Pediatric Board Exam 2020

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J-Bauer24

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Looking to get ideas on what people are using these days for the board? Thinking about using PREP questions and Medstudy. Don’t know much about TrueLearn or NEJM? Anyone have any thoughts on those? Also, if anyone has any discount codes for these qbanks it would be much appreciated! Things are adding up quick!
TIA.
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I'm doing Pediatric Board Review. Already failed once and don't want to fail again. The test is a massive pain in the ass, and now with all this COVID stuff it's hard to buckle down and study right.

I'm also using MedStudy questions, PREP, and probably TrueLearn. Heard great things from all of them.
 
I did MedStudy and really liked it overall. I got the books and the Q-bank, went through each twice. The books are excellent but really dense and highly-detailed - it takes a lot of time and effort to get through them. That said, I read a few chapters of Laughing Your Way and preferred MedStudy because LYW just seemed to lack a lot of necessary details. The MedStudy books are great once you figure out how to go through them without getting bogged down in all the little details. The MedStudy program will arrange a study schedule for you, if you choose, and I found that pretty helpful. I did not do the flashcards, so I can't comment on those.

I did some PREP questions, but not a lot - mainly because they are very long and I ran out of study time before the exam. If you have enough time, I would recommend doing the most recent 2 or 3 years of PREP questions, especially if you have enough time/energy to learn from the long answer explanations.

I don't know anything about the PBR program but it seems like a lot of people on this board really like it, so probably worth looking into.
 
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Just wanna bump this thread. Has anyone used the pediatric board review (PBR) live test taking strategies and deep study course? I emailed them with questions about it and I get a vibe that they are preying on insecurites to get people to buy in their more expensive stuff. just wondering if anyone has an positive feedback from it.

A little background on me. i failed my first attempt last year mainly because i started working in a pretty busy outpatient clinic--used PBR and medstudy questions exclusively then but did mostly passive reading. I really like how condensed the PBR text is so I spent most of the last few months writing questions, puting them on flashcards in anki and reviewing them daily. Ive been using boardvitals questions and ive noticed a lot of improvement in my retention. Ive bene historically a pretty bad test taker however my last year's ABP attempt was my first actual failed test since med school (passed step 1-3 but barely on most).

any advice would be helpful. thanks in advance!
 
My residency program has been given free subscriptions to Rosh Review for this year's boards. I've never heard of them. I have done all three years of PREP (thanks to increased downtime for jeopardy due to COVID), and am currently doing MedStudy flashcards/books/question bank. I've been in the ">90% first time pass" group on all three ITEs. Do I need this extra Rosh Review?
 
Medstudy questions are very similar to the actual exam in format and content. Along with 2-3 years of PREP, is more than enough to pass in my opinion.
 
There is a nice new book that can be very helpful
Nelson Certification and Recertification - It is divided into chapters, with bullet points along with questions at the end of each chapter.
LYW is good as a mnemonic source to add to your primary studying source.
Medstudy qbank is a nice qbank that is helpful. PREPs require time but most ppl say they are a most
 
I took it last year and I did all of MedStudy and maybe 60-70% of 3 years of PREP. The MedStudy questions are definitely more like the test itself but I felt like I learned more from the PREP question explanations. I’d also recommend having either an audio or book reference so you can review weaker areas. I had audio files from a course which I just used for review (didn’t listen to all of them). ETA: Just remember you only have to pass, you don’t need to be aiming for a high score like the Steps.
 
sicboy188 said:
Just wanna bump this thread. Has anyone used the pediatric board review (PBR) live test taking strategies and deep study course? I emailed them with questions about it and I get a vibe that they are preying on insecurites to get people to buy in their more expensive stuff. just wondering if anyone has an positive feedback from it.

A little background on me. i failed my first attempt last year mainly because i started working in a pretty busy outpatient clinic--used PBR and medstudy questions exclusively then but did mostly passive reading. I really like how condensed the PBR text is so I spent most of the last few months writing questions, puting them on flashcards in anki and reviewing them daily. Ive been using boardvitals questions and ive noticed a lot of improvement in my retention. Ive bene historically a pretty bad test taker however my last year's ABP attempt was my first actual failed test since med school (passed step 1-3 but barely on most).

any advice would be helpful. thanks in advance!
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I just attended the "live" aka Zoom version of the June test-taking strategies course. It was very helpful to me as Ashish breaks down different question types and how to attack them systematically. There was about 20 other people in the class and he also has us work on questions in breakout groups which was also helpful. Whether it's actually worth the $1800 I guess I'll let you know after taking the test again this year. If I pass then sure, it's worth it. I certainly feel a bit more confident compared to last year.
 
hmockingbird said:
I took it last year and I did all of MedStudy and maybe 60-70% of 3 years of PREP. The MedStudy questions are definitely more like the test itself but I felt like I learned more from the PREP question explanations. I’d also recommend having either an audio or book reference so you can review weaker areas. I had audio files from a course which I just used for review (didn’t listen to all of them). ETA: Just remember you only have to pass, you don’t need to be aiming for a high score like the Steps.
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What are some good audio sources
 
Any ideas on the goal for the ABP self assessment? From earlier posts some folks say 70 or 80%. Any recent takers with experience? Thanks!
 
andrek82 said:
Any ideas on the goal for the ABP self assessment? From earlier posts some folks say 70 or 80%. Any recent takers with experience? Thanks!
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What abp self assessment are you referring to? Is this for the certification exam?
 
J-Bauer24 said:
What abp self assessment are you referring to? Is this for the certification exam?
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Self-Assessment Activities | The American Board of Pediatrics

The self-assessment activities developed by the American Board of Pediatrics (ABP) and other organizations as part of Maintenance of Certification (MOC) can help board-certified pediatricians assess and enhance their clinical knowledge and the skills important to their individual practices...
www.abp.org www.abp.org
 
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It is probably 70% since that's what you need to get to get CME for it
 
I just took it last year and passed with a solid median score. I would recommend having a solid source to study from (content) + question banks. This is what I did:
-MedStudy online questions: I think I finished plus repeated some and had about an 80% average. These questions are similar format to the board questions.
-PREP questions: I did 3-4 years, but not all of them. Closer to a 70% average. The board questions aren’t as long BUT you can learn a ton from the explanations.
-Content was videos from a prep course that my boss gave me (sorry I don’t remember specifics). I believe I watched them all once and the weaker areas more than once.
-Looked up outlines for QI terms, research terms (study design), ethics terms and stats online. In my experience these are things I tend to forget but once I re-memorise them they’re easy points on the test.

My strategy was to do questions during downtime at work (double points bc I had colleagues there if I wanted to clarify something) and then questions and the review videos during my days off. It sounds like a lot but the reason I got so many questions done was work lol. I’m a hospitalist and so there was opportunity for downtime. I did not study more than maybe 1-2 hours every day at home except for the two weeks before the test. As it got closer to the test I did more content review focusing on my weaker areas because I really wanted it to stick. I also had a notebook where I wrote down any confusing or “new” info and I reviewed that plus
ethics/QI/research/stats the day or two before the test. Overkill? Maybe but like I said it wasn’t a ton of time every day. I also had a funeral about a week before the test and a ton of outside noise during my test so I feel like maybe I needed to go hard to make up for what was coming to me haha!
 
Ok anyone else freaking out right now just took the test and wow. So many questions had me between 2 answers. Hopefully I chose the right ones does anyone have a sense of the percent correct is passing???
 
J-Bauer24 said:
Ok anyone else freaking out right now just took the test and wow. So many questions had me between 2 answers. Hopefully I chose the right ones does anyone have a sense of the percent correct is passing???
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I thought it was really hard too man. We will just have to try and not worry for the next few months until scores are released. Easier said than done!!!

I guess worst case we just have to take it again next year....
 
Question on QBanks in general: What are the differences between the "ITE" version and "Board Exam" version of the question banks?

Usually there is about a $150 difference for a year subscription. For Truelearn and Rosh review the # of questions and explanations match up. Ive done Truelearn once already for ITE, and wanted to know if for my next Q bank I should shell out the extra $$$ and pick the "board exam" specific option.

BTW- Truelearn was a good question bank for ITE prep FWIW.
 
I feel the same way as everyone else. It was a hard. I was able to get it down to two answers on most. Had a couple where I read the stem and was like "wow this is a gimme" and then the answer I wanted wasn't there.

I feel like it was pretty similar to the ITEs, just feels more stressful because the stakes are higher.

The question style was more like MedStudy than PREP, but I feel like the content tested was more similar to PREP.
 
Yeah exactly, it's stressing me out because theres already a few easy ones I know I choked on already. Definitely feel like I failed but I dont know. I was getting around 78-85% on Med study blocks even with ones that I felt were harder so hopefully the average holds up.... I don't know, this sucks.
 
DOAZ31 said:
Yeah exactly, it's stressing me out because theres already a few easy ones I know I choked on already. Definitely feel like I failed but I dont know. I was getting around 78-85% on Med study blocks even with ones that I felt were harder so hopefully the average holds up.... I don't know, this sucks.
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Everyone feels like they failed. Try not to think about it too much until results come out.
 
NurWollen said:
When do results come out? Mid to late November?
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I personally remember late November to early December... but that was over a decade ago. I feel like my subspecialty boards, which were online as opposed to my peds boards, had a turn around time of less than 1 month.
 
Really hope I pass this year... then worst case scenario with my fellowship I go work gen peds instead and make 2-3 times the money. Certainly will feel better then residency
 
Has anyone taken the Peds DO boards this Oct 2020? Any insight as to how the exam was and how it compares to the ABP exam?
Thanks!!
 
ACLP said:
Has anyone taken the Peds DO boards this Oct 2020? Any insight as to how the exam was and how it compares to the ABP exam?
Thanks!!
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I took both this year. I trained at a historically DO peds program that was dual accredited by ACGME and now just ACGME due to the merger.
My program paid for the DO exam which were supposed to be in spring 2020 and they got rescheduled to October because of the pandemic. I treated the test as a practice exam 2 weeks before the ABP.

The DO test is very horribly written and outdated. I think worse written than even comlex. The questions are more straightforward, mostly 1st order thinking of either you know this fact or don't. Not a lot of critical thinking. The OMM questions were weird but admittedly I didn't study much for that and just looked at old OMM reviews from med school for a few days before the test. Definitely much much easier than the ABP.

I took the test mostly because it was paid for and gives me a safety net if I fail ABP, I'm still board certified. I don't plan on ever renewing the DO board certification ever.

So I recommend if you are eligible for it, which I imagine you are since there's no such thing as DO residencies anymore as all had to get acgme accreditation or close, take the ABP instead. If you are not a good test taker or fail the ABP you can look at the DO boards as a backup.

For studying I used PREP questions which were good to review the content. I also did medstudy Qbank. The medstudy Qs which were written more similar to the actual ABP exam imo compared to prep. For content review I used medstudy books and videos.

I also had gotten a trial of the NEJM qbank through my residency program and did like half of that qbank for extra practice. But I didn't think it was as good as medstudy or prep to prepare.

Hope this helps!
 
Ravizzle said:
I took both this year. I trained at a historically DO peds program that was dual accredited by ACGME and now just ACGME due to the merger.
My program paid for the DO exam which were supposed to be in spring 2020 and they got rescheduled to October because of the pandemic. I treated the test as a practice exam 2 weeks before the ABP.

The DO test is very horribly written and outdated. I think worse written than even comlex. The questions are more straightforward, mostly 1st order thinking of either you know this fact or don't. Not a lot of critical thinking. The OMM questions were weird but admittedly I didn't study much for that and just looked at old OMM reviews from med school for a few days before the test. Definitely much much easier than the ABP.

I took the test mostly because it was paid for and gives me a safety net if I fail ABP, I'm still board certified. I don't plan on ever renewing the DO board certification ever.

So I recommend if you are eligible for it, which I imagine you are since there's no such thing as DO residencies anymore as all had to get acgme accreditation or close, take the ABP instead. If you are not a good test taker or fail the ABP you can look at the DO boards as a backup.

For studying I used PREP questions which were good to review the content. I also did medstudy Qbank. The medstudy Qs which were written more similar to the actual ABP exam imo compared to prep. For content review I used medstudy books and videos.

I also had gotten a trial of the NEJM qbank through my residency program and did like half of that qbank for extra practice. But I didn't think it was as good as medstudy or prep to prepare.

Hope this helps!
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Thank you!!!!
This does help as I am slated to take the exam in May. In your opinion which question banks would most resemble the types of questions on the DO boards and what did you use for your study material?
 
ACLP said:
Thank you!!!!
This does help as I am slated to take the exam in May. In your opinion which question banks would most resemble the types of questions on the DO boards and what did you use for your study material?
Click to expand...

None of the Qbanks I used resembled the DO exam. I would say so do a mix of prep and medstudy Qs. And i used medstudy books for content review.

I have also heard good things about laughing your way review book and got one free from my program, but I didn't use it as it didn't fit my learning style.
 
Ravizzle said:
None of the Qbanks I used resembled the DO exam. I would say so do a mix of prep and medstudy Qs. And i used medstudy books for content review.

I have also heard good things about laughing your way review book and got one free from my program, but I didn't use it as it didn't fit my learning style.
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Thank you so much, your insights have been very helpful!!! Can't wait for this to be over!!
 
Last year results came out Dec 3rd which was a Tuesday. In 2018 they came out Tuesday, Dec. 4th. In 2017, they came out Wednesday, Dec. 6th. In 2013 it was Monday, Dec. 16th. So who knows?

Because it's 2020, it'll probably be longer. Because Covid ruins everything.
 
Do we get an email or should we obsessively type our name on the ABP search box?
 
Tribeca said:
Do we get an email or should we obsessively type our name on the ABP search box?
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If you go to the ABP website they put up a banner saying results aren't available and that we'd get an email when they are. So basically, they're saying "quit logging in before you crash our server."
 
ABP website is saying results will only be available in mid-january. I guess delayed because of covid or something.
 
Ladholyman said:
Has anyone logged into ABP and see change in their Maintenance of Certification box? Not sure if anything significant...
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Logged in yesterday and mine now has a MOC Dashboard. Not sure how long it’s been there but I know it wasn’t there before I took my test. Not sure what it means 🤷🏽‍♀️
 
Rpat1 said:
Logged in yesterday and mine now has a MOC Dashboard. Not sure how long it’s been there but I know it wasn’t there before I took my test. Not sure what it means
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Yeah I don't think it's always been there but I'm pretty sure it has been for a couple of weeks.
 
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