Help for a tough Psychopathology Course

[scienceguy4]

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I'm talking a Psychopathology course that involves extensive memorization of DSM-IV-TR diagnostic criteria, symptoms, decision trees, and prevalence stats. We had a quiz last night (multiple choice, 4 answers per question), and either I am out-of-practice or the questions were so picayune and poorly constructed that there were not good correct choices. I have resolved to study, study, and study. There is still a mid-term and final. I understand that there are good Psychiatry Board Review books that might provide batteries of questions for me to practice on. Does anybody have any ideas for study techniques that are particularly effective when dealing with picayune, idiosyncratic (slightly obsessive-compulsive) instructors in this critical topic area?

Thanks,

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

As a rule we do not help with homework, but since you are asking about resources...I guess that is okay. The best way to study the dsm-iv stuff depends on your learning style. I think I did a combination of things: straight memorization, case studies, and also pairing (famous ex. Of each dx.)

 

[cara susanna]

I made notecards for DSM criteria. You can find ones online that you can print off and tape or paste onto notecards.

 

[scienceguy4]

Thank you for your suggestions. This morning I am reading entire assigned sections of the DSM-IV-TR to myself in a voice recorder and then transferring to an iPod for play in my car. I think I am staggered by the volume of material. Example of a quiz question that I missed: What is untrue about ADHD? A) Usually manifests at age 3-4, B) ratio of Boys to Girls affected is 3:1, C) Most common form involves both attention deficits AND hyperkinesis, D) Does not respond to St. Johns Wort Therapy. Correct Answer: B, the correct ratio is 4:1.

Again, really, really picayune. Maybe I am just out of practice.

 

[Shatani]

Thank you for your suggestions. This morning I am reading entire assigned sections of the DSM-IV-TR to myself in a voice recorder and then transferring to an iPod for play in my car. I think I am staggered by the volume of material. Example of a quiz question that I missed: What is untrue about ADHD? A) Usually manifests at age 3-4, B) ratio of Boys to Girls affected is 3:1, C) Most common form involves both attention deficits AND hyperkinesis, D) Does not respond to St. Johns Wort Therapy. Correct Answer: B, the correct ratio is 4:1.

Again, really, really picayune. Maybe I am just out of practice.

i used that voice recorder method to study for my comprehensive exams....worked well. good luck! i dont know that anyone can get ALL the minutae...just do the best you can!

i probably wouldve gotten that adhd question wrong too! lol

 

[Quynh2007]

Thank you for your suggestions. This morning I am reading entire assigned sections of the DSM-IV-TR to myself in a voice recorder and then transferring to an iPod for play in my car. I think I am staggered by the volume of material. Example of a quiz question that I missed: What is untrue about ADHD? A) Usually manifests at age 3-4, B) ratio of Boys to Girls affected is 3:1, C) Most common form involves both attention deficits AND hyperkinesis, D) Does not respond to St. Johns Wort Therapy. Correct Answer: B, the correct ratio is 4:1.

Again, really, really picayune. Maybe I am just out of practice.

I would have said B b/c the usual ratio is 4:1, however, I will say that I hate those kinds of questions, even if I will eventually have to deal with them (i.e. EPPP). I remember hearing from people who are experts in their fields complain about EPPP questions and answers b/c it is outdated/clearly wrong (particularly in the field of autism, the rates that the EPPP are looking for are so ridiculously outdated it's not even remotely correct). Even my advisor hated it but he said if you know what they are looking for, even if you know the answer is wrong, you can still do process of elimination.

In this question, I would have eliminated D immediately b/c of the wording b/c there's always a chance SOMEONE responds to that therapy. I know combined type (so both inattention and hyperactivity) is very common, so that eliminates C. ADHD requires to have symptoms prior to age 7, so A makes sense. That leaves me with B, particularly b/c the minute I read what B was, I already had a finger on it b/c 3:1 is not something I've read about.

edit: read D wrong, so if I had read it correctly in the first place, it would have been between B and D, and I would have leaned towards B b/c that was what my gut was telling me. I do think D is partly untrue though b/c again, like I said earlier, even if studies shows its uneffective overall, it may be helpful to someone (most likely placebo effect though). idk

 

[Therapist4Chnge]

I wonder how I'd do on an adult psychopathology exam right now? I looked at a peds case the other day and I was going through ODD and a few other Dx's that I don't really use much anymore.

The criteria get ingrained in your head, and eventually you learn to do differentials on the fly. I do wish more professionals took the time to add in the correct specifiers, as it can be really helpful for "the next guy/girl" on the case.

 

[stigmata]

I know we all have to pass this stuff and know it well, but I sure hope everyone keeps in mind that it is much more important to figure out what is really going on with a patient, and then know what to do about it.

 

[futurepsydoc]

Sorry to hear that your class is all about wrote memorization. I have had some classes like that in grad school. I found each to be extremely frustrating.

In regards to your question, I think flash cards are a great idea for memorizing the criteria. I think your MP3 recording idea is also solid. Though, I would stray away from reading the sections on the disorders in their entirety. If you are just being tested on diagnostic criteria, making differential diagnoses, and prevalence rates, stick to those pieces of information and no more. As a general rule, I have found that studying in grad school requires efficiency. If you can, at any point in time, reduce the amount of information you need to study for a test, do it. We all need to know a lot information. Figuring out whats relevant and whats not is an important skill, because it reduces the demands placed on you from "completely overwhelming" to just "overwhelming" 🙂

 

[luckyoceania]

Yeah, that level of memorization required is probably because so many profs are OCPDish. In RL you will be deeply familiar with your speciality dx naturally and a moderate familiarity of other dx will be sufficient to get your nose in the book to get the rest of the info once you see a red flag.

I don't know if I have any additional study suggestions, sounds like you are making the best of the situation. If anything, I modify my pages (I used pages instead of cards but same thing) to remove any information I have already encoded. I made many iterations until there is almost nothing left for each dx page by the time of the exam.