Boosting my written boards score

[jgalt42]

Hey guys,

I was one of the unfortunate ones that did not pass my written boards by literally 1 point last year and have to retake it again. I am set to take it in early November. I have been keeping up with a baseline level of studying about 1-1.5 hrs a day since finding out that I didn't pass in Feb. I finished all of rosh review again, listened to Ohio ACEP virtual videos, making ANKI flashcards, and I am in the middle of doing PEER9 review questions. I just took the Rosh Mock In Training Exam and scored a 80%. I don't know exactly how that translates to an ABEM score, but 77 and above is needed to pass the written boards. I am a bit disappointed that I have only really improved 3 points since Feb although this is the first "practice" test I have taken. Technically if this correlates directly 1:1, I passed, but I was expecting to be a little higher since I have been putting in time to study all of these months so far. I know I still have some time between now and November and I would like to hear from your recommendations in this crunch time how I can improve my score. Ideally, if I can get to 85%, I would feel much more confident. I just don't want to fail again during this second attempt. Thanks for all your help and suggestions.

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[panscan]

At this point I would do all timed random tests, maybe 50-100 at a time to get your timing down solid. The last thing you want is to know the material but run out of time.
I agree with the flashcards, I think that's what helped me big time. I used Rosh Review (the 5000 q bank) and Quizlet flashcards. Everytime I didn't know something I would make a flashcard and review them daily, on a shift, in bed, during some downtime, etc. This helped solidify the random facts I had a hard time remembering like weird tox/environmental/ID stuff we never see.
For what it's worth, my ABEM score was the same as my senior year ITE score.
It sounds like you're doing all the right things, at this point you should be solidifying your knowledge base and moving on to doing lots of timed random practice tests so the real thing is literally just what you've been practicing for months. Good luck, I'm sure you'll pass no problem in November!

 

[Kryptocoin]

I took a board review and did the Rosh questions. I am not even sure if the review course was helpful. Review course was great for overall knowledge but no board exam. However, the one thing that I know for sure that helped me pass was this book: The Ultimate Emergency Medicine Guide. Memorized that book and you are almost guaranteed to pass. Many questions from the real boards were lifted from the book ( or maybe the opposite?).