I recently took the NBME OB-GYN shelf exam and wanted to post about my experience.
OB-GYN is an 8 week clerkship at our school (4 weeks clinic and 4 weeks in patient [L&D, surgery, ...]). Most students use uworld, uwise, and either blueprints/case files.
The sources I used were:
- Blueprints OB-GYN - 6th edition - x 3 passes
- Obstetrics and Gynecology by Beckmann - 7th edition - This book is essentially a companion to uWISE (not necessary if you're doing uWISE) - x 3 passes
- uWISE - APGO question bank (free subscription with a school email) - ~600 questions and a few comprehensive exams - x 2 passes of questions, many passes of notes
- uworld - 225 questions - x 3 passes of questions, many passes of notes.
Strategy for studying:
I read my first pass through Blueprints and the Beckmann text, usually 3-5 chapters of each per day. On my first pass, I made sure to highlight things that I knew I had to re-read (and constantly revisit) to get a complete fund of knowledge (e.g., risk factors for placenta previa, treatment algorithms for endometriosis, evaluation of amenorrhea/DUB/etc., ...). I made sure to stick to my reading schedule so that I would be able to read subsequent passes through those books faster (I generally tend to preferentially read my highlighting and notes). I started uWISE (5-8 modules a day) and uworld (untimed, tutor, unused blocks of 30/day) starting in week 3, and wrote notes for questions that I got wrong/correct for the wrong reason. I essentially had all the reading and questions done by week 5 of my clerkship which allowed me multiple passes at each of those resources. I find that I study less as the clerkships wear on, so I find this strategy beneficial for me.
In retrospect, the Beckmann text is redundant if you do uWISE. So, most may feel like reading it would be redundant (I agree). I read it because I like to read the same material presented in different ways (within reason). As someone had mentioned above, blueprints is a wall of text, but if reading a review text suits your learning style, then it's the correct book for you. In contrast to the other books in the blueprints series (e.g., pediatrics blueprints), the material is somewhat comprehensive, and it's a one-stop shop for a lot of things you need to know for the shelf. I can't comment on case-files: the style doesn't jive with my study habits and I never opened the book.
Shelf exam:
I felt that the majority (>60%) of my shelf exam was non-obstetrics (gynecology, development, ...) and 30% was obstetrics. There were a few peds questions (neonatology) which were "low hanging fruit" according to my friends who had already had peds.
Things to know cold for the shelf:
- Indications for who gets a C-section
- Interpretation of fetal heart tones
- work-up for STDs - Know the exact test (for what do you get a wet mount v. KOH prep, ...)
- work-up for amenorrhea (primary and secondary)
- work-up for dysfunctional/abnormal uterine bleeding
- "Is it placenta previa, vasa previa, placental abruption, or uterine rupture?"
- Knowing the stages of development: "Is this patient undergoing precocious puberty?"
- Distinguishing between different causes of hirsuitisim and virilization in patients (PCOS, CAH, Leydig-sertoli tumor, ...)
- Answering the following question "is it endometriosis/adenomyosis/leiomyoma/ovarian torison/ectopic/PID/molar pregnancy ?"
Surprises:
- Very few (5-8) questions on cancers, screening, and risk factors for certain conditions
- Very few questions on breast pathology
- Straightforward presentation for certain conditions (previa, ectopic pregnancy, ...)
Result: >99th* percentile, raw score - 99 (*I hate the term 100th percentile).
Reflection: As with the other high stakes tests (boards, shelf exams, ...), I find that sticking to as few resources as possible that cover the breath of the material and going through them in an organized an deliberate fashion really helps build the fund of knowledge that one can build upon. The hours on our clerkship weren't too bad (11-14 hours days inpatient, 8a-5p outpatient) with minimal weekend obligations. I was able to study 3-4 hours a day early in the clerkship and a little less (but a lot faster) near the end.
Please post or PM me with any questions! Good luck to all! 🙂
