Pediatric Boards Advise Please

Started by jmuame03
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jmuame03

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Okay, so starting to study for the pediatric boards. I have lots of study material (Medstudy, Prep back to 2005, Prep Curriculum, LYW, First Aid for Pediatric Boards) but think I may have overdone it. How would you approach studying this early on (April - October) Does anyone have a schedule that they used? I was thinking of starting with the older Preps and adding to LYW so that I could reread that at the end. I have also thought about just making flash cards the whole way through or just reading LYW and Medstudy and starting questions later. Any help would be appreciated. I am buried in study material with no idea where to start.
 
Great time to be asking! I'm going to sound like a broken record to those who frequent this forum because I've given my opinion on the topic many times. But here it goes again!

You have all the right materials-- here was my surefire way of passing (and actually doing extremely well) on the peds boards- keep in mind this is from someone who did below average on all the ITE's the three years prior because I hadn't prepared for those. The peds boards are the perfect example of a test that can be rocked with high yield studying. What I did- and based on the materials you have obtained, this will probably work just as well for you if your study style is more self-directed.

1. Took three-four months outlining Laughing Your Way-- I did this in a notebook but if flashcards are better for you, that's fine. That notebook became my bible. Every night I read my notebook for a few minutes. By the end of those months and the exam I had the contents of my notebook memorized and completely internalized

2. In the last two months, read through First Aid to identify any gaps from LYW. Outlined those. There weren't many, but some topics were better organized in First Aid.

3. Did all the PREP throughout I could get my hands on. More years the better.

4. Looked through Zitelli a bunch of times to get common pictures cemented

On test day I was surprised by how the test seemed based on my high yield studying. Sure there were some questions that seemed impossible no matter what I had done. But it was a study plan that produced results.

Good luck.
 
Great time to be asking! I'm going to sound like a broken record to those who frequent this forum because I've given my opinion on the topic many times. But here it goes again!

You have all the right materials-- here was my surefire way of passing (and actually doing extremely well) on the peds boards- keep in mind this is from someone who did below average on all the ITE's the three years prior because I hadn't prepared for those. The peds boards are the perfect example of a test that can be rocked with high yield studying. What I did- and based on the materials you have obtained, this will probably work just as well for you if your study style is more self-directed.

1. Took three-four months outlining Laughing Your Way-- I did this in a notebook but if flashcards are better for you, that's fine. That notebook became my bible. Every night I read my notebook for a few minutes. By the end of those months and the exam I had the contents of my notebook memorized and completely internalized

2. In the last two months, read through First Aid to identify any gaps from LYW. Outlined those. There weren't many, but some topics were better organized in First Aid.

3. Did all the PREP throughout I could get my hands on. More years the better.

4. Looked through Zitelli a bunch of times to get common pictures cemented

On test day I was surprised by how the test seemed based on my high yield studying. Sure there were some questions that seemed impossible no matter what I had done. But it was a study plan that produced results.

Good luck.


Do this.

I cannot put it more simply. I did all of the above minus step 2 and passed comfortably. I also did not obtain a passing score on any of the 3 in training exams. My final score jumped over 200 points (what can I say, I was more focused on procedures and clinical training than board prep during my first two years). The score of my very last prep test prior to boards was 84% (but I ranged from 75-84% on my final preps).
 
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Do this.

I cannot put it more simply. I did all of the above minus step 2 and passed comfortably. I also did not obtain a passing score on any of the 3 in training exams. My final score jumped over 200 points (what can I say, I was more focused on procedures and clinical training than board prep during my first two years). The score of my very last prep test prior to boards was 84% (but I ranged from 75-84% on my final preps).

Likewise for me as well. I also did all except #2. I did fine on the boards.
 
Hi Cuthbert and KidDr,

I've been going through PREP and MedStudy questions and scoring in the 55%. I was wondering if you guys re-did questions you got wrong and ended up with the higher scores of 75-80%. Should I re-do questions I've gotten wrong over again?
 
Hi Cuthbert and KidDr,

I've been going through PREP and MedStudy questions and scoring in the 55%. I was wondering if you guys re-did questions you got wrong and ended up with the higher scores of 75-80%. Should I re-do questions I've gotten wrong over again?

I didn't exactly re-do the questions, but I did re-review all of the PREP questions (and the explanations) after I'd done the PREP questions the initial time.

Basically--I did the questions for the first time--then reviewed all of the answers and explanations--then at a later time (in the month before the exam) went through all of the questions and explanations again to review both the questions that I got right and the ones I got wrong.
 
Hi Cuthbert and KidDr,

I've been going through PREP and MedStudy questions and scoring in the 55%. I was wondering if you guys re-did questions you got wrong and ended up with the higher scores of 75-80%. Should I re-do questions I've gotten wrong over again?

By the time I finished my study regimen, I was 75-80% on fresh questions I had never seen. I saved the most recent prep for that purpose (84% on that test was a lucky score for me I think...). This was just before boards that I brought it up to that.

Yes, redo questions though. I did 4 years of prep 2-3x each. I think that really helped. The sad thing about boards is that you can be an excellent clinician and fail the test because you are not good at answering board style questions. The more questions you do and redo, the more you will learn how to take this style of test and do well.
 
Looking for a study partner for the pediatric boards. In new York till jUNe finishing residency but will move to DC in july. Taking boards in October this year. Anyone interested?
 
Do this.

I cannot put it more simply. I did all of the above minus step 2 and passed comfortably. I also did not obtain a passing score on any of the 3 in training exams. My final score jumped over 200 points (what can I say, I was more focused on procedures and clinical training than board prep during my first two years). The score of my very last prep test prior to boards was 84% (but I ranged from 75-84% on my final preps).

I will buy all books even with markings...$$$. Looking to sit my boards early...
 
Does anyone have any feedback on the Med Study question CDs? I have 3 years worth of prep questions and I feel like they are so lame.
I am taking the test in October.
 
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