Ped boards 2022

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congrats to all!

I’ve yet to check, but does the certification status change if you passed?
 
Passed with a 192!!! Second attempt!! WAHOOOOOOO
 
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Zora98 said:
congrats to all!

I’ve yet to check, but does the certification status change if you passed?
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It hasn’t changed for me yet, but I did pass so am not worried 😁
 
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I passed with 195 on my second attempt!!! I got 179 last year.
 
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Refreshed and it says passed... they can't take this way or change their mind right?!? I'm literally paranoid...
 
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Failed second attempt. Did a chief year and in competitive fellowship. Never failed boards before.

My biggest concern is being able to afford to pay for these a third time. Really sucks.
 
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For people that passed, it still says " not yet certified" to you?
 
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Passed!! 200. 3rd attempt. Congratulation everyone!!!
 
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Where do you see “certified” status?
 
Does anyone know where we find the pass rate and the average for this year? All I see is the letter
 
rainydayam said:
Does anyone know where we find the pass rate and the average for this year? All I see is the letter
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You can look to see about what the pass rate is by looking at the curve. They mark the passing score. From the bell curve, looks like a brutal year
 
rainydayam said:
Does anyone know where we find the pass rate and the average for this year? All I see is the letter
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I guess looking at the curve, maybe a 15-20% amount of test takers scored below 180?

Mean/median looks to be around 190-195
 
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NobleGas14 said:
I guess looking at the curve, maybe a 15-20% amount of test takers scored below 180?

Mean/median looks to be around 190-195
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Yayayay! If u are right then i’m solidly average! Also 15-20% would be better than last year so that’s good news
 
Do you guys get emails only if you passed/are certified?
 
Congrats to everyone who passed. If anyone has an advice or resources that can help with my upcoming retake - I would greatly appreciate it.
 
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This time I had longer time off from work to study before the exam (almost 4 weeks). This is really helped to be more focus. The last 2 years i have been off work for only 2 weeks. So the longer time you would be able to take to study before the exam the better you will be prepared.
I reviewed the last 5 years of PREP. Went through Medstudy flashcards, watched youtube pediatric board review study guide, last minute review and studies some chapters from the book. I focused more on the parts that i under performed from last year.
 
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I took two weeks off from fellowship and crammed for 12-14 hours a day. Read all of PBR once. Finished half of the medstudy questions. Did the ABP practice test (some of the questions show up on the exam). Listened to the PBR audio (some chapters like immunizations I listened to more than once). On the morning of the exam I listened to the immunization chapter of PBR again (for the 4th or 5th time). I scored an 80% on the ABP practice exam and a 75% on Medstudy question bank (for the half that I completed)
 
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Helloitsmebee said:
Failed second attempt. Did a chief year and in competitive fellowship. Never failed boards before.

My biggest concern is being able to afford to pay for these a third time. Really sucks.
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I’m really sorry. It does suck and is not fair.
Peds8775 said:
Congrats! Any recommendations for study material? I will be retaking again next year :(
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The most important thing to know is you are not alone and you can do this!

I got a 179 last year, and a 192 this year. I used PBR in 2021, but I had crippling test taking anxiety - couldn't sleep the night before, rushed through the exam. Had never failed anything before, but also always scored below the mean.

This year, I sought therapy for my anxiety, and used a sleep aid the night before the test. I went all in on PBR including the test-taking skills course, which I think ultimately is what made the difference for me. I read the PBR book 5 times and used flash cards I had made in 2021 from PBR along with flashcards from MedStudy. I did over 4000 practice questions from multiple sources (PREP, MedStudy, BoardVitals, and True Learn). I scored ~75% on the three PREP qbanks I did (last year was in the 60s), ~75% overall on MedStudy, BoardVitals, and True Learn, and a 80% on the ABP practice test - which I got access to through a friend, as you lose access unfortunately after failing. I did score 70-72% on multiple other half and full length practice tests, which made me very nervous, but ultimately worked out okay. I spent a lot of time at the beginning of the year focusing in on my worst content areas, which were then reinforced by the PBR passes. I also met with a virtual study group once to twice per week (folks I met in the PBR course) for 4-5 months. We took turns sending out 5-10 practice questions so others could walk through the test-taking approach and content knowledge when we met. I think that helped my confidence a lot. Timewise, I studied most weekends, paying for childcare when needed, and I took two weeks off before the test.

Happy to talk more if it would be helpful. Take some time off to mourn, and then make a plan. You can do this!
 
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Ugh…I did not pass for the 3rd time. I scored a 174.

I just called and spoke with someone in the scoring department. I scored a 190 and 191 on the 1st and 3rd blocks, but my score was only in the 160’s on the 2nd and 4th blocks. 🤷🏻‍♀️

I also asked her about the pass rate this year and she said 74%, which is horrible in my opinion. We’ll see what the stats look like once they’re posted.

I can’t believe I have to take this beast of a test again. I’m so sad. 😢

I’m also running out of q-banks at this point!

I’m sticking with PBR and prep questions, but any advice is greatly appreciated.
 
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AliKu2984 said:
Ugh…I did not pass for the 3rd time. I scored a 174.

I just called and spoke with someone in the scoring department. I scored a 190 and 191 on the 1st and 3rd blocks, but my score was only in the 160’s on the 2nd and 4th blocks. 🤷🏻‍♀️

I also asked her about the pass rate this year and she said 74%, which is horrible in my opinion. We’ll see what the stats look like once they’re posted.

I can’t believe I have to take this beast of a test again. I’m so sad. 😢

I’m also running out of q-banks at this point!

I’m sticking with PBR and prep questions, but any advice is greatly appreciated.
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I'm so so sorry :( That so sad and unfair - you deserve to pass this thing with all of the time and effort you have put in!!!

Do you you think you might need longer breaks between blocks? Something you could request based on a medical reason (or something like pumping) next year. Based on your block scores, it sounds like your issue has much more to do with test-taking and stamina than knowledge! Have you done a deep dive with Ashish? (I realize that is also very expensive, but just a thought).
 
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Also, a 74% pass rate is terrible!! That is ridiculous
 
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I passed first attempt and I can share my experience. 202 first attempt.
I honestly loved Nelson Pediatric Board review and Nelson Essentials!! They cover most of the things and after using them my ITE scores went up DRAMATICALLY from 160 to 190 in 2nd year.
My main q bank was medstudy I did them and marked wrong questions and explanations into Nelson Board Review.
I also used the PBR book at the end for a quick summary.
My ABR self assessment was 83.5 % approx 1 month before the exam.
 
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Honestly, I did nothing but narrow down answer choices. Maybe it tested medical knowledge on how well you can do that but I felt a lot of the questions were unfair. 74% pass rate means that the ABP needs to revamp peds medical education
 
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omelas said:
I'm so so sorry :( That so sad and unfair - you deserve to pass this thing with all of the time and effort you have put in!!!

Do you you think you might need longer breaks between blocks? Something you could request based on a medical reason (or something like pumping) next year. Based on your block scores, it sounds like your issue has much more to do with test-taking and stamina than knowledge! Have you done a deep dive with Ashish? (I realize that is also very expensive, but just a thought).
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So true! I literally was recovering from viral gastro and a bad URI going into the exam. Plus, one of my dogs had to have ACL surgery and I was so stressed! I realize these all sound like excuses, but I definitely had a lot going on.

I feel like I am more than capable of passing, so it’s very frustrating.

I will be using all the resources PBR has to offer me because this is my final attempt as my 7 years will be up in December 2023. (I couldn’t write the exam prior to 2020 because I had multiple surgeries).

Back to the drawing board I guess!
 
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Peds8775 said:
Congrats! Any recommendations for study material? I will be retaking again next year :(
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To preface, I’m a horrible test taker who has scored below average on USMLE exams & above average on the ITEs (actually failed Step 2). I couldn’t afford the entire packages, so I only used the PBR textbook, MedStudy QBank (avg 85), and NEJM QBank (avg 82). I started studying in April during residency. Everyday I read 1 chapter & did 40 questions. For each incorrect question, I wrote a learning point about it in a journal. This allowed me to complete 2 passes of each QBanks and 4 passes of the textbook weeks before the real exam. So I never got into a cram mentality. Never did any PREP questions.

During fellowship, I was only allowed one week of dedicated study time, which I used to tighten up on my weak topics. During that same week, I also did the ABP practice exam (score 85) and both NEJM practice exams (scores of 82 & 70).

2 days before the exam, all I did was watch Netflix. On the day of the exam, I was mentally relaxed & finished my exam in 3 hours (even after reviewing my marked questions a second time & only needed to use 5-10 min of each break). I passed & scored super high on my 1st attempt.

Learning how the questions writers think was the big difference in my performance now vs past USMLE exams. I reached the point that I was able to skim the question & know what they wanted. Then I eyeballed the answer choices looking for the one they wanted. For me, it wasn’t about learning every detail, but how the writers will test you on particular topics. That’s why I never made flashcards/tables nor did brute memorization of developmental milestones & IBEM (which doesn’t work for everyone, my co-residents thought I was crazy). PBR really helped me get into this mindset even with just their textbook.

This might be extra, but I went into study mode with wanting to ace the exam, not just pass it. This helped me maintain the discipline of studying everyday, even when fellowship got rough.
 
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Passed this year on my second attempt. Scored 165 last year and 191 this year. So immeasurably relieved, because recovering from the mental failure I felt this last year has felt like a year long marathon.

Thinking of everyone who may be struggling right now. Last year was my first board mishap and I let it eat me up inside. All l I can say is keep your head up and remember you’re still a great pediatrician and a board score doesn’t change that. Take as long you need to mourn. It’s ok if it takes awhile but by the end of January or February try your best to start afresh.

I’m in fellowship and I definitely think the challenge of starting a new job/a move impacted me the first time around. I did select medstudy videos and the medstudy qbank once the first time. I think I approached a 65-68% correct at that time.

This year I did all of the med study videos and annotated notes in the book that comes along with the videos. I bought the medstudy flashcards and thought this was SO helpful for reviewing sections. I used these regularly when I had down time or to make myself feel better when I felt super anxious. I did all of medstudy twice. I think I scored in the 70s the first time and 85-90s the second time. I didn’t really do PREP last time, so this time I did all 3 years of PREP. I printed out the clinical pearls once I finished and studied them. I definitely prioritized medstudy but I feel like there was a good amount I learned from PREP that wasn’t in medstudy. I did the self assessment and got 80 some percent. In general, tried to do timed question blocks early on in studying to build up stamina, starting with 40 and working my way up to 80ish. I stopped studying the night before around 7 or 8 pm the night before the test, forced myself to watch some tv to relax, and did my best to get a good night sleep. Definitely tried to avoid staying up late starting a week before the test to avoid problems sleeping the night before the test.

Hope my experiences can help someone out. I know I was looking to hear any and all advice last year.
 
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PEMSTAN22 said:
Learning how the questions writers think was the big difference in my performance now vs past USMLE exams.
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1000000000% this!!! I kept asking myself "ok, so what are they asking?" Granted I only scored 190 but distilling down the vignette was so helpful to me.
 
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AliKu2984 said:
Ugh…I did not pass for the 3rd time. I scored a 174.

I just called and spoke with someone in the scoring department. I scored a 190 and 191 on the 1st and 3rd blocks, but my score was only in the 160’s on the 2nd and 4th blocks. 🤷🏻‍♀️

I also asked her about the pass rate this year and she said 74%, which is horrible in my opinion. We’ll see what the stats look like once they’re posted.

I can’t believe I have to take this beast of a test again. I’m so sad. 😢

I’m also running out of q-banks at this point!

I’m sticking with PBR and prep questions, but any advice is greatly appreciated.
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I’m in the same boat. Third attempt 178.

I don’t even know what to do anymore
 
theunderdog2017 said:
I’m in the same boat. Third attempt 178.

I don’t even know what to do anymore
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I hear ya! I’m sorry to hear you didn’t pass. At least we’re both pretty close. I know it really sucks and believe me, I’ve been feeling pretty rotten most of the day. But, I think we have to realize that it is just a test and we can definitely pass it!

I would say, keep your head up and try PBR for test-taking strategies if you haven’t already.

I think my biggest mistake is that I didn’t review the material enough. They recommend going over it 4-5 times and I only had time to review it once. I also only studied for 3 weeks (really dumb of me, I know)…

When answering questions, focus on eliminating wrong choices rather than trying to find the right one. I know that’s key too!

I think the idea is to go in feeling confident because you’ve done so many questions using good test-taking strategies that it feels robotic.

We need to focus on how to not get fatigued during the test. That’s what I can’t figure out. I get so tired and bored that I loose focus and I start getting lazy when answering questions…
 
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