APMLE Part 1 2019-Feedback

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
Does anyone know when Prometric will send out the diagnostic results? I want to know which sections to focus on for this time around.
Unfortunately, I failed. I was scoring between 60-80% on BV, but I felt blindsided on the exam. Going to try to balance clinic and studying for Oct retake...
Members don't see this ad.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
NYC96 said:
Does anyone know when Prometric will send out the diagnostic results? I want to know which sections to focus on for this time around.
Unfortunately, I failed. I was scoring between 60-80% on BV, but I felt blindsided on the exam. Going to try to balance clinic and studying for Oct retake...
Click to expand...
I can't speak for other schools but at my school, those who failed had a breakdown of their subjects and how they did on them given to them with the results. You can possibly ask someone from your administration if they have that information available to you.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
I'm going to do a quick breakdown of what I did to study for boards but a fair warning this exam is hard. It's testing "minimal competency," but to be honest I didn't feel like it was testing for that at all. In fact, I have no idea what they were testing for exactly. There were detailed questions that I was never going to get no matter how many months I studied for this exam but there were also superficial questions and in my opinion getting those superficial questions right are the way to go in terms of passing the exam.

The materials I used for the exam:
First Aid, BRS Physiology, Lange Pharmacology Flashcards, Sketchy Micro, 100 Concepts of General Anatomy PDF coupled with First Aid Section and my own LEA notes from class (plus the Ohio LEA Book as a secondary source but I didn't really use it all that much).
Question Bank: Board Vitals (I went through BV 3 times) and Prometric questions. Fair warning though: while some of the questions on BV were similar to the boards exam, I really really felt like the BV questions and Prometric questions were not representative of the type of questions on my exam. I can't speak for others but that's how I felt. I feel like the questions should be used to gauge how well you know a subject/topic and use that to guide your studying.

Subjects I would focus on: LEA, Microbiology, Pharmacology and Biochemistry. I would throw Physiology in there but I studied that subject a lot and when I got to the exam, I got so many detailed questions that I realized I was wasted time studying for that subject. What I will say about it is know your Renal and Cardio Physiology though. For the 4 subjects above I would know LEA, Pharmacology and Microbiology like the back of your hand and Biochemistry know the high yield information i.e. what First Aid covers.

Other subjects: For Pathology, I felt like the First Aid rapid review worked just fine. But I wouldn't just do the Rapid Review out of First Aid. I would definitely look at the Neurology section and the General Anatomy section they offer. For General Anatomy know the superficial high yield stuff. I'm not sure how detailed I can go on here but General Anatomy was a subject I felt was superficial in terms of how detailed the questions were for it.

I started studying around my spring break with LEA and Microbiology. I began studying Pharmacology in the beginning of May. I threw in a subject here and there as the exam approached but those three I really hammered down. I would do board vitals in the evening. I would mix up the subject questions and sometimes I would just focus on a specific subject. I walked out of the exam having flagged roughly 60 questions that I was either not sure of completely or 50/50 on.

If you have any specific questions for me, feel free to PM me.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: 3 users
Members don't see this ad :)
I will start by stating that what worked for us this year may not work for you next year; use the resources that are available from seniors at your program from people that have taken the exam and passed it. For my prep, I mostly relied on what @bobtheweazel wrote in the past regarding the Part 1 exam, and I think anyone taking this exam in the future should read this amazing breakdown that Bob made (link below); so thanks to @bobtheweazel for the help

forums.studentdoctor.net

How to Actually Prepare for APMLE Part 1

There is a lot less mystery surrounding the American Podiatric Medical Licensing Exam (APMLE) part 1 than upperclassmen and your classmates might have you believe. If you know what the exam is and how to properly prepare for it then you should find the majority of the questions quite easy and...
forums.studentdoctor.net forums.studentdoctor.net

That being said, I started preparing for the exam in Dec of 2018 with the BV Q bank and first aid. FA may or may not work for you because it is essentially a summary of all the learned concepts during the first two years of medical school. But in my case, I used it from day 1 of Pod school; as in, when we finishing a course (or during final exams) I would review that part in FA in detail followed up with the BV questions. If there were missing info from the qbank, I would write that directly into first aid in that particular section. I went over the FA 2018 2x before my exam. Like most programs, my school has a board review that was very helpful imo, relied heavily on stuff taught during lectures and outside high yield materials. Coming to the individual subjects:

GA/Embryo: I relied on BRS Anatomy + lec notes + FA
Cell bio/Histo: BRS cell bio/histo + FA
Genetics: BRS+ lec notes + FA
Biochem: only FA
Physio: lec notes + BRS Physio (a must), + FA for each organ
Microbio/Immuno: BRS for each + FA with Sketchy Micro (Anki was useful here)
Pathology: lec notes were really good + FA was enough
Pharm: Sketchy Pharm + Anki pharm + with FA
LEA: Lec notes + Ohio notes + many-many questions

In summary: start early. Like others have stated above, this exam is NOT easy, even though you just have to pass it you still have to put in 5-8 hours every day from April at least. I started early mainly because of our transition from 2nd to 3rd year and doing those BV questions at least 2x also helped. Go over GA and LEA almost every day, along with rotating other subjects. If not others, make sure to read BRS Physio for the physio part, you have to get the concepts inside out; real exam question on physio was much harder than BV or my own lec exams. Use Anki for Sketchy Micro and Pharm and any other class you can find; doing them along with classes can help to remember small details. Do the BV qbank at least 2x and take the Full-length exams after each time you finish the Qbank, for me, those full-length exams were a little easier than the real deal but if you are scoring above 70% in BV and the Full-length exams then you should be ok. Don't forget to workout, eat right and take care of yourself when studying for this exam, mental prep with physical is a must and if you have text anxiety then deal with it before the dedicated time.

Finally: Your lectures notes are the primary source for this exam so learn it well the first time when taught. This exam was more difficult than I had anticipated but I feel like I overstudied it so that helped in passing it, that said, go all in, and give your 110%. Feel free to PM me for any specific question.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 2 users
Faculty haven't come out and said anything to us yet at DMU but idk if anyone has asked yet.
 
NYC96 said:
Does anyone know when Prometric will send out the diagnostic results? I want to know which sections to focus on for this time around.
Unfortunately, I failed. I was scoring between 60-80% on BV, but I felt blindsided on the exam. Going to try to balance clinic and studying for Oct retake...
Click to expand...

You can get the breakdown by emailing Prometric directly if your program does not provide one.
You can def balance time studying and clinic since you know now how they test.
I would start with the weakest area and rotate around that; but if you need any additional help with a specific subject feel free to pm me.
You can do it :)
 
KSUCPM doesn’t screen student’s before taking boards so all 100 or so students get to sit. That may have to change bcs I know other schools do that. If you work hard it doesnt matter what school you go to. Ive met good and bad students from every school. Kind of like how in high school we all actually thought it mattered which undergrad we went to and then realized that learning only had to do with our own work ethic and not necessarily the school. Each school has requirements it has to meet in order to be certified and as of now they all pass those requirments. I have the mentality that as long as the school provides me with the opportunity to become a doctor it’s then up to me work to hard enough in order to jump through the hoops.

Plus, put yourself in the schools shoes. They had a 92% pass rate 2 years in a row and then a 77% and they didn’t change much from class of 20 to 21, how are you supposed to make sense of that? I think in this case it’s hard to put the blame directly on the school.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 users
Lexor said:
KSUCPM doesn’t screen student’s before taking boards so all 100 or so students get to sit. That may have to change bcs I know other schools do that. If you work hard it doesnt matter what school you go to. Ive met good and bad students from every school. Kind of like how in high school we all actually thought it mattered which undergrad we went to and then realized that learning only had to do with our own work ethic and not necessarily the school. Each school has requirements it has to meet in order to be certified and as of now they all pass those requirments. I have the mentality that as long as the school provides me with the opportunity to become a doctor it’s then up to me work to hard enough in order to jump through the hoops.

Plus, put yourself in the schools shoes. They had a 92% pass rate 2 years in a row and then a 77% and they didn’t change much from class of 20 to 21, how are you supposed to make sense of that? I think in this case it’s hard to put the blame directly on the school.
Click to expand...

Correct me if I'm wrong but isn't Kent State the one with that horrible curriculum change recently?
 
DexterMorganSK said:
You can get the breakdown by emailing Prometric directly if your program does not provide one.
You can def balance time studying and clinic since you know now how they test.
I would start with the weakest area and rotate around that; but if you need any additional help with a specific subject feel free to pm me.
You can do it :)
Click to expand...

Do you have to pay extra for the breakdown? Very curious how I did for each section. I did pass but it’s always nice knowing how you did lol
 
Members don't see this ad :)
DexterMorganSK said:
Do you think that played any role in this years pass rate? Very glad you did well :)
Click to expand...

Students keep talking about this big curriculum change, but the classes, professors, and material all seem to be about the same as they were. I haven't noticed anything horrible about the curriculum either, it's worked well for me.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 users
Packers4lifeDPM said:
Do you have to pay extra for the breakdown? Very curious how I did for each section. I did pass but it’s always nice knowing how you did lol
Click to expand...

It is my understanding that if you pay to see the breakdown, the residency programs get to see too. So it's not just you; like a double-edged sword in that matter. If anyone else can verify.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Packers4lifeDPM said:
Do you have to pay extra for the breakdown? Very curious how I did for each section. I did pass but it’s always nice knowing how you did lol
Click to expand...

it seems like you do have to pay something...not sure how much tho

www.apmle.com

American Podiatric Medical Licensing Examination – Request Scores

A certified copy of your Part I, Part II, Part II CSPE, and/or Part III score reports can be sent to state licensing boards or organizations by placing an online order on the FPMB website at www.fpmb.org and clicking the “Order Reports” button. FPMB cannot provide score reports to candidates...
www.apmle.com www.apmle.com
 
Packers4lifeDPM said:
Do you have to pay extra for the breakdown? Very curious how I did for each section. I did pass but it’s always nice knowing how you did lol
Click to expand...
Most students choose not to see their score/breakdown bcs if you choose to see it then all the residencies that you apply for can see it as well. Which is ok if you killed it, but if by some chance you just barely got by... they can see that too lol.
 
If I have to pay then it’s not worth it. Wouldn’t really care if residencies saw it to be honest. Thought I did very well on it minus biochem because I didn’t review it at all lol thanks for the input!
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 users
Lexor said:
KSUCPM doesn’t screen student’s before taking boards so all 100 or so students get to sit. That may have to change bcs I know other schools do that. If you work hard it doesnt matter what school you go to. Ive met good and bad students from every school. Kind of like how in high school we all actually thought it mattered which undergrad we went to and then realized that learning only had to do with our own work ethic and not necessarily the school. Each school has requirements it has to meet in order to be certified and as of now they all pass those requirments. I have the mentality that as long as the school provides me with the opportunity to become a doctor it’s then up to me work to hard enough in order to jump through the hoops.

Plus, put yourself in the schools shoes. They had a 92% pass rate 2 years in a row and then a 77% and they didn’t change much from class of 20 to 21, how are you supposed to make sense of that? I think in this case it’s hard to put the blame directly on the school.
Click to expand...
what schools screen students? i hear this rumor over and over
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
josebiwasabi said:
what schools screen students? i hear this rumor over and over
Click to expand...
At Temple there is a pass/fail pathophysiology course geared towards getting us ready for boards that you have to pass in order to sit for boards. If you fail the course, you have to do a re-exam and pass it in order to sit for boards. The majority of students pass the class though and those that don't, pass the re-exam. I haven't heard of anyone that hasn't been able to take their boards because of failing outright. I think the class has been around for 4 years so it is relatively new.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 users
The breakdown is completely useless. Just indicates whether you met minimal competency or not for each subject. Not helpful at all for someone like me who has to retest.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
So I passed boards part 1! I read multiple reviews while I was studying for boards so I promised myself I would write one if I passed. So starting boards part 1 studying can be quite daunting. You will hear several people tell you various sources to use and it can get overwhelming. The first month becomes figuring out your schedule and making multiple changes to it. I think it’s good to make a schedule at first to have a basis for your studying but don’t freak out if you don’t stick to it. I used cram fighter to make my schedule. I stuck to it the first month of May but when June rolled around I made a lot of changes to it every week. The resources I used were:

-DIT Videos for every section except embryology (I used the First Aid book while watching the videos and would write my own notes in)
-First Aid Book
-Ohio Picture Book (went through it twice and added notes into it)
-Southerland's Lower Extremity Book
- LOWER EXTREMITY ANATOMY REVIEW FOR APMLE PART I EXAM Part 1 Osteology Powerpoint (I loveddd this powerpoint, it had high yield stuff for ligaments and bones)
- Sketchy Micro
-Sketchy Pharm (with sketchy mirco and pharm I used the ANKI app to solidify the sketches)
- Boards Vitals Questions( I thought these were wayy easier than the actual exam)
-Temple Lower Extremity Flashcards
-BRS flashcards

I would do about 20 practice questions a day and really try to understand the reasoning behind the question. I took one practice exam a week and would take ample to time to review it. The last two weeks before the exam, I tried to do a lot of questions and reread any content I felt weak on. If you need help on something, ASK for help.I would always go to someone if I didn't understand a concept. I had a group of 4 friends that were there for me while studying. We didn’t actually study together, but they were in the same vicinity in the library. If I ever needed a break,a pick me up, or help on a question they were all there. Having a support system made the whole process bearable and it was nice to know that you’re not going through all of this alone. GOOD LUCK YOU GOT THIS
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 users
kaurkir95 said:
So I passed boards part 1! I read multiple reviews while I was studying for boards so I promised myself I would write one if I passed. So starting boards part 1 studying can be quite daunting. You will hear several people tell you various sources to use and it can get overwhelming. The first month becomes figuring out your schedule and making multiple changes to it. I think it’s good to make a schedule at first to have a basis for your studying but don’t freak out if you don’t stick to it. I used cram fighter to make my schedule. I stuck to it the first month of May but when June rolled around I made a lot of changes to it every week. The resources I used were:

-DIT Videos for every section except embryology (I used the First Aid book while watching the videos and would write my own notes in)
-First Aid Book
-Ohio Picture Book (went through it twice and added notes into it)
-Southerland's Lower Extremity Book
- LOWER EXTREMITY ANATOMY REVIEW FOR APMLE PART I EXAM Part 1 Osteology Powerpoint (I loveddd this powerpoint, it had high yield stuff for ligaments and bones)
- Sketchy Micro
-Sketchy Pharm (with sketchy mirco and pharm I used the ANKI app to solidify the sketches)
- Boards Vitals Questions( I thought these were wayy easier than the actual exam)
-Temple Lower Extremity Flashcards
-BRS flashcards

I would do about 20 practice questions a day and really try to understand the reasoning behind the question. I took one practice exam a week and would take ample to time to review it. The last two weeks before the exam, I tried to do a lot of questions and reread any content I felt weak on. If you need help on something, ASK for help.I would always go to someone if I didn't understand a concept. I had a group of 4 friends that were there for me while studying. We didn’t actually study together, but they were in the same vicinity in the library. If I ever needed a break,a pick me up, or help on a question they were all there. Having a support system made the whole process bearable and it was nice to know that you’re not going through all of this alone. GOOD LUCK YOU GOT THIS
Click to expand...

Congrats. Very surprised you using the DIT videos, but glad they helped. I wish we had other better Qbanks than just BVs, but I did these ques 2x and they did help somewhat.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Next unread thread

Similar threads

Galacticat
  • Locked
APMLE Part 1 PAID** Tutor
Replies
4
Views
1K
Weirdy
W
Galacticat
APMLE Part 1 Retake Scores
Replies
5
Views
1K
Bored Snorlax
Bored Snorlax
F
Apmle Part 1
Replies
9
Views
3K
PTPuser
PTPuser
H
APMLE PART 3
Replies
1
Views
985
Adam Smasher
Adam Smasher
Tabasco9
Official APMLE Part 1 2023
2
Replies
87
Views
16K
GreenHousePub
GreenHousePub
Top