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 – 13th edition
$190-239 (new)
• MedStudy – 11th edition
$295-395 (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
• $ 995
• 7 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-$995
• 4-6 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 3
555 clinical vignette / board style questions
• ACP Medscape Board Review
>1000 board style questions