Pediatric Board Exam 2020

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Rpat1 said:
Logged in yesterday and mine now has a MOC Dashboard. Not sure how long it’s been there but I know it wasn’t there before I took my test. Not sure what it means 🤷🏽‍♀️
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been like that for a bit if I recall correctly
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Looking back on prior threads it looks like results are always released in the early morning right? I don't see any past threads where there were "I wonder when" and "scores are up" on the same date. Always sperated by at least one calendar day.
 
NurWollen said:
Looking back on prior threads it looks like results are always released in the early morning right? I don't see any past threads where there were "I wonder when" and "scores are up" on the same date. Always sperated by at least one calendar day.
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Yes, last year they were released very early. I remember waking up around 5 AM and they were already up.
 
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My MOC box looks exactly the same since I took the exam...
 
NurWollen said:
Looking back on prior threads it looks like results are always released in the early morning right? I don't see any past threads where there were "I wonder when" and "scores are up" on the same date. Always sperated by at least one calendar day.
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Yeah, makes me think that results are not coming today :(
 
I don't know, I am leaning towards thinking that the ABP website was actually right and the results are indeed going to take 3 months to come. Apparently last year the website said 2 months and they just changed it this year (likely because of covid, but who knows). I hope I'm wrong though, tired of waiting already :sleep:
 
Rpat1 said:
Think it means anything? Or am I overanalyzing lol
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Mine has a MOC Dashboard also and I can't remember for the life of me if it was there before. I might be overanalyzing but you need to have a certification to maintain it, right?
 
kokila said:
Mine has a MOC Dashboard also and I can't remember for the life of me if it was there before. I might be overanalyzing but you need to have a certification to maintain it, right?
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Yes so mine disappeared once I was 6 months out of training so I was able to access it the first time I took the boards but couldn’t access it for the self assessment this second time. When I called ABP they said it’s because you only have access to it if you are currently in training (fellowship) or 6 months out from training (first time test takers) or if you are certified. That’s why it’s strange to me that mine is back on there.
 
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kokila said:
Mine has a MOC Dashboard also and I can't remember for the life of me if it was there before. I might be overanalyzing but you need to have a certification to maintain it, right?
Click to expand...
I’ve had the MOC dashboard there since residency. Don’t think it means anything unfortunately
 
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Rpat1 said:
Yes so mine disappeared once I was 6 months out of training so I was able to access it the first time I took the boards but couldn’t access it for the self assessment this second time. When I called ABP they said it’s because you only have access to it if you are currently in training (fellowship) or 6 months out from training (first time test takers) or if you are certified. That’s why it’s strange to me that mine is back on there.
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Interesting! so I guess back to square one that we can't be sure about what it means
 
Do other specialties have to wait this long? It's a little ridiculous. Most expensive test of my career so far, and with the longest wait time for results.

Lol, I'm still bitter that I had to wait a month for my mcat score, while my pre-dental friends got their dat results almost right away.
 
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monicawannab said:
I’ve had the MOC dashboard there since residency. Don’t think it means anything unfortunately
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Oh really? And you aren’t in fellowship or <6 months out from residency? I’m definitely overanalyzing this then lol
 
Rpat1 said:
Oh really? And you aren’t in fellowship or <6 months out from residency? I’m definitely overanalyzing this then lol
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Oh sorry yeah I am in fellowship! So maybe it means something for those of you who aren’t... or maybe not haha who knows.
Why can’t they just give us a few days heads up when they know the results will come back on a certain date. Would avoid all of this speculation/anxiety!
 
monicawannab said:
Oh sorry yeah I am in fellowship! So maybe it means something for those of you who aren’t... or maybe not haha who knows.
Why can’t they just give us a few days heads up when they know the results will come back on a certain date. Would avoid all of this speculation/anxiety!
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Ugh I know! They like watching us suffer I guess
 
monicawannab said:
Oh sorry yeah I am in fellowship! So maybe it means something for those of you who aren’t... or maybe not haha who knows.
Why can’t they just give us a few days heads up when they know the results will come back on a certain date. Would avoid all of this speculation/anxiety!
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right? Is it really that hard to give us a heads up?

I just called ABP and here is what I was told: The MOC dashboard means nothing and is not a clue to anything (lol, yes but glad they said it). And without saying for sure anything, they indicated that the results will be out very soon...so this month. And she said it is usually first thing in the morning
 
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kokila said:
right? Is it really that hard to give us a heads up?

I just called ABP and here is what I was told: The MOC dashboard means nothing and is not a clue to anything (lol, yes but glad they said it). And without saying for sure anything, they indicated that the results will be out very soon...so this month. And she said it is usually first thing in the morning
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Thanks for doing the detective work! Although "this month" isn't very comforting, that could be 4 weeks from now on theory!!

Or maybe tomorrow haha.
 
I do know someone who took the test in November since they were COVID+ in October. So my guess the 1-3 month thing is real — they’ll probably batch all the results from Oct/Nov testing.
 
Finally!! I wouldn't have known the results were up if it was not for one of my friends texting. That's crazy, they need to send an email! Anyway, glad it's over. Wishing good luck to everybody!
 
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E-mail just came.

I also want to just dispel the recent myth for people in future years looking back to this thread: I did not have an MOC dashboard (>6 mo from residency) and passed, so the earlier statement that it does not matter is correct.
 
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I'm so happy that I passed!!! No more exams until Neo boards in 2024!! :soexcited:

Also, received a text from a friend at 5am that scores were posted, didn't receive an email til 8am.
 
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Same! Just got a bunch of texts at 6 am about the scores and got the email at 8 am. Congrats to those who passed! So happy I passed. It was a hard test.
 
Passed it in my 2nd attempt yesterday! Very excited and relieved to be done. Just for anyone who needs to hear this:

- Only stick to one resource. In the first attempt, I had two resources and that was definitely confusing/overwhelming.
- Practicing questions is HUGE. Definitely do as many questions as possible. In the first attempt, I had PREP and medstudy, but the 2nd time around, I had those + NEJM qbank+ board vitals. I finished them all. Yes, some of these are vague and not reflective of the real test, but it is VERY important to see questions in various different styles.
- Huge shoutout to Peds Board Review. They have webinars and resource book that is very helpful. Please, please at least get their book and review that for 3-4 times before the test
-Medstudy flashcards are very helpful on a tiring day after fellowship/work day
- Practice so many times in the exact exam settings. Build your stamina. I felt soo tired after the 2nd block first time around as compared to the 2nd time around

On the day of the test, rest and eat lots and lots of snacks. If you get eye fatigued, use eye drops at will. Do not panic. You DEFINITELY got this.

Go get them!
 
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Happy to say that I passed!

I figured I would share my journey, especially for anyone out there that has to grind to stay mediocre like me.

My ITE's during residency were always around 50th percentile or below. I had a number of resources that I used (one with ** were provided to me by my program or other benefits I didn't have to pay for out of pocket).


Question Banks
NEJM+**
MedStudy
PREP**

Out of all those three, MedStudy > NEJM >>>> PREP. I didn't find PREP to be very helpful. NEJM+ had good enough questions, but a sort of weird way of structuring how they were presented to you. This lead to a lot of repetition of questions that probably artificially boosted my first time scores. MedStudy might be close to the toughest question-wise at times, but it was the closest in my opinion to the real deal.

Books
MedStudy**
Laughing Your Way

My program gave me MedStudy from the start, and I bought Laughing Your Way in my last year of residency. Each are extremes - MedStudy is dense as hell, Laughing Your Way is a little too superficial. I read all the way through MedStudy once and for a few sections I was testing poorly on later. Laughing was more of a test taking tricks book, which I stopped using.

Video Review
MedStudy Video Review

I'm pretty glad I bought this from a co-resident's recommendation. It does a pretty great job of breaking down most core concepts you'll see. I wouldn't use this as the *only* study resource if you need more information. Great for the final stretch of 3-4 months when you can't read anymore...or listening on the way to work.

As far as the use of all this stuff - I would review a topic then test on it. Towards the last 3-4 months, I created a list of topics from worst to best based on question bank performance. I would repeat reviews from multiple sources on that topic (i.e. Genetic diseases) and test, then restudy, then test. I can't stress enough how important questions are. One of my PD's noted to us how the number of questions one does is just about the only thing shown over time to correlate with higher pass rates.

I would have liked to have passed with a wider margin, but I'll take the result given the time and energy spent. If there are any final tips I can offer, it is to START EARLY. If you're not rocking out the ITE's, you have a lot of work to do...and trying to cram all of the specifics is not going to work. Also, I think repetition of a few sources might be better than what I did. One can never have too many questions, but I probably should have focused on one major review book (PBR, MedStudy) and *maybe* one supplemental.

Good luck to those future test takers! Treat this with respect, but like me, even someone who can aspire to just average can make it!
 
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I know someone who failed the exam twice by doing Medstudy, Prep, PBR, and many practice questions with theory. Others are saying they failed 3-4 times. There is more to the supposed studying techniques you guys are saying. Some of you say do all the above sources and some of you are saying “stick to one source.” Very contradictory statements. Explain...
 
pedstar09 said:
Passed it in my 2nd attempt yesterday! Very excited and relieved to be done. Just for anyone who needs to hear this:

- Only stick to one resource. In the first attempt, I had two resources and that was definitely confusing/overwhelming.
- Practicing questions is HUGE. Definitely do as many questions as possible. In the first attempt, I had PREP and medstudy, but the 2nd time around, I had those + NEJM qbank+ board vitals. I finished them all. Yes, some of these are vague and not reflective of the real test, but it is VERY important to see questions in various different styles.
- Huge shoutout to Peds Board Review. They have webinars and resource book that is very helpful. Please, please at least get their book and review that for 3-4 times before the test
-Medstudy flashcards are very helpful on a tiring day after fellowship/work day
- Practice so many times in the exact exam settings. Build your stamina. I felt soo tired after the 2nd block first time around as compared to the 2nd time around

On the day of the test, rest and eat lots and lots of snacks. If you get eye fatigued, use eye drops at will. Do not panic. You DEFINITELY got this.

Go get them!
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You said stick to “one resource” but you mentioned NEJM, PBR, Medstudy Flashcards. Doesn’t make sense. So are you saying you didn’t do Medstudy and Prep this time??
 
doctorhousemd said:
I know someone who failed the exam twice by doing Medstudy, Prep, PBR, and many practice questions with theory. Others are saying they failed 3-4 times. There is more to the supposed studying techniques you guys are saying. Some of you say do all the above sources and some of you are saying “stick to one source.” Very contradictory statements. Explain...
Click to expand...
I think there is no exact formula. You will see a wide variety of advice here and it will be contradictory at times because they're is no one size fits all approach.

You need to know what works for YOU; based on your baseline of knowledge, your studying style and how much time you have to prepare.

In general, doing a lot of questions will be a good way to cover the material and apply your knowledge. You will know based on how you are doing in the questions what areas you need to work on and use that info to read up and fill in your knowledge gaps. I did medstudy, prep and NEJM.

In terms of resource. I think most ppl are referring to a reference text or review book. Having too many books might fragment your study and you will spend a lot of time reading (and forgetting) stuff and not as much time applying the knowledge and answering questions. I personally learn way better from doing question so would also suggest sticking with 1 set of books. I used medstudy. Some people swear by laughing your way. Go with whichever fits your learning style. I used medstudy books to review material and to shore up the areas where I wasnt doing so well on the Qbanks.

If your study style is to read a lot and you learn well that way then maybe more resources works for you. For me it would have been a time drag and would have prevented me from getting through the Qbanks given how much time I had to study.

I also did have the medstudy videos. I used those on days that I wasn't in the mood to study and I forced myself to watch a few videos. I atleast got in some passive studying and didn't feel guilty about skipping a day from doing questions. The lecturers in the videos were pretty good at making everything straight to the point and they rapidly covered higher yield things.
 
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Do people mind sharing what their program's board pass rate was for this year? Did it drop from previous years?
 
Medstudy books, medstudy questions, and prep 2014-20120

January 2020 went over Medstudy books once and make Anki flashcards out of everything I didn't know. I grind 6--8hrs per day while on elective.
February to June did Anki flashcards religiously.
June went through medstudy questions once, made flashcards out of everything I didn't know
- review correct and wrong answers and make Anki cards from those facts
July - August Anki daily and went through medstudy book for second time
September went through medstudy question second time while continuing to religiously do my Anki decks

medstusy first attempt 78%, second 84
prep average mid 70% on all years
ITE bottom half of my class as intern then made top 1/2 in class my second and 3rd year

I did all the prep questions starting July my 3rd year and finished it all by January. so from January one I focused on medstudy
- I also made flashcards from everything I didn't know

Anki is the GOAT. Key is to start EARLY!!!! by June/July if you don't feel like you're ready then you're in BIG trouble IMO. I peaked at about 1-2 weeks before the exam and was plateau about 1-2 days before so I rested then took the exam.

got their at 0700 d/t COVID and started at 730ish. took 1 break and finished at around 11:50ish. Got my scores back and scored above average so good luck everyone!!!

Good luck everyone!
 
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thalamus123 said:
Do people mind sharing what their program's board pass rate was for this year? Did it drop from previous years?
Click to expand...

I don’t have my programs pass rate, but if you look at the where they put the pass marker on Gaussian curve of scores it looked like 1 Sd below the mean making the pass rate around 80% which is on the lower end historically
 
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First time taking it. I'm currently doing fellowship (2nd year) so I was nervous because it was a while after gen peds. I think I was average on my ITEs - I did PREP and watched an old set of the UCLA board review course my last year in residency. I tried studying in August but got busy with work and restarted in September and took a week of vacation in September as well. Ideally I think 4-6weeks is a good time period. Compared to my medicine boards, the peds one felt harder/random and I felt terrible after I took it. I did the same general thing that I used for medicine boards - stuck to 1 question bank (MedStudy) and 1 review course (PBR). I thought about MedStudy text but it was way too detailed for my time frame. I probably did PBR videos 1-2x (the sections that were more represented on the test I think I reviewed more). I finished about 85% of MedStudy averaging 70-80% closer to the test. I did freak out in the end and did PREP 2020 the week before the test - I regretted it as I did badly on it and it made me loose confidence but I think it is good for learning if you have the time. PREP would've probably been more helpful again if I had more time.

I also watched some of these videos (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFO_CjLDvWxmAexhDDXC53Q) while I was doing something else like cleaning. I think they were helpful and I picked up some pearls. I think I only did the sections that are heavily represented on the exam but would have done more if I had more time. I didn't focus on anything that was low-yield because I didn't have the time. For example, if there was something I really kept forgetting/struggled with, I would do a quick search in the MedStudy qbank and if it wasn't in there or only 1-2 questions then I didn't spend any more time on it.

I think the most important part about doing the questions is that I vigorously reviewed my question log. I had a log for questions I got wrong and another for those I got right but didn't really know the main learning point or something. I absolutely made sure I know the questions that I got right for reinforcement. I reviewed flashcards any time I had a moment when I was in clinic or something. I made sure to time myself (based on the actual test timing) every time I did question and this helped because I finished each section on the test 30-45mins before time. I scored way above average on the exam. Good luck everyone, you can definitely do it!
 
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doctorhousemd said:
I know someone who failed the exam twice by doing Medstudy, Prep, PBR, and many practice questions with theory. Others are saying they failed 3-4 times. There is more to the supposed studying techniques you guys are saying. Some of you say do all the above sources and some of you are saying “stick to one source.” Very contradictory statements. Explain...
Click to expand...
I think anyone can fail using any of the resources because there are so many other factors. I'm assuming using one review resource and at least one question bank resource is probably what people mean by one source. Ultimately there are studying techniques (reading a book vs watching a video vs listening to audio vs doing questions, etc etc), test taking skills, baseline knowledge and experience before you start studying that play a role.. I picked my resources based on how I study and my time frame. I didn't have time, so I picked a video/audio resource over text. I made sure to create and review my question log many many many times. Just because someone used a resource doesn't mean they utilized it well or know how they best learn information. I feel like it makes the most sense to master few things and if you have too many resources that have slightly different information then it can be very confusing. Also some resources focus on ALL the information while others might focus on highly testable information so the breadth of content may slightly vary. Hope that helps
 
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sliceofbread136 said:
I don’t have my programs pass rate, but if you look at the where they put the pass marker on Gaussian curve of scores it looked like 1 Sd below the mean making the pass rate around 80% which is on the lower end historically.
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Historically is probably the wrong word to use. It has only been a few years that the pass rate has had any meaning. Before then the top 75% passed no matter what and everyone else failed no matter how many questions they got right.
 
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PTPoeny said:
Historically is probably the wrong word to use. It has only been a few years that the pass rate has had any meaning. Before then the top 75% passed no matter what and everyone else failed no matter how many questions they got right.
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Interesting, I did not know that. Whereas now they have a pre-determined passing score (scaled to 180 but the actual % correct required is secret), correct?
 
So I did almost three years of prep over the course of residency. I did all the MedStudy videos at least once and most of them twice. I did about 200 MedStudy questions. I fortunely scored well over the median. I had good ITE scores from the beginning though, so you might need to do more if your ITE scores were on the lower end.

I will say that I felt the level of detail covered in the MedStudy videos very closely approximated the level of detail on the real thing.
 
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I did PREP 2015-2020 during residency but hated them so didn't use/review for actual studying time. Otherwise I completed the MedStudy books & Qbank and added a ton of notes from those to the flashcards and reviewed those very frequently. Also, don't forget about the free ABP practice test - I passed that, so had a good confidence boost prior to the exam.
 
Congrats to everyone!!!
And to those who didn’t pass, I have a few friends/former co-residents who took it for their second time and passed,
so it’s possible!

I’ll be perusing this thread in a few months as I near the end of residency and start to formally prepare for this exam, so thank you to everyone who has been sharing their strategies and advice :)
 
NurWollen said:
Interesting, I did not know that. Whereas now they have a pre-determined passing score (scaled to 180 but the actual % correct required is secret), correct?
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The % correct will likely vary based on the test itself (i.e. year to year), because there are test questions and may be poorly worded questions (though I suspect that these are less than in a course exam due to the rigor it takes to develop the questions). That's why it is scaled to 180--so that you can compare across years.

The change happened around like 2012--I remember getting ITE results during residency and them saying they didn't have a full 5 years of people who had done both the ITE and the new exam to predict passing rates.
 
doctorhousemd said:
I know someone who failed the exam twice by doing Medstudy, Prep, PBR, and many practice questions with theory. Others are saying they failed 3-4 times. There is more to the supposed studying techniques you guys are saying. Some of you say do all the above sources and some of you are saying “stick to one source.” Very contradictory statements. Explain...
Click to expand...
I think they mean one source as your reading material for general review. Doesn’t apply to practice questions.

I think the key from practice questions to be effective is having some form of review method to reinforce what you are missing. They are meant to fill in knowledge gaps, and if you just do them once you will quickly forget what you just gained. Some will redo their wrong questions for further reinforcement. I just wrote whatever that knowledge gap was and read through them each day. Med study is nice as well as there is some built in repetition.
 
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People have different study styles and there is not only way to study effectively. Like others mentioned above, you just have to find what works best for you.

In my case, I always had good ITE scores, so that was a plus. I bought the med study books but only went over like 10% of it, because I found it too dense and time consuming. I tried watching videos, but they were boring and I couldn't focus. So I decided I was going to do ONLY questions and flashcards. No study book, no videos, no study groups, etc. I did PREPs 2015-2020 ( 2019 and 2020 I did twice). I finished all Medstudy questions once and did the wrong ones again. For PREP, I started with 65% ish in1st/2nd year, by 3rd year I was doing around 70-72%. First pass on medstudy 70-75%, second pass on the wrong ones around 75% as well. Medstudy Flashcards for the topics I had trouble with. Also, I did the 2019 self assessment from the ABP website, which I passed with 78% one week before the exam.

It might seem a lot of questions (and yes, it was), but it was only possible because 1) I started early - by the beginning of 2nd year I had already finished PREPs 2015 and 16; 2) I did questions every single day - even if it was a couple questions when I was in the bathroom, almost no day passed where I didn't do anything and 3) I did not lose time with study books, which for me were just too boring and time consuming. I know so many people that dislike PREP but, even though the questions are long and not like the real deal, PREP offers huge explanations about every question and, if you read them well, in the end of ~3 years of PREP, you went over a lot of information. And medstudy questions were great for reinforcing what you knew and pointing out which topics would need a little more attention. So they were both worth doing IMO.

Anyways, just wanted to share here my experience, for people to see that there are many ways to prepare for this exam and get a good score! I passed the exam with a score well above the mean, with no text books, just questions.

Good luck for those who will take the exam in 2021! :hello:
 
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