medstudy, mksap

[dinosaur]

just wondering if anyone has any idea on which is a better resource for interns, basically just for in service exams....

Also, there some sites selling copies of the medstudy video for like $199, obviously sounds suspicious but I was wondering if anyone has ever tried any of these. $1000 just sounds too much for a lowly intern...

I'd appreciated any input guys.. thanks....

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[retroviridae]

just wondering if anyone has any idea on which is a better resource for interns, basically just for in service exams....

Also, there some sites selling copies of the medstudy video for like $199, obviously sounds suspicious but I was wondering if anyone has ever tried any of these. $1000 just sounds too much for a lowly intern...

I'd appreciated any input guys.. thanks....

my program bought us medstudy, which I think is quite good. No opinion on MKSAP

 

[dinosaur]

lucky you. Our program has very limited educational funds. We do have a copy of mksap in the reserve section of the library, but who has the time for that?

 

[AJM]

Having just finished IM Boards, I really liked MKSAP. It's published by the ACP-ABIM which is also the same organization that writes the IM inservice exams and Board exams. I felt like the questions and topics reviewed on the MKSAP were very similar to the types of questions asked about in the boards and on the inservice exams. The main problem is that the MKSAP is a hefty collection of books and IMO it is too advanced for an intern. As an intern you also won't have much time to study the MKSAP (10 books in all). Even with 2 months of planning I could only get through 7 of the 10 books before taking boards, mostly because I was working pretty long hours at the same time.

You might want to consider investing in a MKSAP after you reach your second year -- you'll have a bit more time to read then, and you'll have had a year of experience under your belt.

I don't know anything about Medstudy.

 

[dinosaur]

do you think medstudy is easy enough for an intern? I heard it's a bit easier. Just want an opinion before i spend my $300....

 

[BellKicker]

I don't know about MKSAP but I'm not overly impressed by Medstudy. It's not the kind of book you would use to look something up. It's more buzz-word oriented, like a fast way to learn about the different dyslipidemias or RTAs etc.

It was pushed heavily by my program and I went ahead and used CME money on it.

 

[treedoc]

If you're interested in passing boards, MedStudy is far better than MKSAP. Friends who used MKSAP went to the boards scared to death while those who used MedStudy were more confident. btw, mksap is not part of ABIM.

 

[AJM]

If you're interested in passing boards, MedStudy is far better than MKSAP. Friends who used MKSAP went to the boards scared to death while those who used MedStudy were more confident. btw, mksap is not part of ABIM.

Interesting you said that. I used MKSAP and did fine on Boards -- wasn't worried at all, and passed with a very comfortable margin. Same with all of my friends who used MKSAP. I don't know anyone who used Medstudy, so can't say the same for them (my program pushed MKSAP heavily - they basically gave us the CDs, so it would have been stupid of us to pay extra money to get a different study guide).

And MKSAP is affiliated with ABIM in that they are both part of ACP. The American College of Physicians is the organization which ABIM is under (hence the term ACP-ABIM). The ACP also publishes and sells the MKSAP. So true, the people who write the practice questions are probably different than the actual test writers, but they are still in the same umbrella organization. I also found that the style of MKSAP questions and the topics that were focused on were incredibly similar to those of the actual Board exam. In fact, there were many questions on the exam that I only knew because they were covered in the MKSAP.

 

[treedoc]

Which residency programs push MKSAP? Just curious. 🙂 Just to clarify, ACP and ABIM are different organizations, although I can understand why there might be some confusion. Medstudy is by far better as a board prep (I got both). I just happen to know some people who failed after studying MKSAP, but I don't know of anyone who failed using MedStudy.

 

[APACHE3]

At one of my interviews , I was told if you want to pass boards, do Medstudy, if you want top 5%, then do MKSAP. 😎

 

[AJM]

Which residency programs push MKSAP? Just curious. 🙂

The programs that that I know for sure that push MKSAP are Stanford, Brigham, and MGH. Last I heard these programs had pretty decent Boards pass rates... 😉

 

[DMO83]

The programs that that I know for sure that push MKSAP are Stanford, Brigham, and MGH. Last I heard these programs had pretty decent Boards pass rates... 😉

I know I am responding to old post, but if Brigham relies on MKSAP; then why did they create their own version of Board Review?!

 

[gutonc]

I know I am responding to old post, but if Brigham relies on MKSAP; then why did they create their own version of Board Review?!

Dude...seriously...just pick one and knock it off.

 

[DMO83]

Dude...seriously...just pick one and knock it off.

I want to know pros and cons of each one

 

[gutonc]

I want to know pros and cons of each one

Buy them both and figure it out.

And stop cross-posting.

Closing this thread since you've asked the same question half a dozen times already. Congratulations on "necrobump of the year" though.