How did you like TrueLearn Q bank? i m doing BV for now and read few people mentioned TrueLearn and Psychiatry boards prep. Planning to check them out for doing more question. If you can please share your experience with TrueLearn here, it will be appreciated.
Truelearn is a solid QBANK for ABPN as far as I can tell but only have MyPsychBoard and online K&S to compare it to. My program paid for it and it is very user friendly. It does test on a lot of random factoids and is very big on medication dosing. Supposedly harder than the real deal based on people I've talked to but otherwise not sure how it will compare to the real deal or what % correct is reassuring.
I also used PsychiatryBoardsPrep for PRITE the last 2 years. I wasn't impressed with it as a Qbank but I will say I scored very well with it and some of the questions were taken directly from old PRITEs. Not great to learn from as the explanations are just copied and pasted from StatPearls. No idea how helpful it will be for ABPN.
Oh I think I forgot to comment here- only used Beat the Boards, ended up 81st percentile on the exam with decent scores across the board. Almost 10 years after starting on SDN I've finally become a board-certified physician.
What was your qBank score first pass? (I saw you eventually mastered the material, but wondering how predictive 80% first pass might be of passing).
Do you have an idea of what raw percentage of questions correct translates to a passing score on the real exam? I see 68-73% documented online by BtB (75% to be safe).
What was your qBank score first pass? (I saw you eventually mastered the material, but wondering how predictive 80% first pass might be of passing).
Do you have an idea of what raw percentage of questions correct translates to a passing score on the real exam? I see 68-73% documented online by BtB (75% to be safe).
You should be aiming to get 80% in Spiegel by the end of your second pass. It's the top learning resource you have so you should be emphasizing learning the material the first time. I do understand the high score dopamine rush though. This is also just my opinion so please remember that too
Honestly curious what percentage people were getting on BTB who passed. Or what those taking it this year are getting. I'm around 65% through the MCQ and I'm at like 79%.
Honestly curious what percentage people were getting on BTB who passed. Or what those taking it this year are getting. I'm around 65% through the MCQ and I'm at like 79%.
Honestly curious what percentage people were getting on BTB who passed. Or what those taking it this year are getting. I'm around 65% through the MCQ and I'm at like 79%.
I think you're both fine. I haven't really been using the BTB Qbank but ~80% sounds pretty decent.
For other reference, a colleague of mine said they were getting 50-65% on K&S tests and another said they scored between 60-70% on most of them and both passed comfortably. Personally, I would be pretty nervous scoring that low on all the K&S tests, but just another data point.
Honestly I wish there was more practice material with vignettes out there. There are around 30 on KS and I think around 40-50 on BTB. I can score decently on them but oof I think I need a bit more practice. They seem harder than the MCQ in a lot of cases.
Is it true they've reduced the amount of neuro on the test in recent years? I've seen that said online and I'm unsure how true that is. Spiegel is pretty neuro heavy.
Featuring more than 1,000 questions, video vignettes, and an online timed assessment, Psychiatry Test Preparation and Review Manual, 4th Edition, remains your #1 choice to prepare for successful exam results in both psychiatry and neurology. This trusted review covers every area of the ABPN...
www.us.elsevierhealth.com
This is what I used a couple years ago, doesn't look like there's a newer edition. It has 1000 questions in the book and if you know those back and forth (including the explanations for them) you're pretty solid.
Don't remember how much neuro there was in 2021 but if you know the neuro in the book above you probably know enough for the test (it's overkill).
You can just do the questions straight out of the book, but there is also an online edition through El Sevier that comes with the physical copy that lets you do it as a timed test. Imo it’s not the greatest because you cannot go back after you answer a question but it is timed so there’s that at least. I have just been doing the online tests as practice.
I seem to be struggling with a few things I'd like to cram a bit better for if anyone has tips. Sleep disorders, mostly what the waves are described at and at which stage of sleep; and substance use disorders. I can get the diagnosis question correct on BTB and mostly treatments, though some of the neuroscience and drug mechanisms I've missed on BTB and they weren't in the lecture from what I recall.
Any tips or cheat sheets to quickly cram some of this info?
I'm panicking about child boards. I wish I had used BTB. I've gone through board vitals a million times and am at the 55th percentile, which is amazing cause I'm now at 80%+ right (I'm guessing people are just doing the questions over and over like I am). I've also done my psych boards and got around 70%-72% after first pass. Not sure if that's good. I'm also do psych genius, but man, these questions are really tough. Not sure how I should feel.
I'm panicking about child boards. I wish I had used BTB. I've gone through board vitals a million times and am at the 55th percentile, which is amazing cause I'm now at 80%+ right (I'm guessing people are just doing the questions over and over like I am). I've also done my psych boards and got around 70%-72% after first pass. Not sure if that's good. I'm also do psych genius, but man, these questions are really tough. Not sure how I should feel.
I'm doing BTB and still VERY nervous about everything. I feel like adult was fairly clinical, but I've heard CAP is not as clinical. This is the last exam and we CAN do this... my mantra for the next week.
I'm doing BTB and still VERY nervous about everything. I feel like adult was fairly clinical, but I've heard CAP is not as clinical. This is the last exam and we CAN do this... my mantra for the next week.
From what I heard there's more than expected psychosocial testing, theorists, prevention, and other items that aren't part of a typical conversation with a patient. Very possible that those were reported because that's what stuck out more to them.
Curious what people got for answers on the demo exam. I can just spoiler my general answers below, no guaranteeing any right answers, I'm a bad test taker.
Stand Alone 1
Temporal and Parietal hypometabolism question?
- Had no idea on this one, guessed Lewy Body
Chronic cannabis user?
- Said mobilizing cannabanoids from fat stores
Clonidine question?
- Agonist at alpha 2
Oncology depression question?
- Fatigue
Two year old boy, socially awkward etc?
- ASD
Vignette 1 - 82 year old in nursing home
Question 1
- Ensuring safety of patient and wife
Question 2
- I had put ach inhibitor but from the subsequent questions it seems antipsychotic was the right answer
Question 3
- Obtain informed consent
Question 4
- Mortality?
Video Vignette 1 - Manic guy
Question 1
- Flight of ideas, inflated self-esteem
Question 2
- BPD, Substance use disorder
Question 3
- Offer appt for next month, obtain collateral
Question 4
- Olanzapine, carbamezapine
Question 5
- Had no idea on this one, i selected check carbam levels and suggest drug free period but none of these answers seemed right to me?
Stand alone 2
Decrease bipolar without meds
- Guessed sleep regularly?
Guy who cant keep job and says inappropriate things
- ADHD?
Alcohol use disorder in full remission but seems like she is nervous speaking in front of large groups
- Paxil and desensitization?
NMDA receptor antagonists implicate what NT in schizo
- Glutamate
OCD door knob
- Exposure and response prevention
Video Vignette 2 - MS Lawyer guy
Question 1
- Tense posture, shaking lower extremity
Question 2
- Was unsure, said anxiety disorder due to MS and specific phobia
Question 3
- Contact neuro, get second opinion
Question 4
- Informed consent
Vignette 2 - retired guy
Question 1
- Late adult transition
Question 2
- Had no idea, nausea? Figured it was either that or orthostatic hypotension
Question 3
- Sleep apnea, wife's treatment
Question 4
Reassess after 6 mo of tx
For those that took the child boards, would you recommend taking a look at the child Qs in Kenny and Spiegel or would you recommend finishing Beat the Boards? I'm concerned the BtB questions overall seem too simple, so maybe they're not reflective of the test itself...
Just FYI I've caught 2 incorrect developmental milestones questions on Board Vitals on either the question stem or in the explanation. I don't know where theyre getting their milestone stuff sometimes but these are the actual current developmental milestones from AAP:
Just FYI I've caught 2 incorrect developmental milestones questions on Board Vitals on either the question stem or in the explanation. I don't know where theyre getting their milestone stuff sometimes but these are the actual current developmental milestones from AAP:
I caught 3 straight up incorrect answers in BV as well (one was just miscoded, but still). Plus side is if you e-mail them with a source they'll correct and update the question, but doesn't give me confidence in their reliability. Plus I'm scoring 83% of questions correct and only at the 60th percentile, which just seems off. I have a hard time imagining that 40% of people using the Qbank are getting more than 83% of questions correct...
me. just been reviewing questions and computer gaming, plan to review notes i took and computer gaming, I did all that could lol I'm just ready to take it
Curious what people got for answers on the demo exam. I can just spoiler my general answers below, no guaranteeing any right answers, I'm a bad test taker.
Stand Alone 1
Temporal and Parietal hypometabolism question?
- Had no idea on this one, guessed Lewy Body
Chronic cannabis user?
- Said mobilizing cannabanoids from fat stores
Clonidine question?
- Agonist at alpha 2
Oncology depression question?
- Fatigue
Two year old boy, socially awkward etc?
- ASD
Vignette 1 - 82 year old in nursing home
Question 1
- Ensuring safety of patient and wife
Question 2
- I had put ach inhibitor but from the subsequent questions it seems antipsychotic was the right answer
Question 3
- Obtain informed consent
Question 4
- Mortality?
Video Vignette 1 - Manic guy
Question 1
- Flight of ideas, inflated self-esteem
Question 2
- BPD, Substance use disorder
Question 3
- Offer appt for next month, obtain collateral
Question 4
- Olanzapine, carbamezapine
Question 5
- Had no idea on this one, i selected check carbam levels and suggest drug free period but none of these answers seemed right to me?
Stand alone 2
Decrease bipolar without meds
- Guessed sleep regularly?
Guy who cant keep job and says inappropriate things
- ADHD?
Alcohol use disorder in full remission but seems like she is nervous speaking in front of large groups
- Paxil and desensitization?
NMDA receptor antagonists implicate what NT in schizo
- Glutamate
OCD door knob
- Exposure and response prevention
Video Vignette 2 - MS Lawyer guy
Question 1
- Tense posture, shaking lower extremity
Question 2
- Was unsure, said anxiety disorder due to MS and specific phobia
Question 3
- Contact neuro, get second opinion
Question 4
- Informed consent
Vignette 2 - retired guy
Question 1
- Late adult transition
Question 2
- Had no idea, nausea? Figured it was either that or orthostatic hypotension
Question 3
- Sleep apnea, wife's treatment
Question 4
Reassess after 6 mo of tx
SPOILER: sry idk how to use that button or if it's even working lol
-temp and parietal I believe is Alzheimer's. i;ve also read temporal and occipital? but I read that in a q back somewhere and a google search - one I found Clinical PET - Neurology.
-the etoh and AA question...Idk, I guess that answer make sense, like graded exposure, I put gaba and harm red, though I didn't think that was right lol.
-i put consent for collateral and contact referring colleague for collateral history?
-i put check carb lvl and stop olanzapine..ig b/c u can c/w carb as maintenance and prob d/c the olanzapine since the acute mania is resolved...didn't think hospitalization or med free was a good idea, or back to depakote since current meds working...just my logic..
--I put panic and somatic sx disorder....I don't think it was anxiety d/t MS, partly bc next question said they don't think it was MS and getting a 2nd opinion...
--yeah i put nausea but i think it was prob hypoT for mirtazapine; can cause dizziness so....i think if it can make u pretty sleepy, prob can decrease BP ig lol
-I put OSA...idk, I said excess etoh... tho i could see the worry given recent chemo of wife honestly
otherwise I put the same for the others.
Just FYI I've caught 2 incorrect developmental milestones questions on Board Vitals on either the question stem or in the explanation. I don't know where theyre getting their milestone stuff sometimes but these are the actual current developmental milestones from AAP:
Curious what people got for answers on the demo exam. I can just spoiler my general answers below, no guaranteeing any right answers, I'm a bad test taker.
Stand Alone 1
Temporal and Parietal hypometabolism question?
- Had no idea on this one, guessed Lewy Body
Chronic cannabis user?
- Said mobilizing cannabanoids from fat stores
Clonidine question?
- Agonist at alpha 2
Oncology depression question?
- Fatigue
Two year old boy, socially awkward etc?
- ASD
Vignette 1 - 82 year old in nursing home
Question 1
- Ensuring safety of patient and wife
Question 2
- I had put ach inhibitor but from the subsequent questions it seems antipsychotic was the right answer
Question 3
- Obtain informed consent
Question 4
- Mortality?
Video Vignette 1 - Manic guy
Question 1
- Flight of ideas, inflated self-esteem
Question 2
- BPD, Substance use disorder
Question 3
- Offer appt for next month, obtain collateral
Question 4
- Olanzapine, carbamezapine
Question 5
- Had no idea on this one, i selected check carbam levels and suggest drug free period but none of these answers seemed right to me?
Stand alone 2
Decrease bipolar without meds
- Guessed sleep regularly?
Guy who cant keep job and says inappropriate things
- ADHD?
Alcohol use disorder in full remission but seems like she is nervous speaking in front of large groups
- Paxil and desensitization?
NMDA receptor antagonists implicate what NT in schizo
- Glutamate
OCD door knob
- Exposure and response prevention
Video Vignette 2 - MS Lawyer guy
Question 1
- Tense posture, shaking lower extremity
Question 2
- Was unsure, said anxiety disorder due to MS and specific phobia
Question 3
- Contact neuro, get second opinion
Question 4
- Informed consent
Vignette 2 - retired guy
Question 1
- Late adult transition
Question 2
- Had no idea, nausea? Figured it was either that or orthostatic hypotension
Question 3
- Sleep apnea, wife's treatment
Question 4
Reassess after 6 mo of tx
I will only comment on the ones I had dif answers for in caps. Sorry in advance.
Stand Alone 1
Temporal and Parietal hypometabolism question?
- Had no idea on this one, guessed Lewy Body ALZHEIMER'S THAT'S NEUROIMAGING BIOMARKER FOR IT. OTHERS YOU SHOULD NOW IS FTLD = ANTERIOR TEMPORAL LOBE ATROPHY; NPH =VENTRICULOMEGALY
Vignette 1 - 82 year old in nursing home
Question 2
- I had put ach inhibitor but from the subsequent questions it seems antipsychotic was the right answer. I WAS BETWEEN ACHi vs ANTIPSYCHOTIC BUT WENT WITH ANTIPSYCHOTIC. IN PRACTICE I TRY COGNITIVE ENHANCER OR SSRI 1ST FOR NEUROPSYCHIATRIC SX DUE TO RISK WITH ANTIPSYCHOTICS. SOUNDS LIKE DELUSIONS MAY BE A SAFETY ISSUE HERE.
Video Vignette 1 - Manic guy
Question 4
- Olanzapine, carbamezapine. I PUT OLANZAPINE AND BENZO BUT CARBAMEZAPINE CAN WORK TOO. I DON'T RECALL IF HE WAS STILL ON VPA. I CHOSE MY ANSWERS MORE FOR ACUTE TX AND TO HELP WITH SLEEP.
Question 5
- Had no idea on this one, i selected check carbam levels and suggest drug free period but none of these answers seemed right to me? DON'T RECALL AGAIN, BUT FELT I PUT CARBAMEZAPINE AND MAYBE STOP OLANZAPINE DUE TO SEDATION/COGNITIVE FOGGING.
Stand alone 2
Guy who cant keep job and says inappropriate things
- ADHD? THIS SOUNDED LIKE APD BUT THEY DIDN'T PROVIDE ENOUGHH HX FOR IT. SO AGREE.
Video Vignette 2 - MS Lawyer guy
Question 2
- Was unsure, said anxiety disorder due to MS and specific phobia. - I WENT WITH ANXIETY 2/2 MS AND PANIC. SOUNDS LIKE HE IS HAVING PANIC IN SITUATIONS OUTSIDE OF PERFORMANCE. SOCIAL ANXIETY W/PERFORMANCE SPECIFICIFIER WOULD HAVE BEEN MY CHOICE BEFTORE PD.
Vignette 2 - retired guy
Question 2
- Had no idea, nausea? Figured it was either that or orthostatic hypotension. MIRTAZAPINE ACTS ON ALPHA 2 AND IS WELL KNOWN TO LEAD TO ORTHOSTATIC HTN. I THINK THERE IS LESS NAUSEA DUE TO MINIMAL EFFECTS ON SEROTONIN-R. PLEASE CORRECT ME. METABOLIC SYNDROME WOULD HAVE BEEN GOOD HERE TOO.
Question 3
- Sleep apnea, wife's treatment I PUT SLEEP APNEA AND ALCOHOL USE. ALCOHOL CAN AFFECT SLEEP CONSOLIDATION. WIFE'S TREATMENT SOUNDS GOOD TOO.
Honestly despite how much I studied I'm now afraid I'm gonna fail tomorrow, especially going back through this thread and seeing how many people studied hard and still didn't pass.
Honestly despite how much I studied I'm now afraid I'm gonna fail tomorrow, especially going back through this thread and seeing how many people studied hard and still didn't pass.
I'm intermittently feeling this way. I'm always nervous before standardized exams. I'm trying to remind myself that I've never failed a board or done poorly on the PRITE. We can't focus on the negatives and discount the positives! People sit this exam and haven't studied - you have studied and are further along than when you started. We can't change that the test is tomorrow, so give it a go and deal with the "what ifs" when they become "well what now?"
Even though I feel like a hypocrite saying this with my nerves where they are
6. evaluate for safety
7. start antihypertensive (think it said he had vascular dementia and BP was ~150s/98 I think? No idea on this one)
8. obtain informed consent
9. increased mortality (think it worded the question like "the most serious" side effect or something.
10. flight of ideas and increased self esteem
11. SUD and bipolar disorder
12. obtain consent, obtain collateral
13. olanzapine and carbamazepine
14. stop olanzapine, check clozapine level
15. ADHD
16. paroxetine and desensitization
17. regular sleep
18. exposure and response prevention
19. glutamate
20. tense posture and shaking lower extremity
21. panic disorder and anxiety 2/2 MS
22. contact neurologist, obtain 2nd opinion
23. informed consent for collateral
24. late adult transition
25. orthostatic hypotension
26. worry about wife, OSA
27. reassess after 6 months
I feel pretty terrible coming out of it. Felt like I emphasized the wrong things. There was a TON of neuroscience on my exam (not necessarily neurology). Was zero stats on the exam. It just seemed way more focused on neurology overall than I thought. There were a few questions which were out there and some gimme ones too.
Surprisingly felt the vignettes were more fair than the stand alone questions. The SA questions were pretty hard for me. I don’t really know how to deal with that.
I compared questions with one of my former co residents after and it seemed we largely had the same test. We answered similarly for the majority of the questions we answered but im traditionally a bad test taker (passed all STEPS but almost failed step 3, didn’t do well on PRITE) so I’m fearing the worst.
Kinda sad since I feel I studied a lot and still feel this way. I’m sure people who studied less did better.
I feel pretty terrible coming out of it. Felt like I emphasized the wrong things. There was a TON of neuroscience on my exam (not necessarily neurology). Was zero stats on the exam. It just seemed way more focused on neurology overall than I thought. There were a few questions which were out there and some gimme ones too.
Surprisingly felt the vignettes were more fair than the stand alone questions. The SA questions were pretty hard for me. I don’t really know how to deal with that.
I compared questions with one of my former co residents after and it seemed we largely had the same test. We answered similarly for the majority of the questions we answered but im traditionally a bad test taker (passed all STEPS but almost failed step 3, didn’t do well on PRITE) so I’m fearing the worst.
Kinda sad since I feel I studied a lot and still feel this way. I’m sure people who studied less did better.
Idk I felt the opposite, some of the vignettes seemed tricky, as in a question or 2 within them I was in bw an answer...tho it could have been worse though. there was def topics I didn't expect to see as much or as little of in the single answer ones... a few idk how u could study for. Idk I suppose we will see.
Overall thoughts on the exam: I think BTB was pretty good preparation and a good representation of the exam. I think Kenny & Spiegel was excellent learning and at times very representative of the exam. Practice ALL the vignettes you can get your hands on, as I think this is the most variable aspect by far. Timing was not an issue during the exam, though I was not aware that you only get 5-6 breaks? So keep that in mind. There was less neurology than I was expecting, only a handful of questions that were straight neuro. Otherwise there was more overlap with neuroscience and neurocognitive disorders.
Honestly it felt like depressive disorders were minorly underrepresented on the exam, while sleep/addictions/paraphilias were over emphasized (compared to the content sheet). There were lots of therapy questions asking different perspectives from various styles of therapy that I felt were odd and not sure about. Lots of mechanism of action question that went beyond your first-line choice. Overall I thought it was mostly a fair exam until the last vignette block. Those vignettes seemed to come out of nowhere, felt like I had whiplash one on of them! Last block zapped my confidence. Idk how it went overall.
Studied for approx 4-6 weeks for real, maybe 8 weeks total with a lazy start. Finished most of the BTB qbank with a 79%, was scoring in the 70s on Spiegel. We will see what come in December...
Woo hoo took the exam on Tuesday.
Like some others have stated, I feel like it was a fair exam.
Oddly, I agree that a lot of stand alone's were similar to PRITE questions, maybe PRITE was getting tired of being **** on for being nothing like the boards. Meaning some basic science, rote memorization type stuff.
I only did BTB, and was surprised that I found the baseline information to be relatively representative of the exam. Glad I saved the vignettes for last because it got me used to selecting 2 answers.
I wish I did K&S, just for my own learning, but actually didn't have time for it.
Over the years, actually studying for the PRITE (aka Prite Ninja - list of common questions in the back), and 4th year - listening to BTB lectures in my car 2x just casually or walking my dog, and then doing BTB problems just casually, like walking around the city, honestly helped me.
I hate cramming. If you're like me, just gradually obtain knowledge over 1-4 years, actually learn psychiatry, read the primary literature like STAR*D; review your PRITE exams after its done by looking up your wrong answers, and then do BTB or K&S and you'll be fine.
We all do my friend. But catastrophizing and letting cognitive distortions before, during (especially during), or after the exam, whether you fail or not, only serves to hurt you.
if people want to vent, let them vent. all you have to do is go on about your day. true, you either pass or fail. but people worked hard to get to where they are, so it's understandable to voice some stress or worry or uncertainty about the product of their work, esp with how much money this exam costs. it's only human. let's be supportive and non judgmental, for goodness sake. you could have worded that a bit better, like "don't stress, yall, we made it through, we'll see what happens". like damn lol I haven't been on sdn for years because yes, some people and comments can induce anxiety and stress- just ignore it and move on, it costs you nothing
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