Board Certification in Psychiatry

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Step 1) pass APBN.
Step 2) unsubscribe from the cute but kinda random mass emails from Beat the Boards guy.
 
americanidiot said:
Step 1) pass APBN.
Step 2) unsubscribe from the cute but kinda random mass emails from Beat the Boards guy.
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Number 3 look out for reoccurring charges from "Board Vitals" after you already completed the boards. Who are these guys?
 
Members don't see this ad :)
americanidiot said:
Wow when did you get charged again?
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After my first month of vignettes was expired, they said they sent me an email that I responded yes to, as far as another month. They could never find that email because I would never do that since the boards were done. And I was shocked they stored my credit card info. Really cheesy. They refunded it then said it was my fault. Ridiculous customer service. I was not impressed with their products either.
 
i'm looking for a comprehensive all audio board review course as most of the study time i have is when driving. I see Oakstone and Audio Digest offer all audio review courses, but they are very expensive. Anyone have any experience with the quality of these for board prep or are there other audio options? any place to buy used? thanks
 
@mathilda25 if you're short on time i wouldn't spend it listening to an audio course - i would just memorize the hell out of kenny and spiegel.
 
Trismegistus4 said:
Anyone gotten their certificate yet? It was supposed to arrive in 3 months...
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nope. i like that it takes 3 months to grade it and 3 months to print/mail the certificate. i did get an advertisement for overpriced diploma frames from them, however.
 
americanidiot said:
nope. i like that it takes 3 months to grade it and 3 months to print/mail the certificate. i did get an advertisement for overpriced diploma frames from them, however.
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Bed Bath and Beyond or Target has generic diploma frames for 20 bucks. I got one for my residency diploma to stick in my office.
 
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Anyone have psychiatry board prep material that they would like to sell?
 
Members don't see this ad :)
What have people been using to study the last couple of years? are there any new books/question banks that are useful?

Also, this is probably a very very silly question, but... Where is the test administered??
 
ChildPsychiatrist said:
What have people been using to study the last couple of years? are there any new books/question banks that are useful?

Also, this is probably a very very silly question, but... Where is the test administered??
Click to expand...

I think most agree that Kenny and Spiegel questions are essential. I think beat the boards was helpful to shore up weak areas. As far as where to take the test - it's pretty much like USMLE - there are likely a few centers relatively near you offering it and you get to pick after you're all registered and paid up.
 
Hi: can anyone guide what are usual recommended courses or books to study for psychiatry board certification exam? I plan to give this year.
Also is there any difference in content for"Beat the boards" course between 2015& 2016.
Thanks
 
americanidiot said:
I think most agree that Kenny and Spiegel questions are essential. I think beat the boards was helpful to shore up weak areas. As far as where to take the test - it's pretty much like USMLE - there are likely a few centers relatively near you offering it and you get to pick after you're all registered and paid up.
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Yeah, it's a rival company to Prometric, so not the exact same site, but otherwise the testing centers look identical. There were two of them in my city, two blocks from one another, then a couple in the 'burbs I think.
 
WingedOx said:
Yeah, it's a rival company to Prometric, so not the exact same site, but otherwise the testing centers look identical. There were two of them in my city, two blocks from one another, then a couple in the 'burbs I think.
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But don't forget, unlike the USMLE steps, it's only offered once a year, so your local testing centers will fill up. Register early; don't be like me and have to drive 1.5 hours away and stay in a hotel the night before the test.
 
I'm writing on behalf of Carilion clinic residents.
The final year residents will be taking board exams towards the latter half of the year.
Taking these board exams is quite an expensive affair. It is not only the cost of the exam but also any preparatory course one may take.
One of the popular course residents take is Beat the Boards. After having spoken to the administrator of the online course I was informed that we could avail 50% discount on the course that cost just over $1000. However the condition is that we should apply as a group and for 50% discount we need to have 50 people applying for the course.
So we are making an effort to liaise with the residents of other residency programs who are giving board exams this year and want online preparatory course.
The discount is available also for all speciality residents wanting access to the Beat the Board online board preparation course.
I'm taking the lead in compiling the list of at least 50 individuals wanting an online course for the board exams this year.
The payment will be made by individuals separately at 50% discount once I submit name of at least 25 individuals.
I have 15 names
I will need the name, email, phone number.
My e mail is [email protected]

Thanks
 
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just wondering anybody has received the copy of the board certification in mail yet. the ABPN said on Dec.8/2015 that we should get the cop of board certification in mail in 3 months, but so far I have not received it. thanks.
 
immunologist said:
just wondering anybody has received the copy of the board certification in mail yet. the ABPN said on Dec.8/2015 that we should get the cop of board certification in mail in 3 months, but so far I have not received it. thanks.
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I just got a FedEx alert saying I have a package coming from St. Charles, IL, and I didn't order anything, so I assume that's it.
 
hi, i am study for the psych board, and would like to have a study partner. please contact me if you are interested. thanks
[email protected]
 
amit1410 said:
I'm writing on behalf of Carilion clinic residents.
The final year residents will be taking board exams towards the latter half of the year.
Taking these board exams is quite an expensive affair. It is not only the cost of the exam but also any preparatory course one may take.
One of the popular course residents take is Beat the Boards. After having spoken to the administrator of the online course I was informed that we could avail 50% discount on the course that cost just over $1000. However the condition is that we should apply as a group and for 50% discount we need to have 50 people applying for the course.
So we are making an effort to liaise with the residents of other residency programs who are giving board exams this year and want online preparatory course.
The discount is available also for all speciality residents wanting access to the Beat the Board online board preparation course.
I'm taking the lead in compiling the list of at least 50 individuals wanting an online course for the board exams this year.
The payment will be made by individuals separately at 50% discount once I submit name of at least 25 individuals.
I have 15 names
I will need the name, email, phone number.
My e mail is [email protected]

Thanks
Click to expand...

I am writing on behalf of Qahessi Mussa of Uganda.
The final presentations are awaiting you for your professional verification sir.
Taking the plan of gold mine is very expensive and jeopardy, and we must secure your reassurance of fundings sir.
We are making effort to liaise with residents in your program who are giving good preparatory skills in exams this year.
I am taking lead Director in need of 50 residents for reassurance of fundings who are giving good skills.
The final investments in gold mine will be equally distributed across residents at 200% growth annually.
The payment will be made to residents separately at 66% divided in distributions across 12 payments into your bank account.
Please do not hesitate, the difficulties of my party in Uganda is too late.
I will need the name and account numbers of the distinguished residents bank monies.
Please provide sir the name, email, phone number, social security number, and bank numbers.
One of my associates will contact you once you provide these details, and deposit the monies into your accounts directly before sundown.
Thank you sirs.
My email is [email protected]
 
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Leo Aquarius said:
I am writing on behalf of Qahessi Mussa of Uganda.
The final presentations are awaiting you for your professional verification sir.
Taking the plan of gold mine is very expensive and jeopardy, and we must secure your reassurance of fundings sir.
We are making effort to liaise with residents in your program who are giving good preparatory skills in exams this year.
I am taking lead Director in need of 50 residents for reassurance of fundings who are giving good skills.
The final investments in gold mine will be equally distributed across residents at 200% growth annually.
The payment will be made to residents separately at 66% divided in distributions across 12 payments into your bank account.
Please do not hesitate, the difficulties of my party in Uganda is too late.
I will need the name and account numbers of the distinguished residents bank monies.
Please provide sir the name, email, phone number, social security number, and bank numbers.
One of my associates will contact you once you provide these details, and deposit the monies into your accounts directly before sundown.
Thank you sirs.
My email is [email protected]
Click to expand...
Finally! The ABPN's approach to MOC makes sense now!
 
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Hey fellas ,

I am currently in the process of preparing for the boards this year in September. Going through K&S and BTB. I have to say , K&S is a solid book but I am less than impressed with the BTB question bank. I am through almost 300 of the questions and find most of the questions less than ideal in quality ( especially when compared with K&S ).
Many questions ask about random and obscure facts ( eg. drug interactions based on some random case reports ) or weird statistics and the explanations are not very well written.
The videos/audio are all right I guess.

Besides K&S and BTB , anybody doing anything else . I personally think anything else might be overkill but wanted to get other people's opinions.

Just wanted to vent a little.

Piece.
 
Couldn't agree more. I used both, BTB felt stupid, but ok to get used to vignettes. But KS has the actual info. For sure the board vignettes were hard to interpret.
ednorton said:
Hey fellas ,

I am currently in the process of preparing for the boards this year in September. Going through K&S and BTB. I have to say , K&S is a solid book but I am less than impressed with the BTB question bank. I am through almost 300 of the questions and find most of the questions less than ideal in quality ( especially when compared with K&S ).
Many questions ask about random and obscure facts ( eg. drug interactions based on some random case reports ) or weird statistics and the explanations are not very well written.
The videos/audio are all right I guess.

Besides K&S and BTB , anybody doing anything else . I personally think anything else might be overkill but wanted to get other people's opinions.

Just wanted to vent a little.

Piece.
Click to expand...
 
BTB notes are okay if you need a quick and dirty rundown I guess. Their Q bank is what I have major issues with. ( That doesn't mean I wouldn't do it thoroughly .. I am a little OCD with these standardized tests , especially the ones which cost 2500 goddamn dollars ....!!! lol ).

My plan is to know K&S like the back of my hand before I walk in to the exam. This is going to be my main tool.
Psych2014 said:
Couldn't agree more. I used both, BTB felt stupid, but ok to get used to vignettes. But KS has the actual info. For sure the board vignettes were hard to interpret.
Click to expand...
I also have the " Focus " question bank with me which I plan to go through also.
 
PistolPete said:
I'm gonna do K&S multiple times and have a 1 month subscription to Boards Vitals. There was no way I was gonna pay so much money for BTB.
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i tried to get through btb lectures, notes, some questions....it was hell. Im hitting FA psy boards book (love the FA series) and board vitals as my main sources...gonna do the BTBqbank, Spiegel questions and FocusQ. On aside, has anybody gotten anything from the pearson test center yet?? On my folios, it just states "application apporved", but nothing else has changed. Is there more to do on my end?? i already created a pearson account, but they state no exam certific. available. what gives.....or is it just my neurosis?
 
I remember feeling this way. It's probably neurosis. You can get through USMLE s and your PD and 4 years of being scrutinized but you can't get through Pearson view and the folio crap. You're not the first one. I believe you have to get the exam cert from the board. They will notify you soon. Or you could call them and endure being treated like an idiot. That's the great service you paid for. If you just call the board you'll eventually get your questions answered. Good luck.
 
Psych2014 said:
I remember feeling this way. It's probably neurosis. You can get through USMLE s and your PD and 4 years of being scrutinized but you can't get through Pearson view and the folio crap. You're not the first one. I believe you have to get the exam cert from the board. They will notify you soon. Or you could call them and endure being treated like an idiot. That's the great service you paid for. If you just call the board you'll eventually get your questions answered. Good luck.
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Lol thanks. They put up a link or i juat saw it thats states u have to be within 90 days of exam
 
If I used BTB for my ABPN 2015 exam and passed can I claim it as CME credits for 2016 or is that not cool? I took the CME test portion from the website today and did the survey too.
 
What do you guys think about Board Vitals clinical vignettes? I bought this Qbank specifically for the clinical vignettes section since half of the ABPN exam is clinical vignettes, but I've been disappointed. I expected more videos/audio q's but it's mostly just asking 5 questions "stand-alonish" questions about a topic, usually "what 2 diagnoses might this patient have" kind of a question.
 
Vignettes are mostly toward the end of that list. I believe all of it is of questionable quality of content. But the mechanics of doing it and getting used to picking up signs and symptoms over video is helpful.

PistolPete said:
What do you guys think about Board Vitals clinical vignettes? I bought this Qbank specifically for the clinical vignettes section since half of the ABPN exam is clinical vignettes, but I've been disappointed. I expected more videos/audio q's but it's mostly just asking 5 questions "stand-alonish" questions about a topic, usually "what 2 diagnoses might this patient have" kind of a question.
Click to expand...
 
Studying for the upcoming exam in September- anyone have a good way to remember all the P450 junk? Thanks! :)
 
I can't remember if it came up on mine or not? But I do know that I studied a whole lot more for that topic than it was worth. I would just be aware of the main problems that you actually see, such as with anti-seizure meds, or what Lamotrigine and Depakote do to each other.
 
Psych2014 said:
I can't remember if it came up on mine or not? But I do know that I studied a whole lot more for that topic than it was worth. I would just be aware of the main problems that you actually see, such as with anti-seizure meds, or what Lamotrigine and Depakote do to each other.
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That makes me feel a bit better although one of my friends who took it last year said he had a few questions on the p450 stuff and said just to memorize it :/
 
So if we had to summarize the best sources for studying, it sounds like it would be to do K&S questions and master those, and then BTB clinical vignettes? And then doing Kauffman questions as well? Trying to finalize resources for studying.
 
Sounds like Kenny and Spiegel is the best source, which I'm working through right now. Sounds like other question banks, such as BTB, are secondary with no good way to prep for the clinical vignette part.
 
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Attended Kaufman course this past month to help prepare for initial certification exam; felt like it was pretty high yield. I'd recommend it especially if you are working for a company that'll reimburse for it and/or not particularly confident about neurology. Plus you get to hang out in NYC during what little downtime you have.

Spoke with Dr Kenny after his lecture; he said if you are scoring 60-65% on K&S this far out from taking the exam, you'll probably pass. Later Dr Kenny said if you can score 70-75% then you are virtually guaranteed to pass.

He mentioned that he and the co-author (who unfortunately passed away in 2014 from brain cancer) designed the questions to be more difficult than the actual exam. IMO, I felt like K&S was noticeably less difficult than BoardVitals. Any others have thoughts on the matter?

Hope this is helpful. Good luck to everyone sitting for it this year.
 
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DrSchadenfreude said:
Attended Kaufman course this past month to help prepare for initial certification exam; felt like it was pretty high yield. I'd recommend it especially if you are working for a company that'll reimburse for it and/or not particularly confident about neurology. Plus you get to hang out in NYC during what little downtime you have.

Spoke with Dr Kenny after his lecture; he said if you are scoring 60-65% on K&S this far out from taking the exam, you are on the right track. Later Dr Kenny said if you can score 70-75% then you are virtually guaranteed to pass.

He mentioned that he and the co-author (who unfortunately passed away in 2014 from brain cancer) designed the questions to be more difficult than the actual exam. IMO, I felt like K&S was noticeably less difficult than BoardVitals. Any others have thoughts on the matter?

Hope this is helpful. Good luck to everyone sitting for it this year.
Click to expand...

So the goal is 70-75% on Kenny and Speigel questions. Sort of what I figured. Thanks!
 
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