 2nd pass through FOCUS also.

3 more weeks to go ..!!
 
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I feel you @PistolPete. It's hard to stay motivated. So ready for this to be over.

I'm on my second pass of K&S. Debating about getting another resource just to switch it up in these last few weeks. I might just get Focus if it's such a quick run through as @redsoxdave says. But I'm also debating about a one month Qbank subscription instead with Boardvitals or this Truelearn that keeps being advertised on the forums.
 
Have any of you guys used the question review book by Kaplan and Saddock? I have it and wondering if I should do some questions. On amazon, looks like mixed reviews, with one saying it's not at all representative of the boards....
 
PistolPete said:
Have any of you guys used the question review book by Kaplan and Saddock? I have it and wondering if I should do some questions. On amazon, looks like mixed reviews, with one saying it's not at all representative of the boards....
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I have the same book and did a little of it early on before stopping. It is overly detailed and seems like a great resource if you're just trying to learn as much minutiae from the Kaplan and Saddock text but I don't think it's focused enough to be high yield for the boards.
 
Dr1216 said:
I have the same book and did a little of it early on before stopping. It is overly detailed and seems like a great resource if you're just trying to learn as much minutiae from the Kaplan and Saddock text but I don't think it's focused enough to be high yield for the boards.
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OK thanks! I'll just stick to another pass of K&S I guess.
 
I was thinking about buying the third edition just for the video vignettes. Sad to hear that there are only 8. :-/ I guess I should just keep my money then and stick with the second edition that I have?

So after completing all of them, I would definitely advise you to save your money- those vignettes were waaaaaay too easy. I hope it's like that on the actual exam, but somehow I doubt it......uggh. Wonder if there are harder ones out there somewhere.....
 
Dr1216 said:
I was thinking about buying the third edition just for the video vignettes. Sad to hear that there are only 8. :-/ I guess I should just keep my money then and stick with the second edition that I have?
Click to expand...

So after completing all of them, I would definitely advise you to save your money- those vignettes were waaaaaay too easy. I hope it's like that on the actual exam, but somehow I doubt it......uggh. Wonder if there are harder ones out there somewhere.....
 
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Format question- on the abpn sample screens it shows 4 hours and 49 minutes remaining- does this mean they time you in 4 hour blocks, and then close you out, or do they give you all 8.5 hours up front, count down from there, and you can spend as much time on any section as you like? Hope that made sense!
 
thetawave said:
Format question- on the abpn sample screens it shows 4 hours and 49 minutes remaining- does this mean they time you in 4 hour blocks, and then close you out, or do they give you all 8.5 hours up front, count down from there, and you can spend as much time on any section as you like? Hope that made sense!
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Hi there , I am not sure what you mean by Format question . Are there some sample test questions on the APBN website ?
 
No, there are just some sample snapshots of what the screens will look like- I was just wondering if they start the countdown from the 8.5 hours total exam time, or if they split the time up into blocks. And if we can spend more time on some sections (like the vignette sections) and less on others.
 
thetawave said:
No, there are just some sample snapshots of what the screens will look like- I was just wondering if they start the countdown from the 8.5 hours total exam time, or if they split the time up into blocks. And if we can spend more time on some sections (like the vignette sections) and less on others.
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Good question, I'd like to know the answer as well. It seems like the exam starts off with 8.5 hours and we manage the time as we see fit?
 
Well if that's the case, I'd better figure out how much time I can spend on each section maximum, so I don't run out of time! :-o
 
PistolPete said:
Good question, I'd like to know the answer as well. It seems like the exam starts off with 8.5 hours and we manage the time as we see fit?
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Alright kiddos, here's the scoop. I just called ABPN- the time starts with the full 460 minutes and counts down from there. You can spend as much time on any section as you like.
 
thetawave said:
Alright kiddos, here's the scoop. I just called ABPN- the time starts with the full 460 minutes and counts down from there. You can spend as much time on any section as you like.
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Nice! Thanks. So 1.15 minutes per question, although I don't anticipate staying the full 8 hours. Does anyone know if we get lockers to put our food and personal belongings, just like for steps 1 and 2?
 
thetawave said:
Alright kiddos, here's the scoop. I just called ABPN- the time starts with the full 460 minutes and counts down from there. You can spend as much time on any section as you like.
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Just want to get clarification bc something doesn't add up...Where is 460 coming from? The full allotted time (including the 10min of crap before and after exam, the 8 blocks @avg. 60min/block, and 50min break time) =9.5hrs (570min). ???
 
Could anyone give an estimate of the amount of time each video lasted (roughly)? I'm anxious about pacing with the additional time it takes to watch the slips (with 17-21 videos throughout).

Many thanks in advance for your help.
 
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trustforward said:
Just want to get clarification bc something doesn't add up...Where is 460 coming from? The full allotted time (including the 10min of crap before and after exam, the 8 blocks @avg. 60min/block, and 50min break time) =9.5hrs (570min). ???
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I believe the ABPN website says we get 540 minutes = 9 hours
 
trustforward said:
I have the page in front of me, here's the pdf for reference. I'm just trying to figure out the time inconsistencies.

http://www.abpn.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/2016_Psychiatry_CERT_Format_and_Scoring.pdf
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Yah, they don't make it clear at all. The woman on the phone said they take the 50 minutes of break out of your total time of 510. I also thought it was 570 minutes but I guess not. :-( I see that it does say we have 570 minutes total on the website though. Ugh so confusing. Maybe she was wrong- hopefully!!!
You could call and double check... she was very nice at least. Ha.
 
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thetawave said:
Yah, they don't make it clear at all. The woman on the phone said they take the 50 minutes of break out of your total time of 510. I also thought it was 570 minutes but I guess not. :-(
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Ugh. so they take out the 50min automatically? And unused break time cannot be used for testing? Thank you for helping to clarify, theta!
#irritated.
 
trustforward said:
Ugh. so they take out the 50min automatically? And unused break time cannot be used for testing? Thank you for helping to clarify, theta!
#irritated.
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This is what she said, and no, the break time cannot be used for testing. (I asked her that also)
 
Thanks theta for informing the masses-- good to know (frustrated, but better to know now...)
 
trustforward said:
Could anyone give an estimate of the amount of time each video lasted (roughly)? I'm anxious about pacing with the additional time it takes to watch the slips (with 17-21 videos throughout).

Many thanks in advance for your help.
Click to expand...
Bump to ask again...
 
OK just talked to someone at ABPN. Didn't have any idea how long the videos generally are, but we will be able to see the timer countdown while watching each vid (that is, it doesn't take up the entire screen),

Also, unlike the Steps, when we want to take a break, we have to raise our hands and wait for one of the proctors to come to us and put the test into "break mode". We cannot get up and walk out to the proctors on our own. :wtf:

Finally, the only time management during breaks are by the one clock in the main area. And definitely NOT allowed to bring our own earplugs (no matter how sealed or in a box they may be) :arghh:
 
trustforward said:
OK just talked to someone at ABPN. Didn't have any idea how long the videos generally are, but we will be able to see the timer countdown while watching each vid (that is, it doesn't take up the entire screen),

Also, unlike the Steps, when we want to take a break, we have to raise our hands and wait for one of the proctors to come to us and put the test into "break mode". We cannot get up and walk out to the proctors on our own. :wtf:

Finally, the only time management during breaks are by the one clock in the main area. And definitely NOT allowed to bring our own earplugs (no matter how sealed or in a box they may be) :arghh:
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On the website I think it says the videos are from 1-4 minutes long. Are you saying there is only one clock in the lobby?? Not in the testing room? Ugh. I also read that you can ask for earplugs or noise canceling headphones. And a white board. I am definitely going for all three, haha. Oh, btw I called again and asked how much test taking time we have- this second person said we do have all 510 minutes for testing, and an extra 50 minutes for break.
 
thetawave said:
On the website I think it says the videos are from 1-4 minutes long. Are you saying there is only one clock in the lobby?? Not in the testing room? Ugh. I also read that you can ask for earplugs or noise canceling headphones. And a white board. I am definitely going for all three, haha
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Thanks for the video length info!
She said to be sure to look at the time on screen (after proctor enters break mode), and immediately find clock in testing center to use for reference. That seems ridiculous to me, and also UNLIKE steps (we were previously allowed to leave building, use cell phone, etc... we're under some crazy Big Brother supervision now). I jokingly asked if they escort us to the restroom/ have video cameras in stalls... she legit hesitated for a good 5s before responding "no"...
Yea, definitely going for all 3 as well. I'd also take some blinders if it was offered!! haha
 
Wow! This is all good info to know, thanks! From the picture it looks like we are in cubicles, so you may not need those blinders after all ;-)
 
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