RISE exam...worth it to prepare??

[Weil-Felix]

As a first year resident, I will be taking the RISE exam for the first time this spring. Does anyone actually spend any time preparing for this? If so, what do you recommend for review (aside from reading Rosai and Sternberg....I'm already doing lots of that!) I realize that the score means absolutely nothing in fellowship applications, but at the same time I would rather not make a fool out of myself. Any upper level residents care to comment on this? The upper levels at my program made it sound like they don't really do anything special..they just take it. It that how most people approach it?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[garfield]

No, you don't have to study specifically for the RISE. Currently has absolutely zero, nothing, nada significance for fellowships or residency. Many just take the exam. For some first years, it's a joke (you want to set the bar low so looks better when you improve from year to year). Historically, some of the questions were repeats of old ones, so I've heard some programs actually do formal review sessions just for the RISE to artificially inflate their scores, for whatever that's worth. For some of the residents just before they take boards, they like to think of it as a mini-practice for the board exam. Better to concentrate on learning path for the long-term goal of preparing for your career, not just memorize answers on a multiple choice test.

 

[Doctor B.]

I agree with garfield: as a first year, definately don't study. You want to show improvement on the exam from year to year; if you set the bar too high initially, that might be tough to do. Most of the residents in our program don't study for it except some of the upper levels who use it as motivation to prepare for boards. First year I didn't study, second year I looked over a few things in the couple of days prior to the exam. If the RISE motivates you to study more, by all means let it. But don't sweat it if you don't feel like preparing for it.