Preparing for the Board Exam Frederick L. Locke, M.D. Chief Medical Resident Detroit Receiving Hospital

Preparing for the Board Exam Timing Focus Practice Materials

Timing Begin NOW Organize your time Make a schedule… revise it as you go Peak in all subjects at the time of the exam Leave time for Family, Friends, and Leisure

Focus Make the exam a priority Choose your materials wisely Dedicate yourself to the material Gain a sense of completeness and comprehensiveness with your study Assess your weaknesses

Practice Repetition breeds consistency and accuracy Review your material multiple times Constantly quiz yourself Do questions but always explore the foils. Questions, questions, questions Consider collecting and reviewing high yield or difficult but important material just prior to the test

Materials Take into consideration the cost, availability, and content of all material before you jump into a commitment How do you learn best? How much time does it require to learn? Do not collect more material then you need or can handle Feel free to mix and match for different subjects or give up on a resource if it is not working

Materials Print Material : MKSAP – 13 th edition $ (new) MedStudy – 11 th edition$ (new) Mayo Clinic Board Review$99 (new) Cleveland Clinic Board Review$99 (new)

Materials Audio Material : MKSAP Audio Companion CDs Video Material : MedStudy Board Review (CD 2004, VHS 2002) Emory Board Review (DVD 2004)

Materials - Board Review Courses Brigham and Women Intensive Review Boston, Massachusetts $ days, 12 hours a day Very Intense review of Internal Medicine Not always geared toward board content Comprehensive review Unique practice test sessions for each subject Questions / self assessment test of about 100 Q

Materials - Board Review Courses Conrad Fischer New York, New York $895 Two Sessions, one is daily, 10 hours for 5 days, another is 7 days on evenings and a weekend Geared toward Board Questions Clinical Vignettes Highly Recommended Practice book with questions that often appeared on board

Materials - Board Review Courses MedStudy Board Review Aspen Colorado $995 9 days with 3 hour mid-day breaks Comes with separate notes, but essentially covers what is in MedStudy books Same as the DVDs Often points out what is likely to be on boards

Materials - Board Review Courses Emory Board Review Atlanta, Georgia 40 hours Didactic lectures Over 70 lecturers, some geared toward board exam, others not Same as DVDs Interspersed test question sessions, some original some stolen from MKSAP

Materials - Board Review Courses Dhalla’s Unique Review Course Secaucus, New Jersey $950 5 days, 9 hours per day, offered in June and July Dictation style, high yield facts Very board relevant Comes with questions that are very high yield Highly recommended

Materials - Board Review Courses ACP – Board Review Illinois, San Antonio, Virginia, New Jersey $795-$ day course with lectures style review Some lecturers better then others

Materials - Board Review Courses Boot Camp Philadelphia, St. Louis, Las Vegas $750 Family Practice geared board review Do Not Do This Course

Materials - Questions ACP Prep for Boards 2 (CD-ROM or Print) 520 board style questions MKSAP 13 (CD-ROM or Print) 1000 board style questions MedStudy 11 >1000 true/false, multiple choice, and recall questions MedStudy Board Style Q&A clinical vignette / board style questions ACP Medscape Board Review >1000 board style questions