Board Certification in Psychiatry

[computerguy]

I have written to ABPN expressing my concerns as well. Hopefully, they take it seriously. I would strongly like to urge others to do the same and also to tell their colleagues from residency/work who took the exam to also write letters as soon as possible as they are probably in the midst of grading this as someone mentioned in a previous post!

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[FriarLawrence]

agree...Part I was straightforward and fair. Part 2 was horrible for me! I found myself rushing thru the videos and was unable to even hear the last two videos. I think the ABPN website is extremely misleading..it IS possible to forward and rewind the sample video they provided on their website prior to the exam..and the real exam did NOT ALLOW THIS!!!! THIS IS LEGALLY WRONG AND NEEDS TO BE BROUGHT UP. Personally, I lost time trying the hear the first video twice, not realizing this factor. I agree that more people should bring this up and complain to ABPN. Perhaps the second part should be eliminated or they should pass everyone due to all these errors.

Yes, I agree. Part II was very stressful, mostly because we were never really told how to prepare for it. I felt like I was walking into an expensive, high stakes exam without having prepared for it hardly at all - and that's exactly what happened. Very unfair. The stuff of nightmares. Hopefully there will be more preparation materials available for the class taking it next year.

 

[nitemagi]

Yes, I agree. Part II was very stressful, mostly because we were never really told how to prepare for it. I felt like I was walking into an expensive, high stakes exam without having prepared for it hardly at all - and that's exactly what happened. Very unfair. The stuff of nightmares. Hopefully there will be more preparation materials available for the class taking it next year.

Not to point out issues, but the flipside is I haven't heard of a single person not passing this year. Not one. Though my selection pool is small <20, and they're all pretty smart people, I have to wonder if this means many of the q's from section 2 were thrown out.

 

[FriarLawrence]

Not to point out issues, but the flipside is I haven't heard of a single person not passing this year. Not one. Though my selection pool is small <20, and they're all pretty smart people, I have to wonder if this means many of the q's from section 2 were thrown out.

Yes, that’s one way to look at it. Also, as a friend of mine who has yet to take his oral boards pointed out to me, I’ll never have to deal with the ambiguities, uncertainties and expenses of a live patient exam. That is a huge advantage with the new format. Plus, you get it all over with in one day. Despite all that, I’m not at all in a very celebratory mood today. Just irritated to have been put through that weird experience.

 

[acp]

Have you tried Boardvitals.com (it's a qbank like USMLEworld)

 

[benjee]

Hi everybody,
I am curious if there are any websites shows passing rate on oral board in past 2 ,3 years?

 

[saadiamd]

Hi , I am looking for a desi study partner for sept 2013 Child Psy board( written ) preparation.
I am in Eastern time zone.
please email me at
[email protected]

 

[Studentforlife1]

Hi everyone, my mother is a practicing psychiatrist in the USA studying for part 1 of the boards. She completed residency over 15 years ago however, and is out of touch with the best ways to prepare. I'm trying to do some research to help her out because she is not so good with computers, and was hoping some of you might have advice for us.

First of all in regards to getting practice questions, is there any way to obtain the most recent PRITEs? Also I've heard about boardvitals.com and the FOCUS text (for psychiatric questions as opposed to neurology), and was wondering what is the best source for practice questions.

I'll be scouring the forums for answers to these questions as well. Sorry if some of them are redundant but if anyone has had good personal experience with certain texts, websites, or methods of preparation it would be wonderful if you could share that with us. You can PM me or responds to this post, whatever works.

Thanks so much!

 

[PikminOC]

I'm still in the pool of people who have to take the oral boards. I am taking it in sept 2012 and would like to study with someone over the phone to rehearse.

Please send me a message if you want to rehearse for Board Step 2.

 

[twright]

In terms of dress code for ABPN Part II, is shirt & tie sufficient for men? Or are most men wearing full suits? Thanks!

 

[medicine2006]

Hello good colleagues,

I will be taking the new initial certification exam in September. I have a few questions for anyone who can answer them. Much appreciated.
1) If we finish a section early will the mandatory break start early?
2) What if you need to use the restroom during one of the two blocks? And does that count against your time?
3) For the video vingnettes, is time an issue since most people can read much faster than they can watch/listen to a video? I hear you can not fast forward.
4) Finally, is BoardVitals question bank useful or good?

One more thing are there many locations to choose where to sign up for the testing?

Thanks again

 

[kumar28]

anyone using first aid for psychiatry boards review. Also what books did u use for the neurology section review. Anyone feel that the Kaufman book is too much

 

[jokerabc]

Hey guys, looks like some of us are asking about the new board exam again coming up in Sept. I am doing Beat the Boards from last year, and I have ordered the "update" for this year, but I think it doesn't come out until later this month?

I really hope they have updated some material including practice stuff and how to handle the Video part. I am very scared about the video part of the exam. Anybody else have any other resources to study or comments on Beat the Boards? (I will also use the Kenney and Speigel question book)

 

[andreaa]

Just passed my oral boards in Psychiatry after passing the written part last year. I highly recommend Beat the Boards. I used their books and CDs, not live lectures and I passed this exam from the first attempt.
I have the books and CDs for the oral and written board for sale, 400$ all the materials (they were 1800 all together).
If anyone is interested, you can contact me at [email protected]

 

[DrWho41963]

If you could purchase only one, which would people buy to prepare for psych boards: Beat the Boards, or Osler?

 

[atsai3]

In terms of dress code for ABPN Part II, is shirt & tie sufficient for men? Or are most men wearing full suits? Thanks!

Doesn't look like anyone picked this up. Probably won't help you, but for others: on my testing day I observed many men wearing full suits. However, I also observed a substantial minority wearing dark slacks, white shirt, and tie.

 

[atsai3]

If you could purchase only one, which would people buy to prepare for psych boards: Beat the Boards, or Osler?

Beat the Boards

 

[DrWho41963]

If you had limited funds and could only purchase 1 of these HOME review courses, which would it be: Beat the Boards or Kaufman Notes? Why?

 

[GoodFriend]

If you are still around I am interested studying. Exam at the same time. My address is below Thanks,

GoodFriend

almos_nagy AT hotmail . com

I'm still in the pool of people who have to take the oral boards. I am taking it in sept 2012 and would like to study with someone over the phone to rehearse.

Please send me a message if you want to rehearse for Board Step 2.

 

[greenlady]

I am stuggling with boards this will be my fourth attempt with written tried everything but still no luck any suggestions

 

[skipandgo]

Oral boards upcoming...Quick question--when asked to discuss phenomenologic aspects of the case, does that refer to HPI or MSE?

 

[benjee]

Hi greenlady,
Actually ,It may not be bad since you may be able to take the new format of board exam if you don't get certified by 2016 . Believe me, you don't want to take the oral part which is far worse than the written part .

 

[PikminOC]

I think there are a number of advantages to taking the boards while still in residency. Aside from the obvious fact that psychiatric "book knowledge" is closer to home while still in residency and therefore perhaps easier to recall, taking the boards while in residency allows one to take advantage of any perks in place for the resident. Many programs allow for course reviews to be taken as conference time, for example.

A second advantage is that the closer you are to residency, the easier it may be for you to return to do mock board exams prior to taking part II of the exam. Part I has a high pass rate, and that pass rate drops dramatically for the second part - to around 50% by most estimates.

Most residencies will allow as a courtesy, the former resident to return to the facility and use the patients in mock interviews. Many residencies will also offer attendings familiar with the board format to observe you and provide feedback to help increase your chances of passing.

Once you're out in the working world, this becomes much more difficult, and practicing attendings rarely will have the time to help you with this. I think this is where many people resort ot paid workshops which are time-consuming, and expensive.

Most hospitals appear to accept "board eligible" as a requirement for staff privilages. However, your marketability is increased by being board certified. By completing this process as quickly as possible, you're only giving yourself an advantage by opening more opportunities, in addition to higher salary.

My residency program did not help me with the oral board and I am looking at the other ways of getting board certified as per the abpn. I am considered 'board eligible' until 2019 so I am not in a huge rush but am putting my feelers out.

Any info would be appreciated..

 

[imp3tigo]

In terms of dress code for ABPN Part II, is shirt & tie sufficient for men? Or are most men wearing full suits? Thanks!

All the men wore full suits when I took my orals in 2011. No reason not to unless you have a sweating issue or something. It just looks unprofessional IMO.

 

[imp3tigo]

anyone using first aid for psychiatry boards review. Also what books did u use for the neurology section review. Anyone feel that the Kaufman book is too much

Kaufman is more than you need, but since neuro is generally the most challenging part for most psych residents, it's well worth the effort to focus on neuro (which is idiotic if you think about it, but that's a topic for another thread). I went through Kaufman fairly thoroughly for about 4 weeks and got 85+% on the neuro section (pass was maybe around 60%) although I had failed the neuro section on every PRITE during residency (never studied for it). And I remember the neuro questions were so easy for me with my preparation... I would answer most of them within 10 seconds (including reading the question). So I would spend a decent amount of time on neuro as the psych part is pretty easy and only used the Spielman(?) question book for that part.

Of course, YMMV.

 

[benjee]

So, anyone who was board eligible before can become board certifed after 2016 new format of written examination alone? If it is true that will be great. I do not think so, psychiatrist have to take oral board exam in order to become certified.

Theoretically , yes if you 're not BC within 7 yrs post graduated. The information as follows from ABPN:
The ABPN does not recognize or use the term “Board eligible” and does not issue statements concerning “Board eligibility.” The Board informs an applicant of admissibility to examination only when the applicant has an active, approved application on file in the Board office.
• Effective January 1, 2012, ABPN will require a physician to become Board certified within seven years following successful completion of ACGME-accredited or ABPN approved residency training in their primary specialty.
• Graduates can take the ABPN Certification Examination as many times as allowed during the 7-year period.
• Individuals who have completed an accredited residency program prior to January 1, 2012 will have until January 1, 2019 to become board certified.
• Individuals who do not become certified during the 7-year period (or before January 1, 2019 for those who completed residency training before January 1, 2012) will be required to (1) repeat the required clinical skills evaluations; and (2) complete one stage of MOC (90 CME credits, 24 self-assessment CME credits, and 1 PIP Unit which includes a clinical and feedback module) in order to be credentialed to take the ABPN Certification Examination.
hope this helps.

 

[OldPsychDoc]

...• Individuals who do not become certified during the 7-year period (or before January 1, 2019 for those who completed residency training before January 1, 2012) will be required to (1) repeat the required clinical skills evaluations; and (2) complete one stage of MOC (90 CME credits, 24 self-assessment CME credits, and 1 PIP Unit which includes a clinical and feedback module) in order to be credentialed to take the ABPN Certification Examination.
hope this helps.

Bears repeating--you will need to pass 3 CSVs (which are orals, by a different name--though at least you get feedback) and the CME requirements merely to be eligible to sit for the written exam.

Good luck. Best to pass the first time if you can!

 

[saadiamd]

Hi , I am looking for a desi study partner for sept 2013 Child Psy board( written ) preparation.
I am in Eastern time zone.
please email me at
[email protected]

 

[neopsych12]

I am looking to purchase beat the boards material for psych boards. Please PM me if you are trying to sell. Thanks.

 

[benjee]

I took my psych part II oral Boards in April 2013, studied a lot for it, my exam went well, I do not know why I failed.
I took Beats the Boards Oral board review course, which was not worth it, very expensive exam, spent almost 5000 dollars, still failed. I have two options either give another try next year in March 2014 or take the new format computer exam in Sept 2014 omitting the oral boards.
If I am I am taking the new computer format, it will require lot of studying because it reviews basically everything and will have to study detailed neurology as well. Also get 3 letters of clinical skill assessment.
AND taking oral board second time is a torture as well so I don't know what to do,
please advice.
Best option I think is not to take any exam and just be board eligible, I am only working part time in CMH setting , will retire in 10 yrs or so.
Please advice
Mima,

any reason you want to be BC in the first place? Was your job requiring BC? If not, may stay BE since you will be retiring in 10 yrs..

 

[Slikateer]

Hi everyone. I am in preparation to take the ABPN on 9/24/13. I saw some issues with the video vignettes in that the videos were unwieldy for review (could not fast forward or rewind the video). Does anyone know any reviews that go over tackling this new aspect of the exam? And is the videos more focused on psychotherapy concepts and questions or was it something else. And are there any use tips or advice in how to tackle this section?

Many thanks,
Slikateer

 

[JMC_MarineCorps]

Kaufman board review folks told us that hey've fixed this for this year, now can go back anywhere instead of having to watch whole thing over. Hope that's the case.

 

[Slikateer]

Kaufman board review folks told us that hey've fixed this for this year, now can go back anywhere instead of having to watch whole thing over. Hope that's the case.

Thanks for the heads up. I went to the ABPN website which showed the toggle feature to go back and forth in the video, though others have reported in the forum in previous ABPN exams was not experiencing this in the FRED format.

Correct me if I am wrong, but the test center does provide something to write notes. (i.e dry erase board, etc.)

Also from my current preparations for the exam, it seems like Beat the Boards is offering practice video vignettes, something BoardVitals does not offer.

Also watch out on BoardVitals questions, especially the answer explanations. I've encountered an error already, and had to report it. Really review the explanations to see if it makes sense.

 

[NJWxMan]

I just read on the Board Vitals website that they DO have video vignette questions in their question bank. Is that not true?

Thanks for the heads up. I went to the ABPN website which showed the toggle feature to go back and forth in the video, though others have reported in the forum in previous ABPN exams was not experiencing this in the FRED format.

Correct me if I am wrong, but the test center does provide something to write notes. (i.e dry erase board, etc.)

Also from my current preparations for the exam, it seems like Beat the Boards is offering practice video vignettes, something BoardVitals does not offer.

Also watch out on BoardVitals questions, especially the answer explanations. I've encountered an error already, and had to report it. Really review the explanations to see if it makes sense.

 

[Slikateer]

I just read on the Board Vitals website that they DO have video vignette questions in their question bank. Is that not true?

Did a search on their Q-bank. None for the neurology part out of 1499 questions. And only two videos out 1525 questions in the psychiatry Q-bank, with only one question per video. Not a whole lot, IMO.

Beat the Boards also appears to be doing it in the format that would be seen in the actual board exam, where there is a brief text intro, the video, and several questions in relation to the video, where at times you are to select multiple correct answers for management questions.

They just added another question block, so there are about > 30 videos there averaging 4-7 questions per vignettes. From what I have counted so far, there are about 160 questions in the Video Vignette section in Beat the Boards. If you have further questions, just PM me.

Just curious if other people are using other review programs that encountered practice video vignettes?

 

[paniwani]

BoardVitals DOES have video vignettes. I asked them directly and they said they're actively working on adding more. From what I've heard, the quality of questions is representative of the real exam and they tend to update questions frequently.

 

[SP1977]

I'd rather spend less and get more good questions personally, the video vignettes aren't really testing anything different than regular questions they just have a video as the question.

 

[BobA]

I just took the boards today and wanted to share my experience for future readers.

Overall, I thought the content of the questions on the boards was fair. As for the psych content, they definitely tested more about breadth of knowledge than depth of knowledge in core topics. I was surprised by how few questions I had about depression/anxiety/psychosis treatment relative to questions about V-codes, sex disorders, and policy/insurance/HIPAA. The vignettes I had seemed to focus on the psychodynamics of the encounter. In the vignette section there were a lot of questions like" "what would you say next?" or "What would you expect the psychiatrist to feel?" (I found this a little annoying as the complexities of a patient interaction don't lend themselves well to MCQ's. I mean, doesn't it depend on the psychiatrist's own style and personality when determining what to say next or how they will feel? As Gabbard says it's a ""two person field." ).

I gave myself 5 full days to study (I have a new job, good PRITE scores, so I didn't allow more time). I mostly studied Neuro because that was my weaker spot, but it turned out that the neuro questions weren't that detailed - they didn't have you stage a brain tumor or anything. While I think I passed, more study time would have been prudent. There were some questions I missed just because I hadn't committed things like the details of Piaget's stages to memory. That's something I would have done if I had more time.

I highly recommend the online Beat the Boards course (especially if you can use CME funds!). The Neuro lectures were spot on. Though the BTB neuro questions were much more difficult than the ones on the boards, they scared me into studying more which was a good thing. The BTB Psych questions were also spot on.

One negative about the BTB course is that I was not able to access video lectures over 4G. They had it set up so you needed wifi. This may change in the future

 

[NJWxMan]

I just don't think they have a good handle on the vignettes yet. For the cost of the exam, the few video vignettes that they had on there were weak. IMO, the PRITE questions are much better written and are less vague.

 

[psych2009]

I took the exam a few days back. Q were relevant and doable, but I felt there was a lot to think before answering even one liners, and doing that for 500 q was tiring. I did btb q, Kenny and spiegel twice and Comprehensive review by Tampi. I think you must do a lot of Q and also have the basic concepts clear, I did watch some old usmle Kaplan videos for neurology again. I don't know how the result would be, it's hard to predict with so many q but I feel one must study well in advance ( at least three months for two or more dedicated hours in evening and then proceed with how comfortable you feel with the q). Hoping for a pass.

 

[NJWxMan]

Definitely not a "study for 3 weeks" exam. FWIW I scored >85 percentile on last PRITE.

 

[RyanS32122]

I will be taking the osteopathic psychiatry boards (AOBNP) in March -- are there any board prep courses that people have found helpful? The ones I have heard of are Osler, Kaufman, and Oakstone. Any opinions on these, or recommendations for other courses?

Kauman and Osler only have "recert" courses between now and Mach - would this be helpful for an initial Board exam or too basic? Oakstone has a full course in January.

Thanks,

Ryan

 

[nobodo]

Hi, I am a 3rd yr resident in NYC. I have had good experiences with study partners in the past. I am looking for a study partner for Sunday mornings (east coast time).

Board is 2 years ahead but the learning makes a difference in the training also. Please message me if you are interested.

 

[NJWxMan]

ABPN scores released today! 63 days since the exam date.

 

[wolfvgang22]

I passed, hallelujah! Congrats to everyone that passed.
If it helps anybody for the next exam, here is what I studied:

Beat the Board online, and watched the beat the boards video vignette questions. Then I did the Kenney and Spiegel Psychiatry Test Preparation and Review Manual
questions timed, all 6 exams, and read all the explanations to all the questions. I didn't do the vignettes in the back of the Kenney and Spiegle book. I bought Kaufman's neurology, but never got around to using it. I studied all day every day for one week, 8am to 10pm. It was a quality vacation. I was probably over-prepared having memorized the Kenney book.​

That's all.

 

[nobodo]

Congrats!!!

 

[Chimed]

I passed. Here is what I did for the exam:
1. Beat the Boards for general psychiatry information. I would highly recommend viewing ALL the lectures including the ones Statistics and Health Policy. I watched those the night before the exam and picked up a lot of extra questions. The down side of Beat the Boards is that I didn't think the practice questions were that helpful. They do have some vignettes and, to be honest, I didn't pay that much attention to them. In hindsight I would have spent more time going through the practice vignettes and using them to try and anticipate the type of questions that might be asked.
2. Kaufman's Clinical Neurology for Psychiatrists. What can I say...Everyone recommends using this for neurology and there's a reason for it. I also did as many questions out of this book as possible. It's money.
3. Kenney and Spiegle--Psychiatry Test Preparation and Review Manual. I bought the Kindle format and used this for questions instead of Beat the Boards. I found these questions to be much closer to the actual exam then Beat the Boards. I also paid attention to the explanations so I was reviewing the material as I went.

Unlike most, I did not spend much time going through old Prite exams. I know going through Prite's is a popular thing to do. My rationale for using Kenney and Spiegel as well as Kaufman for questions was that these sources reviewed the content of the answers. For myself, I really wanted to make sure I understood why something was right or wrong, rather then just try and memorize questions and hope they would show up on the exam.

The biggest issue on exam (for myself anyway) was Part C--the video vignettes. This part of the exam is worth 50%!!!! I'm not aware of any good resources to help prepare for this section. Beat the Boards had some examples, but I'm not sure how helpful they are. For what it's worth, here are my thoughts:
- Try not to read too much into the vignettes. My theory is that in an attempt to make things "real world" and keep them from having too much variation, they have actually managed to make the vignettes unrealistic and confusing. What I think helped me was to listen to the vignettes as is if I was reading what the actor is saying on paper. Not sure that makes sense, but I think it was helpful.
- Be prepared to answer questions about the patient's mental status. For example, be prepared to answer questions about things like neologisms, clang associations, etc. Also, be prepared to answer questions about motor behaviors (for example tics), affect, things like that.
- Take your time! I tried to rush through the vignettes and ended up having more time in the exam then I needed.

 

[SonicHedgehog]

I passed as well, thank goodness.
1. My main source by far was Spiegel and Kenny. I did every single question. The questions were fairly similar to the real exam and the explanations were very helpful, even more so than just doing the questions. I used an electronic format, and made study guides out of the explanations to the questions I either missed or thought were important topics (even if I got them right). This guide has very detailed explanations especially for the neurology questions, and as it turned out, far more neuro than I needed to know for the boards. If you know all the neuro that's in this book, I suspect you'll have no trouble with the neuro section of the boards. For this last exam, the passing mark was 61% correct, I got >90% and I don't even consider myself good at neuro. The neuro on the boards is pretty straightforward.

2. Unlike most others, I did not focus on the Kaufman neuro textbook. I read maybe the first few chapters and then decided there was no way I could make it through the whole book in the time I had. I admit it was a risk, but in retrospect, the textbook was not necessary given how thorough the Spiegel and Kenny text is.

3. I read some sections of the Educational Review Manual in Psychiatry 6th ed (2009), edited by K. Ranga Rama Krishnan. There are questions, but I didn't find them very helpful, in part because there were far too many errors in the answer keys; for example it'd say the answer was B when the text clearly indicated it was A or something like that. The actual text is much better.

4. I read over the Prites I'd taken during residency. This helped to nail down some key facts, but I sure didn't have time to look up the individual sources for the questions. I didn't study these too hard but I thought it was helpful to at least go over them.

I agree with Chimed that the vignettes were the worst sections. They really should be worth <50% of the exam in my opinion. You have to answer the questions in order, and there are multiple-multiple choice checkbox questions where you have to select all the right answers to get credit. I will say though that it doesn't seem like they're trying to trick you on these questions. The answers (especially on the mental status questions) seemed pretty apparent and the questions ask about major diagnoses, not weird obscure stuff like stereotypic movement disorder. Also, there's no neuro on the vignettes, they're all psych.

I'm not sure it makes a difference, but you have the chance to submit comments on many of the questions. If you feel that there is no single best answer and you have time, you may want to send comments. Who knows, the test writers may choose to throw out some questions, or accept more than one answer as occasionally happens on the Prites.

I didn't find it necessary to start preparing many months in advance, but I also took off the week before the exam to study. I studied about 8-10 hours a day for that whole time and it was much higher yield than trying to study a couple hours per evening after full days at work. Prior to that week off, I looked over my old Prites here and there but (regrettably) didn't spend much time on them or anything else boards-related.

There are 500 questions and I thought that I needed to go fairly fast to get to all of them, but I did finish the test with time to spare, and I'm not a fast reader. On all three USMLE steps I never had time to spare and I thought those exams required speed reading, while I didn't think that of the psych boards. The psych board questions are far shorter on average than USMLE questions. I did well on psych boards despite never coming close to acing any of the USMLEs, so there's hope for those of you who found the USMLEs discouraging like I did.

 

[PikminOC]

For the next exam use www.abpntest.com

 

[Shikima]

For the next exam use www.abpntest.com

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