• Call 877-225-8384
  • Live Chat
  • Login
  • American Physician Institute Facebook link
  • American Physician Institute Twitter link
  • American Physician Institute YouTube link
  • American Physician Institute Linkedin link

Beat the Boards!

Pass-Guaranteed Board Review

  • Home
  • Courses ∨
    • Addiction Medicine
    • Addiction Psychiatry
    • Child & Adolescent Psychiatry
    • Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry
    • Geriatric Psychiatry
    • NEUROLOGY COURSES
    • › Neurology Certification
    • › Neurology MOC
    • PSYCHIATRY COURSES
    • › Psychiatry Certification
    • › Psychiatry MOC
    • USMLE Step 2CK QBank
    • USMLE Step 3 QBank
    • ASAP Psychiatry SA Courses
  • Save & Earn ∨
    • Ambassador Referral Program
    • Group Discounts
    • Multi-purchase Discounts
    • Residency & Fellowship Program
  • Resources & Info ∨
    • Invent Our Future
    • Wealth Management
    • Free Wellness Webinars
    • BERACUDA Exam Readiness Assessment
    • How Not to Fail Your Psychiatry Board Exam
    • Neurology PIP
    • ABPN Board Exam Topics
    • ABPN Board Exam Pass Rates
    • Contact Us
    • Testimonials
    • FAQs
    • Dissecting Psychiatry Board Exam Questions
  • Exam Blog

Categories

  • All Posts
  • Coping Strategies After Failing a Board Exam
  • Crack the Exam Question Code
  • How to Prepare For Your Board Exam
  • Strategies to Deploy During the Board Exam
What To Study If You’re Repeating an ABPN Exam - beat the boards

What To Study If You’re Repeating an ABPN Exam

September 4, 2018 by Jack Krasuski 4 Comments Categories: All Posts, How to Prepare For Your Board Exam Tags: beat the boards, board exam tips, Dr Jack Krasuski, how to prepare for the abpn exam, jack krasuski, psychiatry board exam, psychiatry board exam prep, psychiatry board prep, taking the abpn for the second time, what to do if i am taking the abpn for the second time, what to study if i am taking the abpn exam again

If you’re studying for an ABPN board exam that you previously took and did not pass, the question you confront is how you should prepare this time around. Here’s the first important thing to do:

Review your last board exam’s “Performance Profile,” that is, the list of exam scoring categories. Review your scores on the big categories (listed below). Any category which you failed or which you passed but not by much, should become your study priority.

The thinking goes like this: the topic on which you did not do well (irrespective of whether or not you passed it) includes many questions that you can get right if you focus on preparing for it more deeply. For example, depressive disorders comprise 8-12% of the psychiatry certification exam. So, with 480 questions on the exam, the number of depression questions averages 48. You can pass this exam category by getting as few as 25 questions correct. If this was what happened in your case the first time around, that would mean you can potentially get an additional 23 depression questions correct this time around. This may be all you need to pass the exam.

Contrast this with the average number of questions on the psychiatry certification exam in the following categories: sexual dysfunctions (9 questions), elimination disorders (7 questions), gender dysphoria (7 questions), disruptive and conduct disorders (9 questions), and dissociative disorders (7 questions). Note that on the MOC exam, the number of questions would be slightly less than half as many.

So, in terms of time efficiency and study effectiveness, focusing on mastering the big topics, such as depression in this example, may be your better bet. Otherwise you will have to study (more or less) three smaller topics to give you the same opportunity to add correctly answered questions to your exam score.

I’m not suggesting you ignore the smaller topics but rather prioritize by focusing on areas that provide the largest potential bump to your score. I’m pointing out the potential conceptual error of not focusing on big exam topics that you passed previously. In reality they often provide large additional opportunities to improve your exam score.

These are the larger exam diagnostic categories on the ABPN psychiatry certification exam, listed in descending order of percentage of exam questions:

  • Psychotic disorders (8-12%)
  • Depressive disorders (8-12%)
  • Substance use disorders (7-11%)
  • Anxiety disorders (7-9%)
  • Neurocognitive disorders (6-8%)
  • Personality disorders (5-7%)
  • Bipolar disorders (4-6%)
  • Trauma-related disorders (4-6%)

 


All of your Psychiatry and Neurology Board Exam test prep needs can be met by Beat the Boards!

About Jack Krasuski

View all posts by Jack Krasuski

Filed Under: All Posts, How to Prepare For Your Board Exam Tagged With: beat the boards, board exam tips, Dr Jack Krasuski, how to prepare for the abpn exam, jack krasuski, psychiatry board exam, psychiatry board exam prep, psychiatry board prep, taking the abpn for the second time, what to do if i am taking the abpn for the second time, what to study if i am taking the abpn exam again

Comments

  1. Purificacion-Hency Marquez says

    September 7, 2018 at 4:16 pm

    Thank you. This is a big help and also your topic for this week.
    I understand now what I am and how I can get around it. I have procrastinated and even though fearful that I have not even completed half of the modules ( less than a fourth , to be exact) , it is still better than when I started.
    At least, I really went through the first 5 high yield topics and I feel comfortable with it.
    Praying, NO, looking forward to passing this exam this time.

    Thank you.
    Hensip M.

    Reply
    • Jack Krasuski says

      September 8, 2018 at 10:09 am

      You’re welcome Hensip. Glad that this article was able to help provide you with the insight that you needed. Good luck!

      Reply
  2. Pari says

    December 18, 2018 at 11:40 am

    Hi!
    Thanks for the interesting blog/topic. What is the best course to register (Addiction med board)? I like question answer and also video lectures that is target to the point re most important topics that is being asked.
    I did medicine (not psych), are Qs mostly in psych?
    Thanks!
    Pari

    Reply
    • Jack Krasuski says

      December 18, 2018 at 11:57 am

      Hi Pari! Glad you found this blog helpful. All of our courses offer a mix of Q’s, video lectures and audio lectures. The course that you sign up for would be for the specialty in which you are taking the board exam. You can give our Customer Care team a call at 877-225-8384 and they would be happy to assist you with any questions that you may have!

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Courses Available in Many Specialties:

  • Addiction Medicine Board Review Course
  • Addiction Psychiatry Board Review Course
  • Child & Adolescent Psychiatry Board Review Courses
  • Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry Board Review Course
  • Geriatric Psychiatry Board Review Courses
  • Neurology Certification Board Review Course
  • Neurology MOC Board Review Course
  • Psychiatry Certification Board Review Course
  • Psychiatry MOC Board Review Course
  • Home
  • Login
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Work With Us
  • FAQs
  • Triple Trust Guarantee

Government Sales – SAM.gov
Unique Entity ID: LQWHFPP2KLB8

Customer Care: 877-225-8384
M-F, 8:00am – 6:00pm (CST)
info@AmericanPhysician.com

American Physician Institute for Advanced Professional Studies, LLC BBB Business Review
  • American Physician Institute Facebook link American Physician
  • American Physician Institute Surgery Facebook link Surgery
  • American Physician Institute Anesthesiology Facebook link Anesthesiology
  • American Physician Institute Psychiatry Facebook link Psychiatry
American Physician Institute Twitterr linkAmerican Physician Institute Linkedin linkAmerican Physician Institute YouTube link
  • www.AmericanPhysician.com
  • www.BeatTheBoards.com
  • www.ThePassMachine.com
  • www.MasterPsych.com

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
  • American Board of Anesthesiology®
  • American Board of Emergency Medicine®
  • American Board of Family Medicine®
  • American Board of Internal Medicine®
  • American Board of Pain Medicine®
  • American Board of Pediatrics®
  • American Board of Preventive Medicine®
  • American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology®
  • American Board of Surgery®
  • PeerPoint – CME Accreditation Services
  • Home
  • Courses ∨
  • Save & Earn ∨
  • Resources & Info ∨
  • Exam Blog

© 2023· American Physician Institute, LLC

Privacy Policy