OB-Gyn Shelf Exam

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.

Books Preferred for Ob-Gyn Shelf Exam

  • Blueprints

    Votes: 24 70.6%

  • NMS

    Votes: 2 5.9%

  • First Aid

    Votes: 2 5.9%

  • PreTest

    Votes: 4 11.8%

  • Boards and Wards

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Appleton and Lange

    Votes: 2 5.9%
  • Total voters
    34
  • Poll closed .
bballer100 said:
Can anyone who recently took the OBGYN shelf report back as to what the national mean reported by the NBME was? Our school told us that the mean for the last group was a 82 which seems ridiculously high for a shelf, but after seeing some of the insane scores on this thread (damn Trogdor)....maybe not?
Click to expand...

So I haven't gotten the score report from the NBME for the OB-Gyn shelf (they get posted in the next few days), but for the shelf exams I've taken in the past (fmed, imed, surg), they report that the national mean to be approximately 73 (72 for surgery) and the SD to be +/- 9 on the raw score.

The percentiles are not on our score reports. My understanding is that the school can get the percentile from either having the NBME correlate the raw score with a percentile based on their data for the previous year's worth of test takers (this is what our school does), or they can give you a percentile based on all the performances at your particular school. This is what I understood when I've asked multiple clerkship directors/co-ordinators in the past. So, to recap, we are given the percentile (that is provided to the course director, and then subsequently emailed to us without a conversion chart), but the score report states the raw score (also called equated percent correct). The percentile that I write of is the percentile that I'm sent from our director. I'm not sure how others get the percentiles, but I'm sure it's likely a similar way.

With regard to why sometimes the percentiles don't match the percentile you're given by your school and when you work out the math using the mean and the SD, I've always thought that the reported mean and SD were "approximate", and maybe the distribution isn't a perfect bell curve? I have no data to support that however.

I just know from talking to others and personal experience that it seems like a raw of >93 usually correlates to the "100th" percentile on most exams, and that doesn't quite add up if you use the given mean and SD.

Edit: I remember seeing someone post a conversion table in one of these threads for the shelf exams, but I'm not sure where...
Members don't see this ad.
 
Last edited:
Ah ok, yeah that's what I thought as well. All the previous NBMEs I took had an average of 73-75 with a SD of about 9. Since our cutoffs for honors are dependent on scoring 1+SD above the national mean, I was shocked at hearing how high the national averages supposedly were. I still having a

I guess I'll just have to wait on the
 
* official score reports to come out to figure this out. Thanks man
 
Members don't see this ad :)
please is sumatriptan contraindicated in pregnancy ?
 
greatsurg said:
please is sumatriptan contraindicated in pregnancy ?
Click to expand...
Yes for God's sake. It ****s with blood pressure and hence the placenterr. Now PLEASE SOMEONE TELL ME THE AVG AND STDEV FOR THE SHELF
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Thanky :)

This was for the one just administered a week ago?
 
greatsurg said:
please is sumatriptan contraindicated in pregnancy ?
Click to expand...
Not necessarily - if the pt is hypertensive/pre-eclampsia/eclampsia then the ergot alkaloids are CI, including methergine - but Epocrates lists Sumatriptan as Cat C (C for Careful)
 
For conditions like pre/eclampsia, ICP, AFLP, etc where the treatment is "delivery," do we decide c-section vs. SVD based on just fetal distress, fetal presentation, and cervical changes? Is there anything I'm missing?
 
Resources:

Case files 1.5x
UWise 1x- thought it was excessively hard, painful to go through, nitpicky, and not represented on the shelf. In retrospect might do Uworld twice instead of this.
Uworld 1x + incorrects

Score: 90+ raw.

Awkward exam overall. Really think the question writing sucked for this one, wish they would have nbme questions rather than acog.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Took this thing today. I thought UWise and UW + notes, then all 4 NBME's with use of blueprints for anything you didnt know would land you a 90+.

I just got through UWise once for my rotation an a few NBMEs, with Blueprints for reference. Too busy of a rotation, but we'll see how it went (it was my alst shelf)

Distribution was a lot of incontinence, work-ups for different things, post-partum complications, some breast disease, always a couple questions on OR complications from anesthesia or the procedure technique just like the NBMEs, a smuttering of qs from other shelves (screening and vaccination, but related to OB), 5 qs on fetal heart tones (know the heart tones --- VEAL CHOP is my mnemonic for variables =cord, earlies = head compression, accels = OK, Lates = placental insufficiency), complicatiosn of certain OB things (eg breech, transverse lie, footling). I'd say 90% is covered in UWise and you can get through reasoning. Other 10% is your knowledge base and luck for the random hard qs.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Members don't see this ad :)
Are these UWISE questions? I've never been summoned for this before so I'm not sure how kosher this is... but here are some general teaching points.

  • Post-void residual is a major clue. Retention issues like detrusor hypotonia and overflow incontinence are ruled out (for your purposes) with a normal PVR.
  • The external urethral sphincter is voluntary and is how you avoid going even when you really really want to. If it is hyperactive, the main symptom would be having to push really hard to pee. If it's hypoactive, patients have leaking with or without the urge to void (see next point).
  • The urethral sphincter doesn't produce the sensation of needing to void urgently, frequently, or during the night. If a patient has those symptoms, think about the detrusor.
  • Detrusor muscle irritability/hyperactivity can result from infection and that should always be ruled out first when a patient has urge or frequency.
  • After infection, detrusor hyperreflexia (involuntary contractions), aka overactive bladder, is the main culprit behind urge symptoms.
  • Pain with the actual act of urination is not a common symptom of simple overactive bladder. Dysuria and/or hematuria in the setting of urge points more to interstitial cystitis (God help us all).
  • In general prior cesarean is the biggest risk factor for any placental abnormality. Accreta happens because of implantation at the scar, but since the scar is in the lower segment, implanting there makes previa more likely also. (That question is kind of sucky though.)
  • Most IUFDs never have a definitive cause found. But if there is one it's most likely to be either placental abrupt ion or an umbilical cord issue.
  • Issues with the uteroplacental circulation are more often associated with pre-eclampsia or early pregnancy loss.
  • It's unlikely you'll be given a patient with a vaginal infection without discharge (yeast, trich) or a visible lesion (warts, HSV, syphilis).
  • Vaginal symptoms of hypoestrogenism are pretty common postpartum, especially in breastfeeding patients who are amenorrheic. It's essentially a form of atrophy. Some people actually prescribe topical estrogen for this but simple lubricants are a good first step.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: 11 users
22031 Alum said:
Are these UWISE questions? I've never been summoned for this before so I'm not sure how kosher this is... but here are some general teaching points.

  • Post-void residual is a major clue. Retention issues like detrusor hypotonia and overflow incontinence are ruled out (for your purposes) with a normal PVR.
  • The external urethral sphincter is voluntary and is how you avoid going even when you really really want to. If it is hyperactive, the main symptom would be having to push really hard to pee. If it's hypoactive, patients have leaking with or without the urge to void (see next point).
  • The urethral sphincter doesn't produce the sensation of needing to void urgently, frequently, or during the night. If a patient has those symptoms, think about the detrusor.
  • Detrusor muscle irritability/hyperactivity can result from infection and that should always be ruled out first when a patient has urge or frequency.
  • After infection, detrusor hyperreflexia (involuntary contractions), aka overactive bladder, is the main culprit behind urge symptoms.
  • Pain with the actual act of urination is not a common symptom of simple overactive bladder. Dysuria and/or hematuria in the setting of urge points more to interstitial cystitis (God help us all).
  • In general prior cesarean is the biggest risk factor for any placental abnormality. Accreta happens because of implantation at the scar, but since the scar is in the lower segment, implanting there makes previa more likely also. (That question is kind of sucky though.)
  • Most IUFDs never have a definitive cause found. But if there is one it's most likely to be either placental abrupt ion or an umbilical cord issue.
  • Issues with the uteroplacental circulation are more often associated with pre-eclampsia or early pregnancy loss.
  • It's unlikely you'll be given a patient with a vaginal infection without discharge (yeast, trich) or a visible lesion (warts, HSV, syphilis).
  • Vaginal symptoms of hypoestrogenism are pretty common postpartum, especially in breastfeeding patients who are amenorrheic. It's essentially a form of atrophy. Some people actually prescribe topical estrogen for this but simple lubricants are a good first step.
Click to expand...

Thank you for that. I have another question if you don't mind. Is it wise to treat asymptomatic bacterial vaginosis in pregnant women? I have study resources which seem to say opposite things and UpToDate appears to not take a stance either way.
 
quickfeet said:
...
23 year old primigravida at 33 weeks gestation admitted because she hasn't felt fetal movement x 2 days. Pregnancy has been uncomplicated up to this point. She has no significant serious illnesses. Her sister had 3 spontaneous abortions. Patients vitals are normal. Exam shows a soft uterus consistent in size with a 33-week gestation. Fundal height is 34 cm. Fetal heart tones cannot be auscultated. US confirms intrauterine fetal demise. Lab studies show the patient to be a homozygote for the factor V Leiden mutation. Throbosis of which of the following is the most likely cause of the fetal demise?

A. Fetal cerebral arteries
B. Fetal ductus arteriosus
C. Maternal lower extremity
D. Umbilical cord
E. Uteroplacental artery

Didn't even know where to start with this one. Selected "A". It was apparently wrong.
...
Click to expand...

Saw 2 patients in the clinic with late term IUFD with very similar stories (but no Leiden - at least none that I found out about before the end of the rotation). 1 was undetermined, suspected abruption, and the other was a placental infarct. Because of vividly remembering that case, I would have chosen E, that and I think it makes the most sense assuming Leiden and the sudden late fetal demise. Maybe it could be D, but I'm not sure.
 
Just took this shelf last week. First NBME of medical school since we're a Canadian school and don't frequently use them. Should only hear back in 3 weeks or so.

Used Case Files + UWorld. Felt that UWorld was actually quite representative of the questions on the actual shelf, wish I had the chance to go through them a couple more times to make sure I had them down pat. Case Files was good to read during the first weeks of the rotation and then power through UWorld in the last couple weeks. Blueprints was a little dense for me and I feel like I did fine without it
 
Took the exam a few weeks ago. Passing score at my school is 60 and the rotation was intense so I didn't study much until the last two weeks. Did Uworld 1x, Uwise 1x and OME videos+notes which I reviewed a few days before the exam. Used nothing else and got a 72. Average is 73 with an SD of 9
 
Bicornate uterus = Preterm labor
Patient can't have oral intake due to nausea so admit for IVF and parenteral antiemetics
Not sure about the great aunt one
She doesnt have contractions or cervical dilation so no fibronectin necessary to rule out labor. Check the fetus is ok with US.
Never give radiation to a pregnant woman. PTU is the best option to treat hyperthyroid in this case.
You're close with mullerian agenesis but she has palpable uterus so it can't be a complete agensis. The single kidney suggests a congenital malformation and kidneys form with the uterus. So congenital anomaly.


creamfreesh said:
copyrighted information removed by moderator
Click to expand...
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I'm using the First Aid book for this, but I see most people went with Blueprints? Did I make a mistake to go with FA for this clerkship? Obviously would supplement both with U-world and U-wise.
 
I am retaking obgyn shelf because I failed last one

I am not sure what to study from. I have Uworld, uwise, blueprints, onlinemeded, casefiles. As you can see there are too many resources, which ones should I really focus on and which ones should I drop?

Thanks


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile
 
This is a reminder to refrain from posting NBME questions or any other copyrighted questions, either in full or partially abbreviated. Doing so is a copyright violation. You may paraphrase questions. Abbreviating words or removing fillers is not paraphrasing.
 
I passed obgyn by good score ... Only did uwise -- videos and questions, Uworld, and onlinemeded ... Uwise videos were really helpful I would say esp the risk factors they discuss. There were a lot of questions about risk factors!


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile
 
Just finished this shelf, and would highly recommend the Beckmann text.
 
Pisiform said:
I passed obgyn by good score ... Only did uwise -- videos and questions, Uworld, and onlinemeded ... Uwise videos were really helpful I would say esp the risk factors they discuss. There were a lot of questions about risk factors!


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile
Click to expand...

Are there any specific topics that you would recommend watching the videos for?
 
triptans128 said:
Are there any specific topics that you would recommend watching the videos for?
Click to expand...

Each are only 5 min long so I watched all of them. But if you are short on time, concentrate on risk factors and DUB and other vaginal bleeds, virilZation, puberty, amenorrhea


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile
 
On Ob/Gyn rotation now and plan on using Blueprints, UWorld (likely x2-3), and Case files. Was told that some of the high-yield chapters in Blue prints were 4 (normal pregnancy), 15 (endometriosis), and 21/22 (amenorrhea and abnormalities in menstrual cycle). Anyone else have any ideas about other chapters or topics that are higher or lower yield? I think my rotation has been pretty solid so far, but just want to make sure since our clinical grades are 100% dependent on shelves.

Edit: Also been trying to read up on UWise because I'd never heard of it before but could only find one source for it and it's $1,000??? Is this the same source everyone's used or am I missing a link somewhere? I honestly can't afford that much for a resource right now, so if that's the wrong link or if anyone has a link to the actual question sets I'd really appreciate it.
 
Last edited:
Stagg737 said:
Also been trying to read up on UWise because I'd never heard of it before but could only find one source for it and it's $1,000??? Is this the same source everyone's used or am I missing a link somewhere? I honestly can't afford that much for a resource right now, so if that's the wrong link or if anyone has a link to the actual question sets I'd really appreciate it.
Click to expand...
Some schools provide free subscription to UWise to their students. I thought UWise questions were a good preparation for the shelf, but I wouldn't buy it for $1000.
 
Stagg737 said:
On Ob/Gyn rotation now and plan on using Blueprints, UWorld (likely x2-3), and Case files. Was told that some of the high-yield chapters in Blue prints were 4 (normal pregnancy), 15 (endometriosis), and 21/22 (amenorrhea and abnormalities in menstrual cycle). Anyone else have any ideas about other chapters or topics that are higher or lower yield? I think my rotation has been pretty solid so far, but just want to make sure since our clinical grades are 100% dependent on shelves.

Edit: Also been trying to read up on UWise because I'd never heard of it before but could only find one source for it and it's $1,000??? Is this the same source everyone's used or am I missing a link somewhere? I honestly can't afford that much for a resource right now, so if that's the wrong link or if anyone has a link to the actual question sets I'd really appreciate it.
Click to expand...

When you go to create an account on UWise, see if your med school shows up in the drop down list for schools with active APGO memberships. Then it's free to use.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Ismet said:
When you go to create an account on UWise, see if your med school shows up in the drop down list for schools with active APGO memberships. Then it's free to use.
Click to expand...

My school doesn't offer it. Does that mean we have to pay?! I saw a section somewhere that had some free questions but it wasn't like a standard large bank


Sent from my iPhone using SDN mobile
 
How accurate are the NBME self-assessments? I just took number 4 and I scored a 52 (12). My exam is on Friday and I'm freaking out a little bit now.
 
Hey guys I'm using USMLE step 2 ck lecture note together with kaplan video , do you think it is good for the NBME ?
and I will try to read some of the case file
the thing is I don't have much time to read the blueprint so I don't should I switch to Blueprint and try to read as much as I can or is there any high yield chapters that I should go through or lecture note will be fine ?
 
alhashim said:
Hey guys I'm using USMLE step 2 ck lecture note together with kaplan video , do you think it is good for the NBME ?
and I will try to read some of the case file
the thing is I don't have much time to read the blueprint so I don't should I switch to Blueprint and try to read as much as I can or is there any high yield chapters that I should go through or lecture note will be fine ?
Click to expand...

For OB know chapters 1-4, especially 4, like the back of your hand. For Gyn, the Endometriosis chapter was good as well as cervical and ovarian cancer chapters (med ed has solid vids for the neoplasms). I read Blueprints and made 2 passes on UWorld and did very well. Also read ~20-25 cases from Case files during downtime. Blueprints and UWorld were clutch though, imo best 2 resources out there.

Edit: also forgot about the amenorrhea chapter for Gyn. Not necessarily every little detail, but Sheehan's is need to know and as well as normal menopause and causes of early menopause imo.

GobbelyWat said:
How accurate are the NBME self-assessments? I just took number 4 and I scored a 52 (12). My exam is on Friday and I'm freaking out a little bit now.
Click to expand...

Imo not accurate. I scored in the 40's (single digits scaled) and had a scaled score that was over double that for the real thing. Keep in mind N=1, and most others may feel differently.
 
Last edited:
Hey guys, I took the shelf a couple of weeks ago and did well (91). This thread was very helpful, so I thought I would share my experience for everyone's benefit.

I did UW x2, 75% of uWISE, and all 4 NBMEs. It was more than sufficient to do well on the shelf. There were a few WTF questions on the shelf that weren't really covered anywhere, including: clitoral lacerations, mgmt of sickle cell pts in pregnancy, ultrasound findings for the TORCHES infections, maneuvers that help in women with certain types of pelvises (gynecoid, platypoid, etc.). There was also a question about post-C/S pain control that I probably would have gotten had I finished surgery. Good luck guys!
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
Just finished the shelf and I think it was the worst shelf I have ever taken. I think I underestimated it.

Did UW 2x and UWISE 2x and then reading from Blueprints on topics I didn't get. The shelf was one of those times where I realized I had not gone in enough detail on anything.
 
Took the shelf yesterday and wanted to share my experience.

Resources:

1. CaseFiles (highly recommend)

I used CaseFiles because of the great reviews it had gotten in this thread. Although I didn't particularly care for the style, it covered everything I saw on the shelf and more. In my opinion, it precluded the need for another textbook.

2. UWorld (highly recommend)

After reading through this thread, I had the opinion that UW was a solid resource but not nearly enough to do well. After taking the shelf, I feel like one could pass fairly comfortably with just CaseFiles and UW. UW was an extremely high-yield resource, especially if you read the answer explanations.

3. UWise (recommend)

UWise was easy to use and quick to get through. That said, it has a lot of random factoids that don't show up on the real deal. I recommend using it but not worrying about some of the more off-the-wall questions.

4. Blueprints, review questions at end of chapter only (recommend time-permitting)

These 128 questions covered some high-yield topics and some random factoids. If you have time in the last few days before the shelf they may be worth looking through.

Experience:

Of the 110 questions, I'd say ~75 were gimmes if you knew the information in the above resources (mostly CaseFiles and UW) well. The remaining ~35 questions were tough only because of ambiguity/not enough information/difficult judgment call. I can only recall maybe 5 questions where I knew I just didn't have enough knowledge to answer the question. A number of difficult antibiotic questions. If anyone has any specific questions just let me know.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
I just got my shelf scores back, got an 81 raw but 70 percentile! I'm pretty shocked just because of the large discrepancy and in Peds and Surgery my percentile was much higher than my raw, anyone else have a similar experience with OBGYN or does this seem like some kind of mistake?
 
Magneto1 said:
I just got my shelf scores back, got an 81 raw but 70 percentile! I'm pretty shocked just because of the large discrepancy and in Peds and Surgery my percentile was much higher than my raw, anyone else have a similar experience with OBGYN or does this seem like some kind of mistake?
Click to expand...
Unfortunately, according to the Shelf Percentile pdf from TTUHSC (which has been accurate for all of my shelf percentiles so far), it lines up pretty closely to what you're reporting.
 
Taking this bad boy soon, I got through ~40 cases in CaseFiles, finished UWise+incorrects, UWorld (1x). Shooting for mid-80's or higher :luck:
 
Last edited:
Entadus said:
Taking this bad boy soon, I got through ~40 cases in CaseFiles, finished UWise+incorrects, UWorld (1x). Shooting for mid-80's or higher :luck:
Click to expand...
Quick update: Managed a great score (89 scaled) which was above 90th percentile. The resources I used were GREAT but if I had more time I would have done some of the NBME practice tests ($20 each); I heard there were a couple repeat questions on the actual shelf. Good luck to every student taking this in the future!!
 
  • Like
Reactions: 2 users
Entadus said:
Quick update: Managed a great score (89 scaled) which was above 90th percentile. The resources I used were GREAT but if I had more time I would have done some of the NBME practice tests ($20 each); I heard there were a couple repeat questions on the actual shelf. Good luck to every student taking this in the future!!
Click to expand...
Nice!
Also some repeat questions from uWise and UWorld.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 1 user
MCMD22 said:
Does anybody have experience working through firecracker (step 2 ck) in preparation for the shelf?
Click to expand...

not this one, but i've honored every other shelf so far with firecracker
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Next unread thread

Similar threads

W
any clinical rotation program suggest for Ob/Gyn?
Replies
3
Views
4K
Clerkships
C
Fay1129
Step 2 and Shelf exam notes
Replies
3
Views
4K
pbsdrinkingwhale
pbsdrinkingwhale
Fay1129
Shelf exam notes free of cost (UW, NBME)
Replies
1
Views
3K
MILITARY OFFICER
M
J
Best books for Pediatrics Shelf Exam in 2022
Replies
3
Views
3K
Fay1129
Fay1129
G
May have failed internal medicine shelf...again
Replies
3
Views
3K
PikminOC
PikminOC
Top