Board Certification in Psychiatry

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When scores come out on a certain day, they change the verfycert overnight. I haven’t seen any changes on the verfycert yet
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I think it is likely we get our scores tomorrow.

I hope nobody is superstitious! :p

Best wishes to everyone!
 
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Just called because I realized my address was wrong. They said don’t worry just update it now and by 2am my new address will be in because they haven’t mailed the score reports yet. They hope to mail them tomorrow but they’re not ready today
 
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One would think that if they are (possibly) ready to mail score reports tomorrow, then they should already be available in some type of electronic format for e-mail (you know, because the digital age started some decades ago and e-mail is a widely used communication medium). Then again, shame on me for applying logic to this situation. :rolleyes:
 
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I don’t understand why they have to change the way they do things every year. Last year, it was just an email stating scores are available in folios and a simple “pass or fail” in your folios account with a link to a pdf score report. There was nothing sent through regular mail.

I’m hoping that they at least update verifycert and/or post pass or fail status to folios tomorrow morning before they mail out the score reports through “snail mail.”
 
Wait they're mailing it tomorrow?

"
Only for candidates who were successful on their examination:.
• You have 30 days from the date on your grade letter to submit a change of Name, Address, or Shipping Address prior to production of your certificate.
• If you wish to have a street address in addition to your name, city and state published, enter a Publication Address at: Update my Personal Information.
• Certificates will be shipped in approximately three months via FedEx.
This is on their website. Lol.
 
they need correct address for certificate to be sent over, results would be on folio.
 
Fingers crossed we finally know by tomorrow.

This brings back flashbacks of waiting for the Step exams. Absolute torture. Lol
 
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Yes scores are up. Phew~ Passed. Thought I did pretty bad on the vignette section.

Used:
Focus x 2
Spiegels x 3 (very brief review 3rd round)
Board Vitals for vignette (too easy, not like actual board)

Good luck everyone!
 
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Passed! Good luck to everyone. Used Kenney and Spiegel, board vitals, psych Genius.
 
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Certified!

Used half of Spiegel Question Bank over a two week period, about 3-4 hours daily. I would take a test block one day and then do the same block over and over until I didn't get any questions wrong, then moved on...

I felt the test was easier when compared to Step 1, 2 and 3. However, I was equally scared about having failed when I walked out on test day...

I only studied for about 2 weeks and I was terrified it wasn't enough whenever I came on the forum and read how everyone was legit studying for this.

I barely passed. The passing score is 240 and I scored 249. I would recommend to future test takers to take this test seriously, unlike me.

I believe having just recently graduated, actually learning during residency and hx of being a good test taker helped me but maybe I could have studied a bit more.

Best of luck to everyone!
 
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Passed!

Just used beat the boards, did all the recommended lectures and did the question bank x2. Felt like death after the exam too, so don't let that be an indicator of your performance!
 
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Passed. Ugh. What an exercise this entire thing has been.

I used spiegel x2 and beat the boards, absolutely did not feel good walking out or this past week but passed comfortably.
 
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Passed.
Used BtB qbank, Spiegel, also read some parts of Kaufman neuro.

Didn’t really study seriously until the a few weeks before my exam .. but I wouldn’t recommend that. Felt like crap leaving the exam.
 
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Here what I used for future generations:
Spiegel: must have. Solid. It’s not close to the test, it is the test! You will find the same questions in the stand alone sections.

kaufman course: I liked it. You get a sense of what the test is looking for. It also helped organize my study.

BTB: over rated and boring. The vignettes could be helpful but not much.

board vitals:my program paid for that. Not useful

psych genius: vignettes were ok for prep but not similar to the test. Stand alone questions were far fetched and useless
 
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Passed! :)

used BTB, BV, Kenny and Spiegel book

congrats to all who passed, and a very special congrats to those who passed after a prior attempt
 
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Passed with flying colors

I did psych genius probably 2x through all the stand alone questions. Some of them were super picky but some were almost identical to the questions on the boards. It was by far the cheapest resource so I’d definitely say I got my money’s worth.

kenny and spiegel - I did the free question bank just casually studying with friends. It definitely was over representing in neuro and nit picky things.

I used a random psychiatry text book I picked up in residency to supplement areas I felt like I didn’t know well after doing a psych genius question block, but didn’t use K&S or any special board review book. I did look up stuff on pubmed or google if I hadn’t learned about it before. for neuro I used Kauffman. I also just went through my step 3 book to cram the inborn errors of metabolism and stuff and honestly I got a few points from doing that.
 
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Nudexta said:
Here what I used for future generations:
Spiegel: must have. Solid. It’s not close to the test, it is the test! You will find the same questions in the stand alone sections.

kaufman course: I liked it. You get a sense of what the test is looking for. It also helped organize my study.

BTB: over rated and boring. The vignettes could be helpful but not much.

board vitals:my program paid for that. Not useful

psych genius: vignettes were ok for prep but not similar to the test. Stand alone questions were far fetched and useless
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The tests are different every year. I didn't find the Kaufmann course helpful at all and actually was a waste of time, NONE of the Spiegel questions were on the exam any of the 3 years I took it and I thought BTB was the best along with board vitals and doing tons of practice questions. But congratulations. :)
 
Passed! :) Used BTB. Congrats to everyone!
 
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futuredo32 said:
The tests are different every year. I didn't find the Kaufmann course helpful at all and actually was a waste of time, NONE of the Spiegel questions were on the exam any of the 3 years I took it and I thought BTB was the best along with board vitals and doing tons of practice questions. But congratulations. :)
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Yep probably tests change. On my test, 60-70 percent of Stand alone questions were spiegel. I liked the Kaufman helped organize my study plan. It’s great we have passed!
 
Nudexta said:
Yep probably tests change. On my test, 60-70 percent of Stand alone questions were spiegel. I liked the Kaufman helped organize my study plan. It’s great we have passed!
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I knew Spiegel COLD the second two tries and I was like why did I bother? I still know the questions and answers lol.. It's awesome you all passed. Done. Hooray now go celebrate.
 
PS If anyone didn't pass, feel free to pm. It took me three tries but I finally passed. I can be a sympathetic ear
 
Passed. Woohoo!

Read mass gen board review book twice, beat the board notes bunch of times. Did Kenny & Spiegel twice, board vitals twice, psych genius twice, focus halfway through. Went to Kaufman seminar and reviewed their notes twice.

If I studied again, I would have spent less time per question and try to get through more questions. Board questions weren't hard, mostly "you know it or you don't". Also, instead of mass gen review book, and instead of best the boards, I would read dsmv and apa practice guidelines.
 
I didn’t pass. I knew this leaving the exam . I’ve used most of the resources listed above . Btb , board vitals , read practice parameters , used a study partner .

I’m just not understanding what to study for the exam , I felt as if i wasn’t confident a seeing questions that were simple one line questions .

failing sucks , but it least I knew it leaving the exam . Today was no big surprise . Sucks I have to wait another year to take it . Which I may or may not do .

something I’m doing isn’t right . I’ll do the Kaufman course definitely in the spring.
 
smileyt03 said:
I didn’t pass. I knew this leaving the exam . I’ve used most of the resources listed above . Btb , board vitals , read practice parameters , used a study partner .

I’m just not understanding what to study for the exam , I felt as if i wasn’t confident a seeing questions that were simple one line questions .

failing sucks , but it least I knew it leaving the exam . Today was no big surprise . Sucks I have to wait another year to take it . Which I may or may not do .

something I’m doing isn’t right . I’ll do the Kaufman course definitely in the spring.
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Passed well above the mean. :)

I would not necessarily recommend my studying regimen, but post it as some reassurance for others in the future who may take the exam on minimal prep. As a caveat, I happen to test well, and also did a fellowship in CL which quite honestly helped on several questions. I studied over the course of 2-4ish weeks while working, which came out to maybe 6 actual afternoons of real studying? I did Board Vitals with their vignette add-on (I did not read or do anything else, to my recollection). I think I completed 500ish questions on study mode with an average score of 70-80%. The vignettes helped with being familiar with the format, at least. I feel the exam was different but not so different as to make me feel like my studying was useless. Finished the exam with some number of hours to spare. At the end I felt lukewarm - not terrible, but I've never felt confident coming out of standardized exams even though I've never failed one. The vignettes were the most frustrating part and I knew I missed a couple of questions I could have gotten right if I was able to go back (those "wait wait that's not it!" situations where you press next way too soon - word to the wise, don't do that).

I feel for the folks who failed. These things are often more about your tolerance and skill at doing hundreds of multiple choice questions in a row - I know some very competent people who didn't do so well. Best of luck, all.
 
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Passed. Just speigal and btb. Did not watch the videos or read the notes.
 
Passed, barely studied due to starting a new attending job quick out of the gate. I wouldn't recommend doing this as all this did was add uneccesary stress awaiting results.

I used BTB and for the 5 to 6 hours of total study time I was able to do, it felt like a complete waste and I'm happy I can now block 'ol Jack from bombing my email further
 
smileyt03 said:
I didn’t pass. I knew this leaving the exam . I’ve used most of the resources listed above . Btb , board vitals , read practice parameters , used a study partner .

I’m just not understanding what to study for the exam , I felt as if i wasn’t confident a seeing questions that were simple one line questions .

failing sucks , but it least I knew it leaving the exam . Today was no big surprise . Sucks I have to wait another year to take it . Which I may or may not do .

something I’m doing isn’t right . I’ll do the Kaufman course definitely in the spring.
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That sucks! Sorry to hear that. Sounds like you used all the major resources. I used TrueLearn as a question bank and I felt breadth of information in those questions was very useful for the exam. If you do decide to retake next year, I hope you knock it out the park! Hang in there!
 
smileyt03 said:
I didn’t pass. I knew this leaving the exam . I’ve used most of the resources listed above . Btb , board vitals , read practice parameters , used a study partner .

I’m just not understanding what to study for the exam , I felt as if i wasn’t confident a seeing questions that were simple one line questions .

failing sucks , but it least I knew it leaving the exam . Today was no big surprise . Sucks I have to wait another year to take it . Which I may or may not do .

something I’m doing isn’t right . I’ll do the Kaufman course definitely in the spring.
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I'm so sorry. I'll be on vacation for a bit but feel free to pm me in a few weeks If you did BTB you can email Dr Jack a copy of your scores and he helps. I am SO sorry. I was in your shoes 2 years in a row. If I passed you can, seriously.
 
Midwestpsych said:
Passed! Good luck to everyone. Used Kenney and Spiegel, board vitals, psych Genius.
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Forgot to add I did beat the boards early in Residency. Had free subscription to Rosh review which was ok but good in nailing specific DSM V criteria. There was also this question book from Amazon called Psychiatry board review that was ok. Felt Kenney and Spiegel + psych genius qbank and vignettes were the best.
 
Passed with good margin. Used Kenny & Spiegal 1x, Read first 3-4 chapters of Kaufman neurology for psychiatrists, and completed board vitals qbank during residency. I mostly studied during down time at work 1-2h/day M-F only. A lot of questions were from K&S, some from Board vitals and Kaufman was overkill IMO. A bunch of questions were random things I learned in residency from grand rounds, didactics, independent reading etc. I definitely wasn't the best read resident but having an important base to build on was key for me since I didn't have much dedicated study time.
 
Nudexta said:
Here what I used for future generations:
Spiegel: must have. Solid. It’s not close to the test, it is the test! You will find the same questions in the stand alone sections.

kaufman course: I liked it. You get a sense of what the test is looking for. It also helped organize my study.

BTB: over rated and boring. The vignettes could be helpful but not much.

board vitals:my program paid for that. Not useful

psych genius: vignettes were ok for prep but not similar to the test. Stand alone questions were far fetched and useless
Click to expand...

100% agree with all of this. Kaufman course definitely helped with organization, but Kenny & Spiegel is the test. The two probably reinforced each other and Dr. Kenny lectures at the Kaufman board review course, but if $ is an issue or you have to pick one then do the Kenny & Spiegel book. I feel like I could have passed the exam with that alone.
 
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“Never let success get to your head and never let failure get to your heart.”

Luckily, I passed by a fair margin, though it could have gone either way. I would definitely say that Beat the Boards and Kenny & Spiegel are good resources that supplemented each other well.

To those that didn't pass, keep your head up and remember that this test is in no way a true measure of your clinical skills!

Also, I spent about a good month of high quality studying, followed by about 10 days of cramming. But that's just me. Also, I wish someone would have told me this while I was preparing, the boards are more straight forward than PRITE and there are a lot of "gimmee" questions that you would know just by virtue of your training.
 
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smileyt03 said:
I didn’t pass. I knew this leaving the exam . I’ve used most of the resources listed above . Btb , board vitals , read practice parameters , used a study partner .

I’m just not understanding what to study for the exam , I felt as if i wasn’t confident a seeing questions that were simple one line questions .

failing sucks , but it least I knew it leaving the exam . Today was no big surprise . Sucks I have to wait another year to take it . Which I may or may not do .

something I’m doing isn’t right . I’ll do the Kaufman course definitely in the spring.
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My 2 cents: I don't think there's enough neuron on the exam to make Kaufman worthwhile. Psych genius, Kenny Spiegel question Bank, board vitals, dsmv, and apa practice guidelines would be my main study batch of I were to do it again.
 
smileyt03 said:
I didn’t pass. I knew this leaving the exam . I’ve used most of the resources listed above . Btb , board vitals , read practice parameters , used a study partner .

I’m just not understanding what to study for the exam , I felt as if i wasn’t confident a seeing questions that were simple one line questions .

failing sucks , but it least I knew it leaving the exam . Today was no big surprise . Sucks I have to wait another year to take it . Which I may or may not do .

something I’m doing isn’t right . I’ll do the Kaufman course definitely in the spring.
Click to expand...
Sorry to hear you did not pass. I would not recommend using so many resources. Too many resources will dilute your pool of knowledge for standardize exams--you'll know a lot, but will not be able to answer recall answers to simple, predictable questions. The aim of the game is not to get them all right, but to get right what everyone else is getting right. In turn, you may not get a perfect score but you'll pass with good margin. I would recommend doing only questions, picking 2 question sources (Speigel + what ever). That's we'll over 1500 questions. Do those 2-3 times in random mode. Do not "test" yourself as a poor score may leave you feeling defeated, but read the question, see what the answer is, and ask youself, 'what would I have needed to know to pick the right answer and differentiate between the different choices.' Do not get discouraged. The last thing you want is to enter the test defeated or afraid. Have tons of confidence, even if it's fake confidence. Good luck
 
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Madden007 said:
Sorry to hear you did not pass. I would not recommend using so many resources. Too many resources will dilute your pool of knowledge for standardize exams--you'll know a lot, but will not be able to answer recall answers to simple, predictable questions. The aim of the game is not to get them all right, but to get right what everyone else is getting right. In turn, you may not get a perfect score but you'll pass with good margin. I would recommend doing only questions, picking 2 question sources (Speigel + what ever). That's we'll over 1500 questions. Do those 2-3 times in random mode. Do not "test" yourself as a poor score may leave you feeling defeated, but read the question, see what the answer is, and ask youself, 'what would I have needed to know to pick the right answer and differentiate between the different choices.' Do not get discouraged. The last thing you want is to enter the test defeated or afraid. Have tons of confidence, even if it's fake confidence. Good luck
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Different things work for different people.. Using TONS of resources worked for me on my THIRD try. I think knowing content first and doing as MANY questions possible was what worked for me. I took it 3 times and every test was very different. I would honestly suggest that you can't possibly do too many questions. It sucks that you have to wait a year, I know. But give yourself a rest and then begin anew. Read the questions and explanations.
 
futuredo32 said:
Different things work for different people.. Using TONS of resources worked for me on my THIRD try. I think knowing content first and doing as MANY questions possible was what worked for me. I took it 3 times and every test was very different. I would honestly suggest that you can't possibly do too many questions. It sucks that you have to wait a year, I know. But give yourself a rest and then begin anew. Read the questions and explanations.
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That’s true. For me personally, after using many resources for the MCAT and getting a 24 on my first try (for those of you young folk who never saw the old scoring that wasnt a good MCAT score) as well as failing Step 1 by one point, I realized I’m the type that does best when I only study from 1-2 resources and did so from Step 2 CK and on.

I bought BTB, gave myself 5-6 weeks to do all of the questions and read all of the lectures (also listened to lectures while I did my commutes) and felt adequately prepared. Now I’m someone who has always struggled with standardized exams since back in middle school but I finished this exam with 3 hours to spare and scored the average at 340. Other than the case vignettes which some were absolutely awful for me (because when I didn’t understand what was going on I’d miss 3-4 questions in a row) I felt like more times than not I knew the majority of questions and was confident about my answer choice.

Again this was just my experience and everyone is different. I was always envious of the people who barely studied and could ace exams.
 
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Would anyone be able to give advice on what to tell your current employer that you failed the exam? (they will ask)

Is it also best to stop working and take some time off to study for this exam? especially if you have failed it more than once?

My biggest anxiety at this point of time is not having to retake the exam again but dealing with my current employer (thought they have been supportive in the past). Is it best to quit the job and take time off to study for the boards and then restart a job once the exam is over? Anyone have any recommendations on part time jobs while studying for this exam? Thank you in advance.
 
medshine said:
Would anyone be able to give advice on what to tell your current employer that you failed the exam? (they will ask)

Is it also best to stop working and take some time off to study for this exam? especially if you have failed it more than once?

My biggest anxiety at this point of time is not having to retake the exam again but dealing with my current employer (thought they have been supportive in the past). Is it best to quit the job and take time off to study for the boards and then restart a job once the exam is over? Anyone have any recommendations on part time jobs while studying for this exam? Thank you in advance.
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I had a small private practice and two part time jobs. I ended up working one or two days a week and one weekend a month for like 3-4 months the year I passed. I did wait to study until the spring as in June/July, maybe if you study in March or April? Some of us aren't good standardized test takers. One employer said he didn't care if I ever passed, and that he has business for years and all it shows him was that the person who passed was good at taking a standardized test. My other employer is just a weekend a month and I never see any of the docs, so he had no idea I was even taking it. I think I would look at your score report and see what areas you are weak in and tell your employer you will study especially hard in those areas and study hard over all.
If you feel the need to just work part time, telepsych is an option. I think Iris lets you work a minimum of 8 or 12 hours a week. Or weekend locums and just work a weekend or two. It's honestly a POS exam. Some of the questions are impossible. Personally, I did best first knowing all of the information solid (I did miss some easy questions by not looking at the one sheet help pages in BTB in the vaults which I didnt even know were there before I took the exam because they list the names of tsts for specific disorders and areas of the brain that do this or that. Because neuro was such a low yield topic supposedly, I didn't study neuro at all and missed some really easy stand alone questions. After I felt like I had a solid knowledge foundation in areas I don't really use (child, addictions, history of psych , sleep) I used as many question books and banks as possible and read all of the explanations for the questions. Find out what works for you.
 
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