Psych Clerkship study materials

[Pewl]

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Everyone has great feedback on what texts to use for the shelf exam.

I just have two specific questions:

1) Is pretest really that useless for psych? What would you guys consider the best source of PRACTICE PROBLEMS?

2) If you could use only two books to prepare for the shelf exam. Which two would you use? (e.g. FA + Case files or Case files + Pretest) etc.

Thanks

 

[Scaredshizzles]

Everyone has great feedback on what texts to use for the shelf exam.

I just have two specific questions:

1) Is pretest really that useless for psych? What would you guys consider the best source of PRACTICE PROBLEMS?

2) If you could use only two books to prepare for the shelf exam. Which two would you use? (e.g. FA + Case files or Case files + Pretest) etc.

Thanks

The psych shelf is a killer, your only real shot to pass is to read Kaplan and Sadock and do >1500 questions.

Seriously dude, studying for psych is pointless.

 

[pincheeric]

I would use similar studying techniques to what you used for Step 1. If you liked FA then consider using that or a Rapid Review type text. If not then use a paragraph type book like Blueprints. Then just do some questions and you'll do fine.

 

[futuredo32]

I'd definitely use FA as one of your books to study for the shelf. I didn't really find any good practice questions before I took the shelf. I thought Pretest was horrible, so I would definitely NOT recommend Pretest.

 

[Ashers]

I used FA and Case Files and did well on the shelf. I summarized each chapter in Case Files and went over it the morning of my shelf.

I did that for each shelf (Case Files at least 2x's + another source) and I've done well so far.

 

[mercaptovizadeh]

Do FA and Case Files. I just browsed through a few chapters of Pre-test and, while the questions are somewhat useful, especially if you have time, if you are pressed just do CF and FA.

 

[Pewl]

Did anyone use psych blueprints cases for the shelf exam?

 

[vtucci]

You better know the DSM-IV pretty cold regardless of which guide you use. FA was a good source as was Tombs.

Also, there are a number of "medical" illnesses that present like psych presentations? i.e., depression caused by hypothyroidism. If this is your first rotation, I would leaf through Step Up medicine and check out any conditions that can have Psych-like presentations: hyperthyroidism, pheo, hyperparathyroidism, Parkinson's, HD etc.

For questions, do USMLEWORLD.

 

[Pewl]

Is PreTest really that bad for psych?

 

[joe6102]

Don't worry about the DSM-IV criteria except for the major stuff (MDD,bipolar) and time criteria (ASD vs PTSD, Schizophrenia spectrum).
The two best books are Casefiles + Casefiles.

 

[Pewl]

Has the consensus been that UW step 2 psych problems are similar and good practice for the psych shelf?

 

[PeepshowJohnny]

Case Files + First Aid for the Psychiatry Clerkship is all you need.

 

[StarboardMD]

So I suck hardcore with pharm, and I've heard there are a lot of drugs on the shelf. Is this true? What's the best source/method for studying psych pharm?

 

[aesop]

I did USMLEWORLD, Kaplan QBOOK, and A&L questions for the psych shelf and thought USMLEWORLD questions were the most representative (then QBOOK). FA is also essential.

Starboard: I found clinical psychopharmacology made ridiculously simple very helpful for the pharm questions on the shelf and it's only like 50 pages. Only recommendation, is don't get bogged down in the tables which can have ridiculous amount of drugs/side effects

 

[vtucci]

So I suck hardcore with pharm, and I've heard there are a lot of drugs on the shelf. Is this true? What's the best source/method for studying psych pharm?

Depends on the test. Mine did not have that much and I was expecting it. Had alot of cognitive behavioral testing though.

 

[Pewl]

So FA and Casefiles seem to be popular.

Is Lange Q&A any good?

 

[UCLAstudent]

I thought PreTest was excellent! Just be sure to skip the chapter about theories of development (Freud, Piaget, etc.). PreTest and First Aid were more than enough.

 

[ubcredfox]

Any advice on the use of Current Clinical Strategies Psych + the Psych Drugs books along with Casefiles as a supplement?

 

[Jimmi]

thx for the ideas, looking forward to psych. Does that make weird automatically, or do I get the benefit of doubt?

 

[Pewl]

Are there a lot of "what should you do next" or "what is the most appropriate thing to say next" type of questions on the psych or neuro shelf exam?

Thanks

 

[Kitra101]

Are there a lot of "what should you do next" or "what is the most appropriate thing to say next" type of questions on the psych or neuro shelf exam?

Thanks

YES. I just took it today and like other people said in the other post, this Shelf if VERY HARD. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but this really is much more difficult than Step1. I barely finished and found a lot of the very long vignettes to be confusing. There was neuro, somewhat of a focus on which drugs are ok for pregnancy, etc. I used CF, USMLE World and Pretest. On the bright side, there were NO theories of development (skip this chapter in Pretest). There was not one question on defense mechanisms and there were few personality disorder questions. I would say a lot of these questions or either whats the diagnosis (easier) or what is the next step (harder).

 

[tfom08]

I used CF, FA for psych, and UW. I'm not really sure which one was better as they are all pretty much the same info. Using all three probably helped, although the questions on the shelf were significantly longer than UW and that was the primary difficulty. The shelf also purposely throws in symptoms from multiple diagnoses in order to make you second guess yourself. I agree with what the previous poster said. Essentially, the questions weren't all that hard if you had another hour to sit through and look at the criteria, but this was probably the most time pressure to finish a test I have ever felt. Maybe MCAT verbal section because I usually had to race to finish that, but I thought this was much longer for the amount of time than any test I've taken in med school. With the three sources I used, I estimate they probably covered 80-85% of what was on the shelf. For the rest, it was basically just random neuro, or general step 1 info if I was going to get it right.

 

[LuckyBambooGirl]

There is a little blue book called Psychiatry Current Clinical Strategies that is awesome! It has all of the DSM-4 guidelines for diagnosis, but in condensed form. The best advice I can give for psych is to learn the timeframes for different disorders because a patient with a given set up symptoms could have three different diagnoses based on how long the symptoms have been going on for. I don't know why previous posters are saying psych is so hard--I thought it was one of the easier shelves!

 

[UCLAstudent]

I don't know why previous posters are saying psych is so hard--I thought it was one of the easier shelves!

Ditto.