I am in fellowship and one of my colleagues is med peds. He studied much more for peds boards than IM and passed IM and failed peds.
Pediatric Board Exam 2021
- Thread starter ShogonK
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Peds boards are the literal worst! 🤮
For all of us who have yet to pass - let’s get angry together, and beat the #*%$ out of this test next year!
I used PBR, but sadly had a lot of health problems that impacted my ability to study. I will definitely use PBR again and highly recommend it! (I studied more using MedStudy the first time I wrote the exam in 2020 and scored a 166 - I actually studied very little with PBR this time around and pulled off a 173). I know I didn’t pass, but at least my score went up…
I honestly think if I, (God-willing), have less health struggles, and can put more time into studying using PBR, the exam is doable. It’s unnecessarily tough and the percentage required to pass is stupidly high, but we all can totally do it!
I requested the answer why my overall scaled score is lower than the mean scaled scores which showed each category (>180) in sections 2 and 3. They said that the overall scaled score is different from the scaled scores on each category, and I cannot calculate the overall scaled scores from the mean of them....... It doesn't make sense to me because both scores came from the same questions and the same scale. ABP can control the score anyway as they want. I gave up.
To answer your question: if you look at the score reporting domains there are 4 of them. Each domain has a different percentage weight next to them showing how much they count for. For example diagnosis is 35%, management is 35%, etc. So you can score above 180 in 2 of the 4 domains but if it only counted for say 30% of the total exam that wouldn't necessarily matter when diagnosis and management count for 70% of the exam. If you multiply your scaled score in each domain by the percent for how much each is worth then add all 4 domains together that will equal your total final score you see at the top of your score report.
That is really sad to hear
I have failed , please tell me where can I get the prep questions. Right now i am so upset can not even think straight . I got 178/180. Did study so hard using Medstudy and USCF review course. Can not believe I Failed.
I thought the same thing, but even I consider the ratio of the number of questions (%), still above 180 (181.5).......If you don't mind, could you calculate your score in the way you said, and does it match your overall score? Mine doesn't match.
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My understanding was that each question is weighted the same so there is no reason to leave any question blank, no penalty for guessing essentially. I can't understand why your scores don't add up, mine do I just checked right now and did the math. If this is the case for you, then on the ABP website for the exam it says that a minimum number of questions are needed to be answered correctly to pass. If the questions you answered weren't at their threshold of which questions needed to be answered that could explain your 171 final score vs. 181 calculated. Maybe they do pick and choose but I thought it wasn't like that.
Thank you so much! I will ask them to recalculate my score again, because it doesn't make sense to me at all and what you told me how to calculate the score should be the exact way to match the overall scaled score!!
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Really sorry to hear this. Hang in there and focus on what you're doing now (fellowship or practice). In a few months, take another look at your score and see what areas you had trouble with to guide your studying. Also try to sort out if you're someone who studies better by reading a pedi text or by practice questions. Finally, try to identify a study partner or two for next time. Good luck, you're so close you'll get it next time and all this will just be a crummy memory. Feel free to PM me.
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I got 179/180 too. I did the calculation and got 180.35…. Could you please let me know what they say? This is so sad…😭
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Another 179 here, passed medicine easily. If I wanted to make people angry, I could describe some of the differences between ABIM and ABP's test format.
That being said, I know several brilliant pediatricians who have a general or sub-specialty failure to their name. It is a poor reflection of how good of a general pediatrician you are and we will all just have to rock it next year.
The mean for my test was 496 and a passing score was 371, standard deviation appears to be about 100, so approximately a 90% pass rate. Last few years have been 93%, 91%, 91%, 90%, and 90%, so about the same or maybe a couple percent lower if my standard deviation is a bit off.
That being said, I know several brilliant pediatricians who have a general or sub-specialty failure to their name. It is a poor reflection of how good of a general pediatrician you are and we will all just have to rock it next year.
The mean for my test was 496 and a passing score was 371, standard deviation appears to be about 100, so approximately a 90% pass rate. Last few years have been 93%, 91%, 91%, 90%, and 90%, so about the same or maybe a couple percent lower if my standard deviation is a bit off.
Yeah, I will post here and let you know.
genpeds237
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My understanding is that the scaled scores for each domain cannot be used to calculate the overall scaled score, even if you weigh each of them appropriately. The overall scaled score is calculated based on the raw number of questions answered correctly, and is not reflective of the scaled score. I would suggest saving the $250 because I have never heard of a single candidate having their scores changed by a re-score ever since they went to computer-based testing. The only reason they even offer the $250 re-score option is to fleece more test-takers who missed the passing threshold by 1 point.
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Yes, unfortunately, the pay to rescore is from a bygone era of Scantrons when the computer could have "accidently" counted a answer wrong that wasn't erased well enough. In the days of Prometric, there's no point and it's mostly a Ponzi scheme to get people to fork over more money.
Did not pass! Felt too comfortable with passing ITE ! Only did PREP questions and MedStudy questions. Trying to decide between pass machine , PBR or just doing LYW. I heard good things about Kaplan's Master the boards for peds but last edition is 2013! Any recommendations are appreciated.
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Yeah, the ABP website does say that about the overall scaled score. I guess it’s time to move on…
I love PBR! That being said, it is costly. I wasn’t as big of a fan of MedStudy content. Their questions are good, but their content wasn’t the best IMO. I’ve heard LYW is good for supplemental material, but not on its own because it’s not detailed enough. I have no experience or advice when it comes to Kaplan.
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50% of my residency class failed this year. We are a smaller program and I’m not going to give the number out to keep some privacy but usually we have a 95-100% pass rate! I do think COVID has a part to play, all of our lectures from March 2020 on were zoom and a lot of our subspecialty rotations were made to be “at home” at the beginning of the pandemic. Clearly I’m still in the denial phase, haha. Thank you all for the study tips though…I solely did PBR and was told that would be enough to pass but it sounds like I definitely need to add on some additional resources.
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Hey, can I chat with you? I got 176/180. This feels like a nightmare. I thought I studied all the relevant resources of medstudy videos, books and questions. Did prep during residency.
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Sounds like your residency program should pay for all those who failed to take the test again.
Hey guys, I am sharing my preparation in case l it is helpful for someone in the future:
I finished residency in 2020, but since I was in the research tract (PSTP/IRP pathway) I had to complete 1 more year of clinical training during fellowship to be eligible to sit for the boards. I started prep 4 wks prior the exam and took the last week off to focus on studying. In terms of material used, I only did MedStudy QBank once (average 72%) and went over wrong and marked questions one more time. Skimmed over flashcards the last week of my preparation. Did not do any Prep. 3 days prior the actual exam I also did the free self-assessment ABP test (~200 qs) and scored around 83%. Actual exam day went by fast. I felt uncertain for roughly 40% of my choices and found several stupid mistakes afterwards. I ended up passing with an average score around the mean. Overall, I think MedStudy was enough for me to pass the test and it was quite close in terms of format and question length to the real exam.
I finished residency in 2020, but since I was in the research tract (PSTP/IRP pathway) I had to complete 1 more year of clinical training during fellowship to be eligible to sit for the boards. I started prep 4 wks prior the exam and took the last week off to focus on studying. In terms of material used, I only did MedStudy QBank once (average 72%) and went over wrong and marked questions one more time. Skimmed over flashcards the last week of my preparation. Did not do any Prep. 3 days prior the actual exam I also did the free self-assessment ABP test (~200 qs) and scored around 83%. Actual exam day went by fast. I felt uncertain for roughly 40% of my choices and found several stupid mistakes afterwards. I ended up passing with an average score around the mean. Overall, I think MedStudy was enough for me to pass the test and it was quite close in terms of format and question length to the real exam.
FYI; This is the answer from ABP.
"Because of the smaller number of questions in subcategories (universal tasks or domain), the distribution of the subcategory scaled score is wider than the distribution of the total scaled score. As a result, the average of the subcategory scale scores won’t perfectly match the total scaled score."
Yeah, sad. we need to move on....(TдT)
I cannot even imagine what you all are going through after not passing. Don't let this get you down. It is a small bump in the road but you can all overcome this! Take care of your mental and personal health and space first before anything else because you are worth it.
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I appreciate the update! We will pass next year!!!!
which PBR package do you recommend?
CompaqLE2202x
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I failed as well, second time. Message me if you want to talk. I'm in a rough headspace.
I did the all access plus a test taking strategies course back in the spring. I plan to do it all again and maybe do a few more of the Zoom courses that they offer on the weekends. I would recommend doing a Zoom live course closer to the test date (maybe June-July if possible). PBR is definitely expensive, but well worth it! My score increased and I studied much less the second time around. They focus a lot on test-taking strategies and their content, IMO, is detailed yet concise. I really thought their videos were great! Most of the topics are 60-90 mins vs MedStudy videos that are 3 hours long at times! The other thing that’s great about PBR is they’re always available to help. Anytime I had a question, they got back to me within a day. They will also help you make a study schedule if you feel that would help you. Let me know if you have any other questions, I’m happy to help!
CompaqLE2202x
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Yeah taking it again is going to be difficult and I’m worried it will affect my ability to grow as a fellow. I’m having a hard time finding hope to be honest. Message me if you need to talk!
Congrats to those who passed this year! For those who didn’t - I might know how you feel. Last year I failed by 2 points. I was devastated and embarrassed. This year I passed with a 21 point increase. This time I stuck with one program: Pediatric Board Review (PBR) and reviewed the books 5x. After one pass began supplementing my notes with medstudy qbank. I utilized PBR’s personalized study schedule and watched their test question strategy course. PBR is pretty expensive but was a great investment for me. FYI- I think the earlier you purchase it, the cheaper it will be.
As background - I’m an average test taker but never failed or came close to failing boards before. This test is tough. Don’t give up. Y’all we’ve nearly made it through 2021. If we can do that, we can handle anything.
As background - I’m an average test taker but never failed or came close to failing boards before. This test is tough. Don’t give up. Y’all we’ve nearly made it through 2021. If we can do that, we can handle anything.
Does anyone think the ABP will address what looks to be a near 20% drop in pass rate? Like they’re really okay saying nearly 1/3 of new peds residency grads are not qualified/intelligent enough to be board certified?!
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I guess ABP will tell us that the passing rate was low because of the COVID pandemic, which affected our study even other specialties' boards were not affected.... They can get more money, so they don't care about it.
Don’t loose hope! We are all capable of passing this exam if we’ve made it this far! It is a beast of a test. Just brush up on test-taking strategies, study the material (I loved PBR), keep doing practice questions, and keep your head up! You got this!!
Attitude is really important, so try and have a positive attitude as much as possible. I know it’s hard. I’ve felt the way you’re feeling, but I realized that, at the end of the day, it’s just a test. We have all been through much harder things than this stupid test and we will all get through it!
Honestly, one of the most frustrating and infuriating things about this situation is the amount of $$$ we all have to pay to re-take the stupid test! Then, add to that the cost of any additional prep materials or courses (should you choose to do so). It’s insane!!! Pediatricians are some of the lowest paid docs, yet our board exam is one of the most difficult to pass! Ugh!!! I feel the need to remind myself…”I love my job, I love my job…”
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At least you don’t have to travel for it and stay in a different city for 3 days anymore. But yes, for a three hour test that the computer can score in about 1 second, the cost is basically a Ponzi scheme.
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Especially since the question writers are volunteers.
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Hi everyone,
I passed on my third attempt this year. Wanted to share my experience in case it can help. I'm available to chat if anyone would like to. Everyone can overcome this obstacle, I believe in you!
2019 - 165 - My residency experience was tough, we were either covering icu, floors or ER q3 and even on electives so really no time to study. I did ~2 yrs of prep and 75% of the medstudy Qs while traveling to interviews. No review book - read a couple of chapters of the medstudy books but they were too dense, didn’t find them helpful. Started working FT in July and didn't take time off to study or recover from the beast of a residency.
The following year, score went up by 11 points but still failed. I was in fellowship - had more time to study compared to residency and I used my vacation time to study. Reviewed the PBR book 5x, video course 2x, watched the test-taking strategies course. Finished medstudy & boardvitals Q banks & 5 years of prep. Overall felt much more prepared this time, had enough time to answer all the Qs and felt positive after the exam. So the fail was shocking
Passed this year, score went up by 21 points. I used my vacation time again to give myself more dedicated high quality study time. Reviewed the PBR book ~3x, video course 1x, attended the live test-taking strategies course, watched a couple of medstudy videos (cardio & metabolic disorders). Finished exam master & truelearn Q banks & 8 years of prep. I actually ran out of time and had to guess on about 5-7 Qs a block, which has never happened to me before and I felt horrible walking out of that exam. (I've scored average on step exams, never failed before.)
I changed my approach to studying for this last attempt - went back to the drawing board and incorporated different learning techniques - active recall, feynman technique, medstudy flashcards and found study buddies through PBR for study sessions. From the Q banks, I tried to understand how the Q was structured, what was the important concept or information they were trying to test - tried to understand the question as a Q writer and figure out why the other answer choices were wrong. I was dealing with thoughts of self-doubt because I had failed this before - some reframing and positive affirmations helped. In addition I was dealing with a death in the family and I wasn’t sure if I could study properly. But I figured I should try since we only have a certain number of tries and I would need to pass this to sit for the fellowship one.
I passed on my third attempt this year. Wanted to share my experience in case it can help. I'm available to chat if anyone would like to. Everyone can overcome this obstacle, I believe in you!
2019 - 165 - My residency experience was tough, we were either covering icu, floors or ER q3 and even on electives so really no time to study. I did ~2 yrs of prep and 75% of the medstudy Qs while traveling to interviews. No review book - read a couple of chapters of the medstudy books but they were too dense, didn’t find them helpful. Started working FT in July and didn't take time off to study or recover from the beast of a residency.
The following year, score went up by 11 points but still failed. I was in fellowship - had more time to study compared to residency and I used my vacation time to study. Reviewed the PBR book 5x, video course 2x, watched the test-taking strategies course. Finished medstudy & boardvitals Q banks & 5 years of prep. Overall felt much more prepared this time, had enough time to answer all the Qs and felt positive after the exam. So the fail was shocking
Passed this year, score went up by 21 points. I used my vacation time again to give myself more dedicated high quality study time. Reviewed the PBR book ~3x, video course 1x, attended the live test-taking strategies course, watched a couple of medstudy videos (cardio & metabolic disorders). Finished exam master & truelearn Q banks & 8 years of prep. I actually ran out of time and had to guess on about 5-7 Qs a block, which has never happened to me before and I felt horrible walking out of that exam. (I've scored average on step exams, never failed before.)
I changed my approach to studying for this last attempt - went back to the drawing board and incorporated different learning techniques - active recall, feynman technique, medstudy flashcards and found study buddies through PBR for study sessions. From the Q banks, I tried to understand how the Q was structured, what was the important concept or information they were trying to test - tried to understand the question as a Q writer and figure out why the other answer choices were wrong. I was dealing with thoughts of self-doubt because I had failed this before - some reframing and positive affirmations helped. In addition I was dealing with a death in the family and I wasn’t sure if I could study properly. But I figured I should try since we only have a certain number of tries and I would need to pass this to sit for the fellowship one.
Th
I’m in the same boat. I just failed my second attempt. Scores were 166 and 173, respectively. I’m gonna bust my butt and continue using PBR. I like the idea of flash cards too and I may incorporate that.
I just really appreciate all the helpful posts from people in similar situations. I love that people are willing to help others and take the time to post even though the exam is finally behind them!
Thank you so much for posting this! It’s super helpful advice and very uplifting.
I’m in the same boat. I just failed my second attempt. Scores were 166 and 173, respectively. I’m gonna bust my butt and continue using PBR. I like the idea of flash cards too and I may incorporate that.
I just really appreciate all the helpful posts from people in similar situations. I love that people are willing to help others and take the time to post even though the exam is finally behind them!
BobaFett89
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Hi everyone. Been a longtime lurker here but decided to make an account and share my experience for those who need advice since taking this exam can be a rollercoaster of a journey.
I somehow passed this exam even though I was sure I was going to fail it coming out of it because of all the stupid mistakes I made. I also had some life circumstances which had affected my studying that I'll get into more below. I would like to share my experience to give hope/advice to those who didn't pass this time around. For some background, I'm med/peds and never did super well on my peds ITEs. I was 30th percentile during PGY1, exactly at the mean in PGY-2 and my score actually went down in PGY-3 and was below the mean. In PGY-4 my score improved but I was still 3 points below the mean. In fact I was the only one out of my other medpeds coresidents to not make it past the 180 mark during our PGY-4 ITE. I was a huge procrastinator so I only did one year of PREP throughout my entire residency. Even for the Steps I was 2 points below the mean on Step 1 and well below the mean on Step 2 and 3 even though I passed. So not a stellar test taker by any means.
This year was extra hard for me because my dad suddenly had an stroke earlier in the year. He became bedbound because of the stroke and I had to move back home in order to help take care of him. I decided to not start working until I took both my medicine and peds boards because of all the time commitment required to help take care of him. He needed help with all ADLs so it was a lot as you can imagine not only for me but for my mom and brother as well. After graduation in June, I had to study for medicine boards so didn't really have much time for peds besides about 5 PREP questions a day. I was mostly doing 5-10 MKSAP questions and 5 PREP questions a day since April/May of this year because of rotations and my dad. After my medicine boards in August I went full steam ahead with peds. In between all of this my dad was going back and forth to the hospital (4 times total since his stroke) so it took it's toll on my studying. I didn't have time to use a review book for my studying and honestly I don't think it's necessary for this exam. I'll outline how I studied below:
1. I ended up doing 4 years of PREP once in total until the day of my peds boards. I would say to aim for 5 years of PREP if possible but realistically you should be okay with just 3 years if you can't do more than that.
2. I started doing medstudy questions after my medicine boards in August. I finished all of them once. This might sound weird but I would say the medstudy question style (ie short questions stems) was closest to the peds boards but the content was more akin to that seen on PREP if that makes sense. So I do think it's worthwhile doing both question banks.
3. The thing that helped me the most I think and what pushed me past the finish line was Anki. I cannot stress the usefulness of Anki enough and I wish I had used it in med school for the Steps. I started making Anki cards in PGY-3 so the earlier you start the better. By the end I had about 1100 cards. The key to Anki is repetition which honestly is the only way you're going to remember the little nuances they test on the peds boards. I only made Anki cards out of content I was unsure of or questions I got wrong. In my opinion this technique of content review is much more efficient than passively reading a textbook because Anki requires you to actively recall content. The front of the card would basically be a question and the back would be the answer that I'd have to actively recall. I think this method is much more effective than using medstudy flashcards or flashcards from other review companies since you're only studying stuff that you are weak on. I read about 2 chapters of the medstudy books in the beginning but ended up stopping because it's a word salad of content and I didn't think it was an effective use of my study time. If anyone wants a copy of my pediatrics deck I'd be happy to share but I do think making your own deck is probably the more effective way to use Anki since you're just studying your weak areas. You should be making cards out of questions you were unsure of or got wrong.
Unfortunately my dad passed away 3 weeks before my peds boards and I was highly considering cancelling them. I decided to push through since I knew he would've wanted me to still take the exam and passing the medicine boards gave me encouragement. On the night before the exam I couldn't sleep and had racing thoughts (I have terrible test taking anxiety and anxiety in general) so I took a Flexeril, melatonin and Xanax to help me sleep (not recommended). I woke up with brain fog in the morning and although I could still think clearly, looking back I was worried the meds had messed with my thinking and affected my test results since I knew walking out I had made several stupid mistakes. The questions themselves were not too difficult in my opinion (straightforward and short 1-2 sentence question stems but content tested can be vague at times) but the thing that gets people is the sheer length of the exam with ~330 questions. By the 4th block I was super tired and had to crawl past the finish line. So getting a good night's sleep is definitely important for this exam since it's a marathon. If you have test taking anxiety/depression definitely seek therapy if possible before you take the exam since it can affect your results (I didn't have the time or resources unfortunately to do so).
I ended up scoring well past the mean but could've probably done better if not for all the extenuating circumstances. So yes the exam is definitely passable even in the most dire of situations. You just have to learn which resources to use and learn how to use them effectively. If there's one resource that I think people under utilize I think it's Anki but it does require a lot of commitment on your part since you should be making the cards yourself. If anyone wants specific advice or help please feel free to reply to this message or PM me.
I somehow passed this exam even though I was sure I was going to fail it coming out of it because of all the stupid mistakes I made. I also had some life circumstances which had affected my studying that I'll get into more below. I would like to share my experience to give hope/advice to those who didn't pass this time around. For some background, I'm med/peds and never did super well on my peds ITEs. I was 30th percentile during PGY1, exactly at the mean in PGY-2 and my score actually went down in PGY-3 and was below the mean. In PGY-4 my score improved but I was still 3 points below the mean. In fact I was the only one out of my other medpeds coresidents to not make it past the 180 mark during our PGY-4 ITE. I was a huge procrastinator so I only did one year of PREP throughout my entire residency. Even for the Steps I was 2 points below the mean on Step 1 and well below the mean on Step 2 and 3 even though I passed. So not a stellar test taker by any means.
This year was extra hard for me because my dad suddenly had an stroke earlier in the year. He became bedbound because of the stroke and I had to move back home in order to help take care of him. I decided to not start working until I took both my medicine and peds boards because of all the time commitment required to help take care of him. He needed help with all ADLs so it was a lot as you can imagine not only for me but for my mom and brother as well. After graduation in June, I had to study for medicine boards so didn't really have much time for peds besides about 5 PREP questions a day. I was mostly doing 5-10 MKSAP questions and 5 PREP questions a day since April/May of this year because of rotations and my dad. After my medicine boards in August I went full steam ahead with peds. In between all of this my dad was going back and forth to the hospital (4 times total since his stroke) so it took it's toll on my studying. I didn't have time to use a review book for my studying and honestly I don't think it's necessary for this exam. I'll outline how I studied below:
1. I ended up doing 4 years of PREP once in total until the day of my peds boards. I would say to aim for 5 years of PREP if possible but realistically you should be okay with just 3 years if you can't do more than that.
2. I started doing medstudy questions after my medicine boards in August. I finished all of them once. This might sound weird but I would say the medstudy question style (ie short questions stems) was closest to the peds boards but the content was more akin to that seen on PREP if that makes sense. So I do think it's worthwhile doing both question banks.
3. The thing that helped me the most I think and what pushed me past the finish line was Anki. I cannot stress the usefulness of Anki enough and I wish I had used it in med school for the Steps. I started making Anki cards in PGY-3 so the earlier you start the better. By the end I had about 1100 cards. The key to Anki is repetition which honestly is the only way you're going to remember the little nuances they test on the peds boards. I only made Anki cards out of content I was unsure of or questions I got wrong. In my opinion this technique of content review is much more efficient than passively reading a textbook because Anki requires you to actively recall content. The front of the card would basically be a question and the back would be the answer that I'd have to actively recall. I think this method is much more effective than using medstudy flashcards or flashcards from other review companies since you're only studying stuff that you are weak on. I read about 2 chapters of the medstudy books in the beginning but ended up stopping because it's a word salad of content and I didn't think it was an effective use of my study time. If anyone wants a copy of my pediatrics deck I'd be happy to share but I do think making your own deck is probably the more effective way to use Anki since you're just studying your weak areas. You should be making cards out of questions you were unsure of or got wrong.
Unfortunately my dad passed away 3 weeks before my peds boards and I was highly considering cancelling them. I decided to push through since I knew he would've wanted me to still take the exam and passing the medicine boards gave me encouragement. On the night before the exam I couldn't sleep and had racing thoughts (I have terrible test taking anxiety and anxiety in general) so I took a Flexeril, melatonin and Xanax to help me sleep (not recommended). I woke up with brain fog in the morning and although I could still think clearly, looking back I was worried the meds had messed with my thinking and affected my test results since I knew walking out I had made several stupid mistakes. The questions themselves were not too difficult in my opinion (straightforward and short 1-2 sentence question stems but content tested can be vague at times) but the thing that gets people is the sheer length of the exam with ~330 questions. By the 4th block I was super tired and had to crawl past the finish line. So getting a good night's sleep is definitely important for this exam since it's a marathon. If you have test taking anxiety/depression definitely seek therapy if possible before you take the exam since it can affect your results (I didn't have the time or resources unfortunately to do so).
I ended up scoring well past the mean but could've probably done better if not for all the extenuating circumstances. So yes the exam is definitely passable even in the most dire of situations. You just have to learn which resources to use and learn how to use them effectively. If there's one resource that I think people under utilize I think it's Anki but it does require a lot of commitment on your part since you should be making the cards yourself. If anyone wants specific advice or help please feel free to reply to this message or PM me.
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Of course they will address it.
Clearly residency is insufficient to produce competent pediatricians. Hospitalist and general pediatric fellowships are now mandatory for all those not sub-specializing.
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My condolences. I'm so sorry you had an extremely difficult time. I wish I could give you a hug ❤️
I agree with the above - active recall most definitely helps. After studying a topic, I would close the book and try to recall all the information and teach it to my desk plant lol. I noticed that I was remembering more when I went back to the topic during round 2 and 3.
I also noticed that initially I was speeding through the material & questions and slowing down helped - if I couldn't recall what I just read, I'm not gonna remember it on exam day.
Sorry to hear about your dad! My dad passed away in first year of med school too and it was devastating!
Question about Anki vs Quizlet ! The only different i see between the 2 is the spaced repetition!
What source did you use? I thought medstudy book was too much too.
and wants to sell their books, let me know please. TIABobaFett89
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I'm sorry about your dad, it can be so hard especially if you're in the middle of med school or residency which is mentally draining as it is.
I actually have never used quizlet. But yes Anki has a scientifically proven spaced repetition format that makes recalling easier. I made the deck using content from questions I got wrong or was unsure of in the medstudy qbank as well as PREP 2018-2021.
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Thankful to have passed.
Was not sure if I should post but I guess I have a unique perspective as I was at high risk of failing early on. So maybe the info could be helpful to someone in my boat.
I’m 1 year out from training. Did below average on all my in service exams, enough to need extra attention in residency, and was told my by program director I would not be ready to take the test this year but I just wanted to get this test out of the way. I also failed my step 3 in residency and have below average step scores. So I’m just thankful to have passed and I just made it by a few points. Was so focused on passing my step 3, I didn’t really get to do much focused peds board studying in residency and did most of my review over the last year.
To echo some others here, I found PBR and MedStudy incredibly helpful and would highly recommend. I read the PBR book front to back about 1.5 times using the highlighter method they outline on their website for content review and then followed with the MedStudy QBank which I found very high yield and most like the actual exam. I read all the MedStudy explanations fully and took notes on all my incorrect questions and reviewed those notes before the exam. I also did questions by topic on my first pass and then switched over to random blocks of incorrects a few days before my exam.
I also used the exam breakdown section on ABP and focused more on the topics that made up the larger portion of the test. I did maybe 150 prep questions earlier in the year but felt they were way too detailed and long. Likewise the MedStudy books were way too dense and I didn’t bother with them. Also made sure I had the genetic disorders, milestones, and bio stats equations fully memorized before the test.
Started studying 5-6 months out and was putting in around 20 hours of studying a week the 1-2 months before the exam on top of my work schedule and call.
Having failed prior step exams, I know how much it sucks to need to retake. Especially when you’re so close to passing (I initially failed my step 3 by just 1 point). I wish I could give comforting words, but all I can say is this is all temporary and right now the best thing to do is take a step back and not think about this test or anything peds related. Try to do something you enjoy, spend time with family and friends, take a break from all this and recharge. Then when you’re ready tackle this thing once and for all and you can put it behind you for good.
TLDR: As a poor test taker who was considered at high risk of failing, I found PBR and MedStudy Qbank to be the most helpful sources.
Was not sure if I should post but I guess I have a unique perspective as I was at high risk of failing early on. So maybe the info could be helpful to someone in my boat.
I’m 1 year out from training. Did below average on all my in service exams, enough to need extra attention in residency, and was told my by program director I would not be ready to take the test this year but I just wanted to get this test out of the way. I also failed my step 3 in residency and have below average step scores. So I’m just thankful to have passed and I just made it by a few points. Was so focused on passing my step 3, I didn’t really get to do much focused peds board studying in residency and did most of my review over the last year.
To echo some others here, I found PBR and MedStudy incredibly helpful and would highly recommend. I read the PBR book front to back about 1.5 times using the highlighter method they outline on their website for content review and then followed with the MedStudy QBank which I found very high yield and most like the actual exam. I read all the MedStudy explanations fully and took notes on all my incorrect questions and reviewed those notes before the exam. I also did questions by topic on my first pass and then switched over to random blocks of incorrects a few days before my exam.
I also used the exam breakdown section on ABP and focused more on the topics that made up the larger portion of the test. I did maybe 150 prep questions earlier in the year but felt they were way too detailed and long. Likewise the MedStudy books were way too dense and I didn’t bother with them. Also made sure I had the genetic disorders, milestones, and bio stats equations fully memorized before the test.
Started studying 5-6 months out and was putting in around 20 hours of studying a week the 1-2 months before the exam on top of my work schedule and call.
Having failed prior step exams, I know how much it sucks to need to retake. Especially when you’re so close to passing (I initially failed my step 3 by just 1 point). I wish I could give comforting words, but all I can say is this is all temporary and right now the best thing to do is take a step back and not think about this test or anything peds related. Try to do something you enjoy, spend time with family and friends, take a break from all this and recharge. Then when you’re ready tackle this thing once and for all and you can put it behind you for good.
TLDR: As a poor test taker who was considered at high risk of failing, I found PBR and MedStudy Qbank to be the most helpful sources.
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Thanks for sharing. PBR is expensive ! Which package do you recommend? there are a few PBR books out there, is there only one book to get? Are PBR questions worth it?
