So how then should we study for APMLE Part 1?

[Matthue]

So after reading a few threads and talking with some of my classmates, it seems that the USMLE First Aid, although helpful, wasn't exactly a proper guide for studying our boards. I know its only 2 days s/p APMLE part 1, but i figured i would ask since its probably still fresh in some of your 3rd year minds.
How was the test? What advice would you give 1st or 2nd years with regards to studying for the exam? Books or resources you found helpful. Did you feel the sample APMLE questions were fairly representative of the exam? Anything on the exam that surprised you or felt wasn't listed on the APMLE breakdown of the material on the test, etc... I figure something like this gets asked every year, but it'd be nice to see what the most recent feedback with regard to the exam. OR if you just want to vent about how it went, please feel free to do so, just try and keep it to a minimum.
Thanks in advance for the responses

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[dddunit]

Yes it is true FA is not the best guide but it does have most of what you need. Remember there is no perfect study guide. Every guide will be missing something or flawed in some way. I thought FA was good in that it was concise vs. going through every single lecture from classes. Key is to minimize your resources and know them well vs. having multiple review books.

I thought my issue was that I fell prey to the pressures of the exam and the ticking time...causing me to answer easy questions i knew wrong. And there were many which I keep blaming myself but i guess its life.

 

[DPMer]

So after reading a few threads and talking with some of my classmates, it seems that the USMLE First Aid, although helpful, wasn't exactly a proper guide for studying our boards. I know its only 2 days s/p APMLE part 1, but i figured i would ask since its probably still fresh in some of your 3rd year minds.
How was the test? What advice would you give 1st or 2nd years with regards to studying for the exam? Books or resources you found helpful. Did you feel the sample APMLE questions were fairly representative of the exam? Anything on the exam that surprised you or felt wasn't listed on the APMLE breakdown of the material on the test, etc... I figure something like this gets asked every year, but it'd be nice to see what the most recent feedback with regard to the exam. OR if you just want to vent about how it went, please feel free to do so, just try and keep it to a minimum.
Thanks in advance for the responses

IMHO:
1) USMLE Step 1 First Aid book

2) BRS (Board Review Series) books for each basic science course:
a- BRS Gross Anatomy
b- BRS Histology
c- BRS Neuroscience
d- BRS Pharmacology
e- BRS Physiology
f -BRS Embryology
g- BRS Pathology

These 8 books are more than plenty to get you ready for APMLE Part 1.

 

[DPMer]

So after reading a few threads and talking with some of my classmates, it seems that the USMLE First Aid, although helpful, wasn't exactly a proper guide for studying our boards. I know its only 2 days s/p APMLE part 1, but i figured i would ask since its probably still fresh in some of your 3rd year minds.
How was the test? What advice would you give 1st or 2nd years with regards to studying for the exam? Books or resources you found helpful. Did you feel the sample APMLE questions were fairly representative of the exam? Anything on the exam that surprised you or felt wasn't listed on the APMLE breakdown of the material on the test, etc... I figure something like this gets asked every year, but it'd be nice to see what the most recent feedback with regard to the exam. OR if you just want to vent about how it went, please feel free to do so, just try and keep it to a minimum.
Thanks in advance for the responses

It was called the NBPME Part 1 last year, and the final year with that name. Hard. But First Aid was a good study guide along with Lower Extremity Anatomy hand outs. BRS (Board Review Series) books (there are 7 for each basic science course) is overkill. Yes.. hard test that I am sure glad is over after taking it once.

 

[podpod]

The most limiting factor is time. There are so many resources you can read. All of them have the same basic material but it is up to you to extract what is important. You need to first establish what study skills work best. The reason FA is so popular is that it offers a lot of stuff in just one book making it affordable.

First off, you must know what topics are on the exam. Print out a copy of the test guidelines off APMLE student bulletin. I did not get one question that didnt fall into the scope of that outline. Were the percentages of questions accurate?... no... but when they grade the test, the ones that count will fall correctly in that distribution.

I am not necessarily against FA, but it cannot be your only resource. This test is far too basic, but comprehensive, to only read FA. I strongly recommend re-reading class notes, but that takes a lot of time. On the flip side, you have labored over those notes and have made a visual imprint of what you learned. All you need is to just give your brain a refresh. If you never took notes or never learned it the first time properly, this is a terrible way to go.

You must have a foundation before you read a review book. How can you stare at buzz words and expect to learn anything meaningful that you will retain.

 

[ldsrmdude]

The most limiting factor is time. There are so many resources you can read. All of them have the same basic material but it is up to you to extract what is important. You need to first establish what study skills work best. The reason FA is so popular is that it offers a lot of stuff in just one book making it affordable.

First off, you must know what topics are on the exam. Print out a copy of the test guidelines off APMLE student bulletin. I did not get one question that didnt fall into the scope of that outline. Were the percentages of questions accurate?... no... but when they grade the test, the ones that count will fall correctly in that distribution.

I am not necessarily against FA, but it cannot be your only resource. This test is far too basic, but comprehensive, to only read FA. I strongly recommend re-reading class notes, but that takes a lot of time. On the flip side, you have labored over those notes and have made a visual imprint of what you learned. All you need is to just give your brain a refresh. If you never took notes or never learned it the first time properly, this is a terrible way to go.

You must have a foundation before you read a review book. How can you stare at buzz words and expect to learn anything meaningful that you will retain.

I couldn't agree more. Learning the material the first time is the best way to study. If you rely on review books to teach you material, it will never work. FA can be a decent review book if that isn't all you use, and you just use it to review, not learn, the material.

 

[ckjets]

Wow, now that I know I freakin passed...

Your notes are irreplaceable by anything because:
1) you are used to studying from them and the info will just pop straight back to ur head when you use them again.
2) I am almost certain that your teachers have a hand in this exam so all the answers to all the questions they may submit will most certainly be in their notes.
3) The exam tests the most basic knowledge required to become a clinician, not a PhD and those books are too detailed with information no one cares about. Your notes however contain no more or less than what you need to know.

AND IF YOU DO NOT GET ANY "CHECK ALL THAT APPLIES" QUESTIONS IN THE BEGINNING, THEY WILL BE AT THE END OF YOUR TEST, SO HURRY UP OR U'LL BE LEFT WITH 4 MINS AND 20 QUESTIONS THAT YOU WILL BE VIRTUALLY PLAYING LOTTERY WITH 1/16 CHANCE OF GETTING A QUESTION RIGHT.

 

[car36]

I don't know what ckjets was doing the whole time during the test. I finished the test in about 2 1/2 hours and almost everyone I took it with was out of there in around 3 hours. Needless to say you have MORE than enough time to take the test unless you want to read every questions 15 times before you answer them! Seriously, did it really take you the entire time??? I'd hate to be in surgery with you while you slowly tie one...yawn...suture...your tourniquet time is going to suck.

 

[347932]

I don't know what ckjets was doing the whole time during the test. I finished the test in about 2 1/2 hours and almost everyone I took it with was out of there in around 3 hours. Needless to say you have MORE than enough time to take the test unless you want to read every questions 15 times before you answer them! Seriously, did it really take you the entire time??? I'd hate to be in surgery with you while you slowly tie one...yawn...suture...your tourniquet time is going to suck.

You remember how long it took you to complete that test? It says you're a podiatrist, so it must have been a few years ago for you.

What does taking awhile to complete a test and suturing/tourniquet time have anything to do with one another? Or am I just missing the sarcasm?

 

[PADPM]

I couldn't agree with Kidsfeet more. This student comes on here asking a question, and I found your answer completely unwarranted. I also do not see ANY correlation between how long it takes a student to take an exam and how long it may take to perform a surgical procedure utilizing a tourniquet for hemostasis when he/she is in practice.

I took the national boards a very long time ago and certainly don't remember how long it took, but I also took my board certification exam quite a while ago and have no idea how long it took me, nor do I remember how long it took me to take my recertification exam or my SECOND re-certification exam (for the ABPS) which was just a few months ago. So similar to Kidsfeet, I'm amazed that you actually remember.

If part of your post was an attempt at humor, it certainly failed from my view point.

 

[car36]

I couldn't agree with Kidsfeet more. This student comes on here asking a question, and I found your answer completely unwarranted....If part of your post was an attempt at humor, it certainly failed from my view point.

Whoa touchy people! Sorry my title was wrong, I am a current student and just took the exam. The feedback was meant to be helpful because time was NOT an factor with anyone in my class. I know students, including myself, who took a break halfway through the test for a snack and still had ample time to complete it. That is why I was questioning why you would have to rush through questions at the end in order to finish in time. Honestly if you spend more than 30-45sec on a question then you are wasting time. You either know what the question is asking fairly quickly, or you don't know and should move on. It is a pass/fail test, you're not trying to get a 95% on it, that was my approach anyway and it got the job done.

A lot of the info in USMLE First aid was useless and probably a waste of time, but there really aren't many other options if you want all the subjects in one condensed text. The best advice would be to pay attention in class. The information you need to pass Part 1 is presented by your professors.

The tourniquet time was a light hearted joke about the speed in which CKJETS completes a task. Sorry it failed to humor the all knowing PAPOD.

 

[PADPM]

Whoa touchy people! Sorry my title was wrong, I am a current student and just took the exam. The feedback was meant to be helpful because time was NOT an factor with anyone in my class. I know students, including myself, who took a break halfway through the test for a snack and still had ample time to complete it. That is why I was questioning why you would have to rush through questions at the end in order to finish in time. Honestly if you spend more than 30-45sec on a question then you are wasting time. You either know what the question is asking fairly quickly, or you don't know and should move on. It is a pass/fail test, you're not trying to get a 95% on it, that was my approach anyway and it got the job done.

A lot of the info in USMLE First aid was useless and probably a waste of time, but there really aren't many other options if you want all the subjects in one condensed text. The best advice would be to pay attention in class. The information you need to pass Part 1 is presented by your professors.

The tourniquet time was a light hearted joke about the speed in which CKJETS completes a task. Sorry it failed to humor the all knowing PAPOD.

Let's get a few things straight:

1) The entire perspective changes now that you're student and you "accidentally" forgot to mention that fact. It originally made very little sense how you would actually remember how long it took to take the exam.

2) Your criticism was simply unwarranted. Everyone has a different approach to taking an exam, and there is no right or wrong approach depending upon your individual style. I happen to be one of those who is usually one of the first to finish an exam and don't oscillate back and forth when making a decision. But that works for me, not everyone else.

3) I've NEVER claimed to be the "all knowing" doctor, but I can guarantee you that at this point in time I've forgotten more than you know.

4) Adjust your attitude toward your peers and attendings.....it will serve you well in the future.

 

[car36]

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[car36]

Let's get a few things straight:

1) The entire perspective changes now that you're student and you "accidentally" forgot to mention that fact. It originally made very little sense how you would actually remember how long it took to take the exam.

Why is accidentally in quotations? I never said that so I don't know why you would act like you are quoting me...interesting. Reading comprehension is a beautiful thing.

3) I've NEVER claimed to be the "all knowing" doctor, but I can guarantee you that at this point in time I've forgotten more than you know.

Maybe you have forgotten your sense of humor and humility as well.

This is a prime example of why this site is a joke. Everyone gets so defensive and argumentative from the slightest hint of humor. Obviously it is difficult to convey sarcasm through written text, but come on PADPM lighten up a little. I specifically made a little joke at your wealth of knowledge as a fun experiment in human nature and you took the bait like most regular posters on this forum do. Your first reaction was to inflate your ego and attempt to put down someone who doesn't agree with you. No surprise that your reputation as an attending seems to follow suit.

 

[car36]

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[PADPM]

No surprise that your reputation as an attending seems to follow suit.

?????
You insult this site and go on to attempt to insult me. You know nothing about my reputation as an attending, so don't even go down that road.

I love when I get those comments, because I receive PM's from this site on a daily basis asking for my advice based on my comments on this forum. Must be my "reputation".

 

[Iamyourfaja]

Why is accidentally in quotations? I never said that so I don't know why you would act like you are quoting me...interesting. Reading comprehension is a beautiful thing.

3) I've NEVER claimed to be the "all knowing" doctor, but I can guarantee you that at this point in time I've forgotten more than you know.

Maybe you have forgotten your sense of humor and humility as well.

This is a prime example of why this site is a joke. Everyone gets so defensive and argumentative from the slightest hint of humor. Obviously it is difficult to convey sarcasm through written text, but come on PADPM lighten up a little. I specifically made a little joke at your wealth of knowledge as a fun experiment in human nature and you took the bait like most regular posters on this forum do. Your first reaction was to inflate your ego and attempt to put down someone who doesn't agree with you. No surprise that your reputation as an attending seems to follow suit.

That was aggressive! Take it easy ladies. I'm sure you are a smart guy and PAPDM seems like a pretty informative and helpful doc who was just responding to a rather unneccessary attack.

 

[347932]

Why is accidentally in quotations? I never said that so I don't know why you would act like you are quoting me...interesting. Reading comprehension is a beautiful thing.

3) I've NEVER claimed to be the "all knowing" doctor, but I can guarantee you that at this point in time I've forgotten more than you know.

Maybe you have forgotten your sense of humor and humility as well.

This is a prime example of why this site is a joke. Everyone gets so defensive and argumentative from the slightest hint of humor. Obviously it is difficult to convey sarcasm through written text, but come on PADPM lighten up a little. I specifically made a little joke at your wealth of knowledge as a fun experiment in human nature and you took the bait like most regular posters on this forum do. Your first reaction was to inflate your ego and attempt to put down someone who doesn't agree with you. No surprise that your reputation as an attending seems to follow suit.

Really?

It always amazes me how some don't realize what a small profession we are, and how their behavior on these forums may, in fact, have real life implications.

You have no idea who PADPM is. He may be one of your professors. He may be the director of a residency you will one day seek.

There are ways to express yourself that relay the same message, but in a humble and polite way. Especially as a "youngster" in the profession, it might be wise to consider following that course. Your future in general will be a happier place (and not just professionally), I promise.

That all being said, I know PADPM personally. He is the real deal, and you you would be lucky to have a friend, colleague and mentor like him. No, he doesn't pay me to say that, but it makes me angry when someone who contributes so much to this VOLUNTARY forum gets called out. How many podiatrists are in this country? Twelve thousand or so? Of those 12 000, how many of those active practitioners contribute to this forum? Maybe 5 regulars? That's 0.042% of the population of practitioners here to help YOU. We do it freely and on our own time. Maybe you'll be the helpful sort, but more likely than not, you won't. Statistically speaking of course.

 

[ckjets]

@ Car36
1) I passed the boards so I couldn't care less about your unsolicited opinion.
2) Your jokes are not funny.
3) JUST being an attending, specially in PA speaks for itself so you are way over your head when you talk so much smack to someone who has accomplished what you still dream of.

 

[car36]

@ Car36
1) I passed the boards so I couldn't care less about your unsolicited opinion.
2) Your jokes are not funny.
3) JUST being an attending, specially in PA speaks for itself so you are way over your head when you talk so much smack to someone who has accomplished what you still dream of.

Congrats on passing boards.

1. My opinion wasn't solicited??? I thought that was the whole reason Matthue started this thread; to solicit opinions on Part 1 boards. In response to his solicitation and your comments, it was my opinion that APMLE allows ample time for the test to be taken.

2. Sorry you don't enjoy my sense of humor, I'm not offended though. Again sarcasm is not easily expressed in writing.

3. I am interested in knowing why being an attending "specially" (especially) in PA is so different from being an attending anywhere else. Is there something special about volunteering to be an attending in PA that I don't know about?

Not to take anything away from PADPM's accomplishments but I have no dreams of becoming an attending in PA. In addition my personal and professional dreams and goals may be in stark contrast to what he has accomplished.

Thank you for your unsolicited opinion though.

 

[PADPM]

Just as a point of information. I've mentioned this in the past, but please don't make the assumption that my screen name has any true significance to where I practice.

The name PADPM has a private meaning which is actually based on a long standing private joke.

But if it makes you feel better, DPM does stand for what you're thinking.

 

[347932]

I am interested in knowing why being an attending "specially" (especially) in PA is so different from being an attending anywhere else. Is there something special about volunteering to be an attending in PA that I don't know about?

Being an attending in the first place commands the utmost respect. Not everyone can teach at that level, or has the stamina to do this year in and year out. It's not easy. I would venture to say that in certain states in can be more of a challenge based on population density (residency wise) and the percentage of the potential attending population versus how many are actually attendings in the various programs. It possible that the thought goes that in a city like Chicago, for example, where there are a good number of programs, being an outstanding attending may be a little more prestigious as there are many more attendings there then there are in programs in say, West Virginia.

Much like my previous analogy, not a huge proportion of practitioners chose to be attendings and pay it forward by teaching the next generation of podiatric physicians and surgeons. Why even question the specialness (if that's even a word ) of it at all?

 

[car36]

Don't get me wrong I am in NO way downplaying the importance of attending physicians or the work they put into educating residents. Particularly at this time when the Class of 2013 is facing a shortage of residency spots I am extremely grateful for those practitioners that are willing to take on the added responsibilities of training new residents. I hope and plan to pay it back one day as well. I was just curious at to why there was an insinuation that attendings in a particular city would be more important or prestigious than other attendings. I appreciate your insight and logic on the matter. At the end of the day directors and attendings, no matter what city they are in deserve an standing ovation for the work they do.

 

[ckjets]

Since this is a small profession and some people at Temple know who I am, I want to clarify: the "especially in PA" part goes to the many PA attendings that I know who are absolutely amazing and a great delight to listen to and learn from. It was used subjectively as expression of personal admiration and it was not intended to take any merit away from attendings in other states that I just have not met yet. I just thought PADPM was some one I might be learning from in school because he obviously sounds as smart as the brilliant DPMs we have in PA.

question asked, drama started, I am out of here. Peace, and good luck on the spelling section of Part 2

 

[PADPM]

I just thought PADPM was some one I might be learning from in school because he obviously sounds as smart as the brilliant DPMs we have in PA.

Thank you.....and I may be........???