How much "dedicated" time for PE exam?

[Espressso]

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Targeting middle of feb to take it. Wondering how much solid prep time do you typically need. I know this varies greatly for each student. I'm an average student, does well on OSCEs at my school. How much time do people tend to spend prepping for it? Our school doesn't give us much info

 

[NotYou20]

I probably spent 4-5 hours studying over the course of a week. Didn't bother practicing with anyone. Passed.

 

[SurgeDO]

I didn't study at all. The night before the test, I looked up the format of it.

I would honestly advise against "studying" for this test. When you over think it, you look awkward. I think the NBOME crooks just want to see a medical student who is capable of demonstrating a normal interaction with a human while gathering basic information.

 

[samac]

I disagree with the above advice. Practice some, get the format and timing down. I know people who have failed it because they thought it was no big deal.
The red book is helpful. I practiced maybe 10-15 cases, used Kaufman’s format and had no problems.

 

[DennisReynolds]

2 days max.

Run through OLDCARTS, ROS and how to do a solid SOAP note.

Run through the 50 cases from rhe Kaufman book and learn how to do a f/u visit for a chronic medical problem (visit with no actual chief complaint.. just a visit) and how to do a soap note for that.

Wash your hands before the visit and before the physical exam.

Practice your sympathy voice and do OPP for anywhere from 2-4 people.

Make sure you have something in every section of your note.

Don't be weird.

 

[CoomassieBlue57]

Have a plan before you go into each room. There’s a couple different mnemonics to remember PMHx, FHx, SHx, Meds, All, etc. It’s easier to have them written before you enter the room incase you get sidetracked. Other than that there’s no need to study. All the cases are fairly straight forward.

 

[Sardonix]

Can you probably pass without studying? Maybe, depending on how confident you are in your exam skills.

But that's not a risk you want to take. DO practice some/go through cases for this. You don't want to be panicking during the exam having not done any prep for it. A PE failure is the most harmful unnecessary red flag you could possibly have.

 

[IntheClouds4ever]

You need to study a bit to prepare but I don’t think you need “dedicated” study. I took it on a rotation that didn’t have a COMAT at the end and just watched truelearn videos in the evenings and review his soap notes.

 

[Roxas]

The Kaufman videos were good. I knew 2 people that failed the PE from my school, both went in thinking they could wing it and do just fine. It's seriously not worth the risk.

 

[Espressso]

Thanks for all the responses guys. I definitely don't plan on winging it or blowing it off. We have our third year OSCEs middle of december. With a pass on that, we're free to take the PE when we wish. My plan is to get it done with soon after because I will have studied a bunch for the OSCEs and I also have a rotation at the end of Jan and into Feb that doesn't have a COMAT at the end of it. But I have a trip to Vegas around that time too. I'm going to schedule it for a few weeks after the Vegas trip so I can review things a few more times and practice some cases.