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I am writing to discuss preparation for the pediatric board exam and hoping to encourage your own efforts with my n=1 experience. I had checked this forum for posts but hadn't seen many recent ones.
Exam background: the exam is 330-350 multiple choice questions on a computer administered in 4 blocks of questions over one day at a testing center. It is actually quite similar to the ITE in that the prompts are relatively short. Regarding the pass rate, you can find more information about the boards pass rate on the ABP website. The pass rate (before my year) for the prior 5 years was 81-86%. My residency however typically scores a 100% pass rate, which you can compare with other programs at the above link. Surprisingly, you can only take the exam on a single day during a three day period, which was for me in early October (I hadn't known that until I actually registered for the exam).
My background and approach: for the USMLE exams if memory serves I scored in the 70th-80th percentile range, however that was just above average for my residency class. For the ITE exams, I scored at or above the average for my residency class, and of note we did perform well compared to the national average for pediatric residency programs. My PGY-3 score gave me a 90% probability of passing the board exam.
During residency: I predominantly learned through our residency curriculum and by reading about patients almost exclusively on UpToDate. Because I performed curiously well on the ITEs despite not having done any diligent independent boards study regimen, and I was engaged in active research pursuits during residency, I did not begin a more active approach to boards until PGY-3 year (a system I do not recommend).
I asked my current and previous Chiefs about how they approached boards and received varying responses. My summary would be that one should complete as many years of PREP questions as able (3+), with attention to weak areas and review of missed questions, and augment this with either the Medstudy books (excellent information but overly dense for some) or Laughing Your Way (easier to read).
I chose to review 3 years of PREP Questions (2016, 2015, 2014 ; ~250 questions each), review Medstudy books for weak areas or those that need repeated memorization (syndromes, vaccines, milestones) and then supplemented this with a Medstudy Qbank subscription, completing ~750 of those prior to the examination. I attempted to review 10-20Q per day during the second half of PGY-3 year and didn't come close to accomplishing this until the end of residency, so I went into starting a very busy cardiology fellowship having done just about 350 PREP questions.
Unsolicited advice: Despite understanding that residency is very difficult and busy, your life after graduation will likely be harder and/or less compatible with studying. For those in fellowship there is another steep learning curve and the continued trainee lifestyle, and for those out in practice, you will have a very challenging new role to fill. You will likely be moving and living in a new place on top of this. Suffice it to say, your future self will thank you for, within reason, preparing as well as you can during residency (which I did not).
For the exam itself, it was actually very similar to the ITE. This was unique in that I'm familiar with the 'long prompt, vague tertiary answer' type USMLE question, or the random factoid question. The board exam seemed to be largely comprised of arbitrary judgment type questions, which makes it challenging to feel confident in one's approach or in one's performance on the exam. Following the exam, though I figured that with my residency's typical performance and my past performance on standardized exams, that I would likely pass, I was also really nervous that I didn't. I had essentially crammed over the two months before boards. This made me much less confident in my performance, and wish I could go back to residency and do my due diligence.
I ended up scoring a 200, a passing score is 180. People can score as high as 250. I was above average by the scaled scores but not by much.
In summary:
-given my prior testing related performance, a residency program that seems to prepare grads well for the boards, and having completed 3 years of PREP + 750 q Medstudy + Reviewing the Medstudy books for weak areas, I was ultimately well-prepared for the boards
-if I could go back, I would:
-actually read the Medstudy chapter for each rotation I was on (Gen Peds for CPAM, Adolescent for Adolescent, Allergy for Allergy, etc...)
-try to review more study questions in residency to build a knowledge base
-not put off boards review until after graduation
-most importantly: I would've actively sought out conferences and better conference attendance. This frankly would've given me the confidence to say I'd extracted more from residency, instead of cramming and then wondering if "I had done enough"
Very best regards to everyone studying for the boards. If you're interested in making the most of yourself and the least of your social life by becoming a pediatric cardiologist, you can also reply to this or send a message.
Exam background: the exam is 330-350 multiple choice questions on a computer administered in 4 blocks of questions over one day at a testing center. It is actually quite similar to the ITE in that the prompts are relatively short. Regarding the pass rate, you can find more information about the boards pass rate on the ABP website. The pass rate (before my year) for the prior 5 years was 81-86%. My residency however typically scores a 100% pass rate, which you can compare with other programs at the above link. Surprisingly, you can only take the exam on a single day during a three day period, which was for me in early October (I hadn't known that until I actually registered for the exam).
My background and approach: for the USMLE exams if memory serves I scored in the 70th-80th percentile range, however that was just above average for my residency class. For the ITE exams, I scored at or above the average for my residency class, and of note we did perform well compared to the national average for pediatric residency programs. My PGY-3 score gave me a 90% probability of passing the board exam.
During residency: I predominantly learned through our residency curriculum and by reading about patients almost exclusively on UpToDate. Because I performed curiously well on the ITEs despite not having done any diligent independent boards study regimen, and I was engaged in active research pursuits during residency, I did not begin a more active approach to boards until PGY-3 year (a system I do not recommend).
I asked my current and previous Chiefs about how they approached boards and received varying responses. My summary would be that one should complete as many years of PREP questions as able (3+), with attention to weak areas and review of missed questions, and augment this with either the Medstudy books (excellent information but overly dense for some) or Laughing Your Way (easier to read).
I chose to review 3 years of PREP Questions (2016, 2015, 2014 ; ~250 questions each), review Medstudy books for weak areas or those that need repeated memorization (syndromes, vaccines, milestones) and then supplemented this with a Medstudy Qbank subscription, completing ~750 of those prior to the examination. I attempted to review 10-20Q per day during the second half of PGY-3 year and didn't come close to accomplishing this until the end of residency, so I went into starting a very busy cardiology fellowship having done just about 350 PREP questions.
Unsolicited advice: Despite understanding that residency is very difficult and busy, your life after graduation will likely be harder and/or less compatible with studying. For those in fellowship there is another steep learning curve and the continued trainee lifestyle, and for those out in practice, you will have a very challenging new role to fill. You will likely be moving and living in a new place on top of this. Suffice it to say, your future self will thank you for, within reason, preparing as well as you can during residency (which I did not).
For the exam itself, it was actually very similar to the ITE. This was unique in that I'm familiar with the 'long prompt, vague tertiary answer' type USMLE question, or the random factoid question. The board exam seemed to be largely comprised of arbitrary judgment type questions, which makes it challenging to feel confident in one's approach or in one's performance on the exam. Following the exam, though I figured that with my residency's typical performance and my past performance on standardized exams, that I would likely pass, I was also really nervous that I didn't. I had essentially crammed over the two months before boards. This made me much less confident in my performance, and wish I could go back to residency and do my due diligence.
I ended up scoring a 200, a passing score is 180. People can score as high as 250. I was above average by the scaled scores but not by much.
In summary:
-given my prior testing related performance, a residency program that seems to prepare grads well for the boards, and having completed 3 years of PREP + 750 q Medstudy + Reviewing the Medstudy books for weak areas, I was ultimately well-prepared for the boards
-if I could go back, I would:
-actually read the Medstudy chapter for each rotation I was on (Gen Peds for CPAM, Adolescent for Adolescent, Allergy for Allergy, etc...)
-try to review more study questions in residency to build a knowledge base
-not put off boards review until after graduation
-most importantly: I would've actively sought out conferences and better conference attendance. This frankly would've given me the confidence to say I'd extracted more from residency, instead of cramming and then wondering if "I had done enough"
Very best regards to everyone studying for the boards. If you're interested in making the most of yourself and the least of your social life by becoming a pediatric cardiologist, you can also reply to this or send a message.